Russia’s increased attacks on Kyiv and its partnership with Iran

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0:34You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. I'm Greg Dixon. In a few minutes, how deep does Russia's strategic partnership with Iran go? First, life has changed recently in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Residents there had gotten used to periodic Russian airstrikes, maybe once or twice a week. But now the attacks are more constant, using drones, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, even hypersonic missiles. And they're not just at night. Now they're during the day. NPR's Steve Inskip finds out how that has affected the city.

1:12Our producer Paulina Litvinova says the new rhythm has disrupted daily life. When you have 14, 15 air raid alerts per day, you can do really anything. It took me three days to get to the shopping mall just to buy some things I needed because, yeah, every time I went there, I was in the middle of driving and there was another air raid alert. If you're driving, when that alert comes, you park and dive into the nearest metro station underground. If you're at home, you head downstairs to your shelter again and again. To understand how this affects Ukraine's capital, we called the mayor of Kiev, Vitaly Klitschko.

1:50He's six feet seven inches tall, a former professional boxer who has led the city for more than a decade, including its most recent trouble. Almost the lives stopped in our hometown during the day. It's had a huge impact to our economy and the city doesn't work and citizens spend the majority of the time in shelters. You said that this has affected the economy. That is striking to me because I was looking at economic statistics for Ukraine. Ukraine's economy has actually grown substantially the last several years. Are you telling me that is coming to a halt in Kiev, at least, as long as these attacks are so constant?

2:30It's actually a huge challenge because the economy of the country plays a very important role during the war. We are very appreciative of our friends who support financial Ukraine. It's very important. We very appreciate to receive defensive weapons from our partners, but we are limited with human resources and with total mobilization. if, for example, you go to the street and see from 10 workers, seven women, three men. And the biggest challenge for us in our hometown, the workers. One short example, a small example, a bus driver. It's traditionally, it's a man's job. And we have more buses than bus drivers.

3:19And that's why we study right now women for the men's jobs. Do you worry about running out of people, given the sheer number of people who have been mobilized and killed?

3:32It's a war. It's a war, and we lose a lot of our heroes. When you are under constant attack by different kinds of aerial weapons, how strong are your defenses now? It's not secret. We have deficit of anti-drone systems. We need much more defensive weapons. I want to be clear on what you're saying. It's possible to shoot down a drone. It's possible to shoot down a missile. It's possible to shoot down a plane that's carrying a missile, but you do not have enough weapons to handle the onslaught at this time. We have not enough weapons. It's true. We are told that the Russians are deploying jet-powered drones, drones with jet engines.

4:23Yeah, with jet engine. Yeah, with a jet engine. Do those add to the threat to your city? It's a new strategy because before we listen to the alarm and we understand we have 30 minutes, one hour, because the drones were not so fast. And right now the drones with jet engine have almost the same speed as cruise missiles. So you have only a few minutes rather than half an hour to prepare. We have a couple of minutes to go to the shelters. Wow. How are you preparing for this coming winter? It's one of the biggest challenges for us. Kiev is one of the biggest, largest cities in East Europe. Last winter was a horrible winter because the weather condition was pretty cold, and the Russians tried to destroy our power plants and let people live without heating, electricity, and water.

5:19And we were fighting last winter to survive. We expect the Russians will try to destroy our heating system before the winter. I call that genocide. So do you have an alternative heat system if the central one goes down? We build right now with that satellite of heating system in our hometown and prepare for the next winter. It's a huge challenge, huge challenge for us right now. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko of Kiev, thanks so much. You're welcome. And he was speaking to NPR's Steve Inskeep. While Russian President Vladimir Putin is keeping up his assault on Ukraine, he's also professing support for Iran amid its conflict with the U.S.

6:03and Israel. As NPR's Charles Maines in Moscow tells us, less clear is how far that support goes. Ladies and gentlemen, the ceremony of the declaration is beginning.

6:43The Russian leader praised Iran's fortitude in the face of recent American attacks, telling Pazeshkan Russia was, quote, trying to give you the help you need during this difficult time and supplying you with the goods you need. Putin's statement of support comes amid U.S. intelligence findings that Moscow's been providing Tehran with targeting assistance and perhaps more to better strike U.S. military assets in the Middle East. The Kremlin leader is denied providing direct military aid, even as hawkish voices in Moscow insist Putin has the right to do so.

7:16Viktor Litovkin, a retired colonel and longtime military observer for state news agencies, asked why Russia can't help its allies in Tehran, given American and NATO military support to Kiev. Besides, Litovkin notes, Iran helped Russia by sending in Shahid drones during the early years of the war in Ukraine. I don't think they've been doing it, certainly not at a high level. Last month, President Trump played down the significance of any Russian aid, but said he would ask Putin about it. Yet it's not clear whether the topic was among those raised by CIA Director John Ratcliffe during a surprise visit to Moscow for meetings with Russian intelligence officials last week.

7:51Charles Maines, NPR News, Moscow.

8:02That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening.

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