LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, today on a joint trip with Britain's foreign secretary. The trip comes hours after the presidential debate, where the candidates had starkly different views on what to do about Ukraine.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Ukraine wants to use long-range weapons provided by the U.S. to hit military targets in Russia. The U.S. currently restricts this use, and Ukraine is pressing the White House to change that.
FADEL: With me now to discuss all this is NPR international correspondent Joanna Kakissis in Kyiv, Good morning.
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: What are Ukrainians expecting from Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy?
KAKISSIS: Well, Ukrainian leaders are hoping for some kind of green light on using these long-range weapons, especially after President Biden told reporters on Tuesday that his administration is, quote, "working on this issue." There seems to be some momentum to lift restrictions, especially after Blinken and Lammy revealed that Iran was supplying Russia with ballistic missiles - something Lammy called a, quote, "significant escalation." Ukraine wants to use these Western-supplied long-range missiles to hit Russian weapons stockpiles, logistical centers, airfields. Ukraine says this is the best way to stop Russian troops from advancing on Ukrainian land and killing people in Ukrainian cities. One attack last week killed at least 58 at a military academy.
FADEL: So the use of long-range weapons seems to be key at this moment of the war. How do people in Ukraine feel about using these weapons in Russia?
KAKISSIS: So young Ukrainians are especially rattled by the carnage. We spoke to several international relations students who are following Blinken's visit. They have welcomed Ukraine's drone attacks on Russia, including a massive one earlier this week. They say Russians need to feel what Ukrainians feel. Vladyslav Payuk, who is 19, he says striking Russian military targets with long-range weapons is the best way to fight back.
VLADYSLAV PAYUK: Why can't we bomb their strategic facilities? Why can't we shoot them back? Every day, every day in every city of Ukraine, families getting killed.
KAKISSIS: Western allies, including the U.S., say they need to tread carefully with the use of long-range weapons because Russia has a vast arsenal that includes nuclear weapons.
FADEL: Ukraine, of course, was one of the topics at the presidential debate here in the U.S. last night - two different candidates laying out different visions. How much of a role is the presidential election playing in Ukraine's diplomacy?
KAKISSIS: Well, Ukrainians followed last night's debate, and they're following this election very closely. We saw lots of commentaries this morning noting that Vice President Kamala Harris made it clear that she would continue supporting Ukraine but that former President Donald Trump seemed to evade answering that question, saying only that he will end the war, but not specifying how.
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DAVID MUIR: Do you believe it's in the U.S. best interest for Ukraine to win this war, yes or no?
DONALD TRUMP: I think it's the U.S. best interest to get this war finished and just get it done.
MUIR: All right. I...
TRUMP: Negotiate a deal.
KAKISSIS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he will present what he calls a plan for victory to the presidential candidates and, of course, to President Biden. And he says the plan will include how to put Ukraine in the best strategic position for eventual peace negotiations.
FADEL: NPR's Joanna Kakissis. Thank you so much.
KAKISSIS: You're welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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