A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Ukraine has launched one of its boldest operations in the war with Russia.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
In a surprise attack, the Ukrainian military has sent a large ground force across its northeastern border and into western Russia. This is according to Russian officials and military analysts. Ukraine is so far remaining tight-lipped about the incursion.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Greg Myre is in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv. Greg, so what are you hearing about this very unusual cross-border operation by Ukraine?
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Most of the information is coming from the Russian side, though it's still pretty limited. Now, the defense ministry in Moscow said the incursion began Tuesday when about 300 Ukrainian troops backed by more than 30 armored vehicles crossed from Ukraine into Russia's Kursk region. Yesterday, the top Russian military official briefed President Vladimir Putin, and the official spoke of 1,000 Ukrainian troops entering Russia.
Now, Russia is sending reinforcements to counter the Ukrainians, and the Russian official predicted the military would regain control of the border very soon. And Putin was taking this in. He was shown sitting at the head of a long table. And the look on his face seemed to be a mixture of impatience and disgust. He called the Ukrainian operation a large-scale provocation. The Ukrainians appear to be several miles inside Russia and have entered or taken over several small communities. The fighting seems to be ongoing, but we just don't have many details.
MARTÍNEZ: You mentioned that most of the information is coming from the Russian side. But Ukrainians are often very talkative about what they do with their military. Anything at all coming from Ukraine?
MYRE: The Ukrainians are trying to say as little as possible. However, I was able to sit down yesterday with one of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's closest advisers. His name is Mykhailo Podolyak. We met in a hotel conference room just outside the heavily fortified presidential compound. Now, Podolyak declined to provide any specifics on the operation. But in general terms, he seemed to provide the rationale for it, saying Ukraine needs to drive Russia away from border areas, where it's launching so many attacks. Here he is speaking through an interpreter.
MYKHAILO PODOLYAK: (Through interpreter) We have to push them back in some areas if we want to make those areas safe for us. And we are creating this buffer zone.
MARTÍNEZ: A buffer zone - is it realistic to think that Ukraine could actually hold a buffer zone on Russian territory?
MYRE: Yeah, that would be pretty remarkable. No one's been predicting that. But the Ukrainians found a weak spot on Russia's border and certainly caught the Russians by surprise. But we'll have to see how this plays out. Will the Ukrainian forces stay and fight, or will they try to slip back into Ukraine? Ukraine has far fewer troops in Russia, and some military analysts are questioning whether this incursion makes sense. They say Ukraine needs all the forces it can muster to defend its own territory.
MARTÍNEZ: So speaking of that, bring us up to date on the fighting inside Ukraine.
MYRE: The Ukrainian official, Mykhailo Podolyak, acknowledged Ukraine is having a very tough time in the eastern region, the Donbas. Russia has seized a number of small villages and is making incremental gains for the past few weeks. Now, Russia has two big advantages - one, the Russians send wave after wave of ground troops. Sometimes, they even attack on motorcycles, and they get mowed down by Ukrainian fire, but they just keep coming. And second, the Russians have far greater air power. Ukraine received its first batch of F-16 fighter jets just last week, but we're talking about 10 planes. And Ukraine says it needs many more before it can effectively counter Russia in the skies.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Greg Myre in Kyiv. Greg, thank you.
MYRE: Sure thing, A.
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