ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Ari Shapiro in Washington.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
And I'm Mary Louise Kelly in Anchorage, Alaska, specifically at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, where we're waiting - you may be able to hear planes landing now. We are awaiting Presidents Trump and Putin. They're coming out and taking questions after their meeting.
Right now, we're in a tent. There's a few hundred American and Russian reporters all around me. We're huddled just outside the auditorium where lecterns have been set up for Trump and Putin. They are here to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine. But the president of that country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is not here.
Well, we did want to bring Ukraine into the conversation. So we have called Olena Khomenko. She's a member of Ukraine's parliament, and she is on the line with us from western Ukraine. Hi, welcome.
OLENA KHOMENKO: Hi. Thank you for having me.
KELLY: So how closely are people in Ukraine following this summit?
KHOMENKO: People of Ukraine - in Ukraine are following closely because everybody is interested to see and to know the results of this summit, and we will see what it will bring to us because Ukraine has its expectations. And so, Ukrainian people, they want peace as no one else. And this summit is important, but it is a really pity that Ukraine is not yet a part, that Ukraine is not yet at the table.
KELLY: At the table - you said Ukrainians are watching with expectations, that there is hope. How much hope? I mean, understanding that Ukraine is a big country, there will be a wide range of views, how high are expectations for this summit between Presidents Trump and Putin?
KHOMENKO: Actually, the first expectation is that these talks will lead to ceasefire. Without that, it's just words while the war continues. And President Zelenskyy has said many times, you cannot talk about peace when the bombing hasn't stopped. And for example, when preparations for the Alaska's meeting were underway today, we continue to receive reports from across Ukraine of fresh Russian attacks in Sumy, in Dnipropetrovsk region, cities are - and enterprises targeted (ph) - Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk regions. So deliberate strikes continue.
And this war persists because there is not even a signal from Moscow about ending it. On the very day of these talks, Russians are still killing Ukrainian, and that says everything. So we have high hope for this, let's say, series of summits.
KELLY: Series of summits - so you have your eye on the next one, when President Zelenskyy, you hope, will be invited. We are watching polls coming out of Ukraine, trying to track shifts in public opinion. Three-and-a-half years into fighting this war, Olena Khomenko, would you speak just to the weariness, the fatigue among Ukrainians?
KHOMENKO: Well, there is fatigue, of course, of the war when drones are flying over your head every day. Of course, every Ukrainian wants peace, but we still have high spirit, and we are not ready to give up on our territories. Ukrainians are not ready to give up on our land and our territories, as well as our aspiration to join NATO and the EU are enshrined in our constitution. So this is what Ukraine cannot give up on.
KELLY: That is Olena Khomenko. She is a member of Ukraine's Parliament. We reached her today in western Ukraine. Thank you.
KHOMENKO: Thank you. Thank you very much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
