MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tells NPR that the White House has threatened to cut off intelligence-sharing with his country.
PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: Did we get any messages that it can be stopped if - yes?
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Yeah.
ZELENSKYY: Yes. My generals told me that we have such risk.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Here's what's happening. President Trump wants Ukraine to stop long-range drone strikes on Russian oil refineries. He blames Ukraine for high fuel costs, and he has lifted sanctions on Russian diesel. Zelenskyy says Ukraine has not received intelligence on Russian ballistic missile strikes over the last two nights.
MARTIN: NPR's Ukraine correspondent, Joanna Kakissis, spoke to President Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Tuesday and is with us now to tell us more about it. Hello.
KAKISSIS: Hello, Michel.
MARTIN: So what did Zelenskyy tell you about why intelligence-sharing is so important for Ukraine right now?
KAKISSIS: Well, President Zelenskyy said Russian ballistic missiles are hard for Ukraine's air defense to shoot down, so his military relies on intelligence - both Ukrainian and foreign - for advanced warning. We talked about an attack on Monday night. We both heard several big blasts.
ZELENSKYY: And we had five ballistic missiles. The direction was Kyiv - Kyiv region.
KAKISSIS: Yeah.
ZELENSKYY: Yes. They targeted mostly railway. And we didn't get the information.
KAKISSIS: You did not get the information?
ZELENSKYY: No. We didn't get the information about ballistic missile. This is really our weak place.
KAKISSIS: He said his military was told it was a technical glitch. I asked him if it was the U.S. that was withholding intel, and he did not want to elaborate, saying it was a sensitive matter. But he also said Ukraine has diversified its foreign intelligence sources after early 2025, when the Trump administration had paused sharing information with Kyiv.
ZELENSKYY: We get from the United States, where necessary, information, but not only from the United States.
KAKISSIS: Now, Zelenskyy says every bit of intelligence is important to Ukraine because stopping ballistic missiles is a priority.
MARTIN: And what kind of damage have they caused recently?
KAKISSIS: Well, Michel, just in the past week or so, missiles have killed dozens of Ukrainians. Zelenskyy said he visited the northern city of Pryluky last week, where a missile killed more than 20 people in one apartment building. And he told me about this little girl wounded in the attack. Her dad was killed, and she didn't know about it. As Zelenskyy visited the girl in the hospital, he recalled hugging her.
ZELENSKYY: I said, can I do something for you? Yeah. Bring back my father - because she was waiting.
KAKISSIS: She was waiting for her dad?
ZELENSKYY: Yeah. And you can't tell her. She doesn't know that he is - he was killed. And you can't lie. And it's very difficult for me because I always know what to answer. And I couldn't find the answer to this small girl.
KAKISSIS: He says he feels the loss in every attack.
MARTIN: And he's also a father himself.
KAKISSIS: Yes. Right.
MARTIN: So I'm sure he saw himself in that. So President Trump claimed last week that Russia and Ukraine agreed to stop at least some attacks - in this case, on energy sites. What happened with that?
KAKISSIS: Well, I did ask Zelenskyy how he found out about this quote-unquote energy truce.
ZELENSKYY: Through social, like you.
KAKISSIS: Truth Social?
ZELENSKYY: We are, together, ordinary people.
(LAUGHTER)
ZELENSKYY: President didn't call us. Yeah. Yeah. But it's OK. I mean, this - it doesn't matter what way between us.
KAKISSIS: Zelenskyy said he would observe this truce as long as Russia did the same. And - but two hours later, after Trump announced the energy ceasefire, Russia attacked a Ukrainian power plant. And the strikes have not stopped since.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Joanna Kakissis in Kyiv. Joanna, thanks for this interview.
KAKISSIS: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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