BBC's Frank Gardner
Appearances
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-11-2025 5AM EDT
Putin sees the problem as Ukraine being lured into the West. He doesn't want Ukraine joining the EU or NATO or looking westwards. He wants it back in Moscow's sphere of influence. So I'm not optimistic that that is going to work.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-11-2025 5AM EDT
The Kremlin is very good at muddying the waters like this because they've not agreed to this 30-day ceasefire that everyone here was demanding. And instead, President Putin said, let's address the root causes of this conflict. Now, Russia's idea of the root causes of this conflict are very different from the West's idea of the root causes.