ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
The Kremlin has welcomed the Trump administration's pause on military aid to Ukraine, as Ukraine defends itself against a full-scale Russian war that's lasted more than three years. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is trying to mend his relationship with President Trump after Friday's White House meeting ended in a shouting match. He says he wants to work toward a lasting peace. And Ukrainians are wondering, can they manage without their most important single ally? NPR's Joanna Kakissis reports from Kyiv.
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: When I first interviewed Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko last month, he had high hopes for President Trump. He even nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
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OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO: Because I hope that he might bring peace to Ukraine. But by peace, I don't mean appeasement of the aggressor. I don't mean peace at the expense of our territories or our national interests. I mean stable peace, which is firmly based on the principles of international law and the U.N. Charter.
KAKISSIS: Merezhko kept the faith even after Trump and Vice President JD Vance scolded Zelenskyy at the Oval Office. When I asked Merezhko today about the Trump administration freezing aid to Ukraine, he said he was in shock and saw Friday's disastrous White House visit in a different light.
MEREZHKO: Because now I understand that it was not a coincidence. It was not like outburst of emotions. It was premeditated. Trump needed an excuse or justification to blame Zelenskyy, to blame Ukraine and to deprive us of this weaponry.
KAKISSIS: Hanna Shelest, director of security studies at the Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council, wonders if the Trump team's decision came because the Kremlin is not offering any concessions.
HANNA SHELEST: They need to blame that it is Ukrainians guilty in the whole situation, rather than understanding that the demands of Russia and the actions of Russia are so strong.
KAKISSIS: Zelenskyy responded by repeating his desire to work with the Trump administration on a peace deal that will last.
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PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: (Through interpreter) We want constructive cooperation and partnerships, and what happened in the White House instead of our negotiations is regrettable. But we need to find a strength to move on to respect each other as we always respect America, Europe and all our partners and do everything together to bring peace closer.
KAKISSIS: In Kyiv, next to a memorial wall for fallen soldiers, history teacher Artur Babenko says he does not trust the Russians. He's from the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol.
ARTUR BABENKO: (Through interpreter) My professors in my university were captured, and some are still in captivity. There is torture and deportations of children to Russia.
KAKISSIS: Olena Deineko, who runs an agricultural organization, says she's concerned what the pause in weapons will actually mean.
OLENA DEINEKO: I think every Ukrainian is worried about it. Of course, I'm worried because my husband also is an officer of Ukrainian army, and many of my friends and colleagues are. And so many people are dead.
KAKISSIS: Poland, which neighbors Ukraine, said the Trump administration did not inform allies that it would freeze the aid - about a billion dollars' worth of weapons and ammunition already in the pipeline. Ukraine says it can manage with the military aid it already has, at least for a few months. And European leaders are stepping in to support Ukraine in the U.S.'s absence. Merezhko, the Ukrainian lawmaker, says he's also pinning his hopes on the American public.
MEREZHKO: We should remember that Trump is not America, that America is much bigger, that America remains our allies. It's not kingdom where only will of king matters. No, it's democracy.
KAKISSIS: Ukraine has too much at stake, he says, to see it any other way.
Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Kyiv. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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