Determined to endure

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday, the 29th of April.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Up first, elusive peace.

In a moment, a conversation with our correspondent in Ukraine, but first, the latest in efforts to end the war.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a three-day ceasefire will take hold in May to mark the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II.

But here’s the reality for Ukraine.

REICHARD: Rescue workers combed through debris last week after drone and missile strikes hammered civilian areas of KyIv.

The attacks drew a sharp rebuke from President Trump, who wrote on Truth Social “Vladimir, STOP!”

EICHER: The president later met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the funeral for Pope Francis on Saturday. Here he is after his return:

TRUMP: He told me that he needs more weapons, but he's been saying that for three years, he needs more weapons, and we're going to see what happens.

Foreign policy expert Clifford May says the meeting at the Vatican signals that Trump may be willing to turn up the heat on Russia.

MAY: I think it is at least possible that President Trump now will take up that offer do what he himself has suggested, and put some significant pressure on Putin, which he has not done to date.

REICHARD: So far, the U.S. has held off on ramping up sanctions or sending Ukraine additional weapons. But with Russian strikes intensifying, May thinks Trump could shift strategy.

MAY: What would a ceasefire mean? It could lead to a long-term freezing of the of the hostilities. And what I have in mind is something like Korea. What happened in Korea, there was a Korean war….there’s never been peace, but you have a frozen conflict, it’s lasted about 53 years now. You could have something along those lines.

EICHER: Still, he warns that if Trump does walk away from negotiations to focus on other foreign policy matters, it might backfire.

MAY: Then Putin will be incentivized to slaughter more Ukrainians, which I know President Trump does not want. It’ll be much more carnage.

WORLD Correspondent Will Fleeson was in Kyiv during recent attacks. He joins us now to talk about it.

REICHARD: Will, good morning, and how are you doing?

WILL FLEESON: Mary, I am as well as I could be. Here in Ukraine, when someone asks, “How are you?” the common joke is you say in Ukrainian or in Russian, zhivoy, which means “I'm alive.”

REICHARD: We're so relieved to hear that you are alive. This must be very hard. Let me ask you, what did you see in how Ukrainians marked Easter in Kyiv this year? After all, Russia had announced an Easter ceasefire.

FLEESON: Here in Kyiv, Mary, I'm seeing a mix of hope and fear. In early April, there was an attack on the central Ukrainian town of Kryvyi Ryi that included one missile that struck near a playground. That attack killed nine children and just as many adults. Just a week before Easter, there was a strike on Palm Sunday in the eastern city of Sumy, which killed three dozen and wounded more than 100 there was later a Good Friday attack in the eastern city of Kharkiv, which killed at least one and wounded over 120 so a literal barrage of violence and bad news.

Nonetheless, here in Kyiv, city residents were out in force for Easter. They were honoring the Orthodox tradition of bringing baskets full of food and drink to be blessed by local orthodox priests. Many of those men and women and families wore the traditional Ukrainian vyshyvanka, or embroidered peasant shirt, to these church rituals. So acts like showing up in easily targetable places like a church, while honoring Ukrainian traditions have taken on a symbolic meaning in light of these very recent and very painful attacks at my own church, a Baptist congregation here in Kyiv, we prayed for peace in Ukraine, as I'm sure other churches did around the country.

REICHARD: Mmm.hmm, yes, I imagine they did. So early Thursday is when Russia launched those missiles and drone strikes. What did you see and hear?

FLEESON: So the overall effect when I woke up that morning was one of stress and bewilderment in casual conversations, whether those were in coffee shops or gathering places across town, the Kyiv attack was on everyone's mind. Some people shelter every time, especially young parents or those with children in tow. Others are desensitized and carry on their daily business and simply ignore the air raid alerts when they ring out over the city.

REICHARD: You’ve been in Ukraine now since February. Have you noticed any changes in the national mood over there as the United States continues to work to bring the war to an end?

FLEESON: Mary, I wouldn't say that I've noticed a change in the national mood, as much as a continuation of a very hardened national mood. That national mood is formed from suffering as well as resolve. The Ukrainians who are still here and have chosen to stay in their country, have done so deliberately. They have they have had three years to leave. They're exhausted. They suffer what they have to as missiles rain down on their homes and cities, yet they're determined to survive this war and rebuild the country as best they can in these harsh circumstances. So again, between their suffering and their resolve, everything I've seen in three months among the among Ukrainians, suggests that they are willing to endure as long as it takes to secure peace, even if that means more suffering.

REICHARD: Will, do you have an example of that?

FLEESON: So one example is a contact of mine, Tim Vashchyshyn, who's a 31 year old Bible studies teacher. He and his wife just had a child a couple of months ago, and they've decided to start their family during war time, despite all the risks that we can imagine.

VASHCHYSHYN: A lot of people when he was born, everybody's like, is this the right time? Should you do this during the war? Is this a necessary thing to do? I'm like, Well, God has blessed us with a child, and it will be wrong not to enjoy this blessing.

REICHARD: Powerful testimony. Will Fleeson is a Correspondent for WORLD currently in Kyiv, Ukraine. Will, thanks for this report, and please stay safe.

FLEESON: Thank you, Mary.

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