Presidents Trump and Zeleneskyy meet this week. What’s their relationship like?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
It's Consider This, where every day we go deep on one big news story. Today, setting the stage for a key White House meeting. It's been a busy couple of weeks in Ukraine. First, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired his popular defense minister. That decision led to mass protests across the country. In response, Zelenskyy fired the increasingly unpopular commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, a decision that was welcomed by the protesters. And all of this comes just as the Ukrainian president prepares to visit the White House to discuss the state of the war. Consider this. Amid a busy few weeks in Ukraine, Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy are set to meet at the White House.
What recent events in Ukraine prompted Zelenskyy's White House visit?
What's the status of their relationship? And how could it shape the war in Ukraine? From NPR, I'm Debbie Elliott.
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Why did Zelenskyy fire his defense minister and commander-in-chief?
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How did Ukrainians react on the streets to the military dismissals?
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It's Consider This from NPR. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House on Tuesday.
Who is leading Ukraine's military now after the shakeup?
Last year, when the two met there, things got tense.
You've allowed yourself to be in a very bad position, and he happens to be right about it. From the very beginning of the war. You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now.
That was at the White House in February of last year, but a lot has happened since. Trump and Zelensky appear to have mended their relationship, despite the fact that support for Ukraine remains divisive among Republicans. Meanwhile, just last week, Ukraine's military leadership went through one of its biggest shakeups since the start of the full-scale invasion.
How has the Trump–Zelenskyy relationship evolved since their last tense meeting?
Alexander Kryev has been following these developments closely from Kyiv. He's the North America director of the Ukrainian PRISM Foreign Policy Council, a Kyiv-based think tank. Welcome to the program.
Yes, hello. Nice to connect to you.
So in just the last two weeks, Zelensky has fired both his defense minister and the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces.
What does Ukraine hope to achieve by meeting with President Trump?
Can you tell us about the significance of those moves and what prompted them?
Well, first of all, the main problem here is basic governmental mismanagement. Because the president has no authority without the legal support from the Verkhovna Rada, Ukrainian parliament, and without the good arguments on why he is going to fire these people. He has no authority to do so. So basically, the main outrage was not only because it was Fedorov or it was somebody else, but because Zelenskyy distinctively overstepped his own authority and he definitely violated several positions from Ukrainian constitution.
How might Trump’s position shape U.S. support and the course of the war in Ukraine?
So that was the first this year, I mean, that was the first major crisis of Ukrainian democracy, which hopefully was prevented by the activity of Ukrainian civil society and the activity of Ukrainians on the street.
What was the scene on the street like and what were people saying?
Well, as also being a senior lecturer at Kyiv University, Kyiv Mohyla Academy, I can only say that most of our students were there at the streets protesting these managerial decisions of Zelensky.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:54
2
What recent events in Ukraine prompted Zelenskyy's White House visit?
0:54–1:25
3
Why did Zelenskyy fire his defense minister and commander-in-chief?
1:25–1:59
4
How did Ukrainians react on the streets to the military dismissals?
1:59–2:26
5
Who is leading Ukraine's military now after the shakeup?
2:26–3:03
6
How has the Trump–Zelenskyy relationship evolved since their last tense meeting?
3:03–3:27
7
What does Ukraine hope to achieve by meeting with President Trump?
3:27–4:09
8
How might Trump’s position shape U.S. support and the course of the war in Ukraine?
4:09–9:28
Speakers
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