SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The United States and Ukraine now seem far apart after an Oval Office press conference President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukraine's President Zelenskyy turned contentious. Trump and Zelenskyy were going to sign an agreement for Ukraine's rare earth minerals. That signing was canceled or at least put on hold. Sergey Radchenko is a Cold War historian and professor at Johns Hopkins University. He has been watching reactions in Russia and joins us now from the U.K. Professor, thanks so much for being with us.
SERGEY RADCHENKO: Good morning, Scott.
SIMON: How is this blowup being reported in Russia?
RADCHENKO: Well, the Russians are gloating. There are - there - I'm sure champagne glasses clinking in the Kremlin because, of course, this sort of row that occurred in the White House is - you know, serves Russia's interests. And they are very happy. They're happy for two reasons. First, Zelenskyy has been humiliated, and they - you know, Putin wants to humiliate Zelenskyy. And secondly, this has created a transatlantic rift with the - with America's allies basically standing up for Zelenskyy. And, you know, that has created tensions. And the Russians are happy when they see that. They want the transatlantic relationship to fall apart.
SIMON: The relationship between the United States and Europe.
RADCHENKO: Exactly, exactly. So what we've had is we had European politicians coming to Zelenskyy's defense, as we have heard just recently on the program, including Kallas, the head of Europe's foreign policy, saying that, you know, the free world needs a new leader. Well, if that is the case, you know, the Russians are quite happy because they want to see those tensions. They want to see rifts in the relationship between Europe and the United States.
SIMON: I have to be very careful with this, but is there a feeling that the United States and certainly the Trump administration are now on Russia's side?
RADCHENKO: Well, there is a clear feeling to this effect because we've had Putin making very positive statements about Trump. Previously, he would say things like, our so-called partners, very sarcastically, saying that basically, you know, the Americans are working against Russia's interests, etc., etc., our so-called partners. But now he calls Trump and, you know, the Americans as our partners. And I think he's very serious about it. He thinks that he can deal with this administration. He thinks that he can probably divvy up spheres of influence and that Trump is basically ready to play along with him.
SIMON: What about the absence of a minerals deal? Is that considered good or bad news for Russia?
RADCHENKO: Well, there was a strange reaction from Russia about the minerals deal. I mean, the strangest thing was Putin himself trying to advertise mineral deals that Trump could sign with the Russians. He's been hoping for obviously sanctions lifted, and he's hoping that the Trump administration will lead on this. Sanctions have undermined Putin's ability to wage this war in Ukraine, so he's hoping to lift sanctions. And also he's inviting American businesses to come back to Russia to engage with the Russians to make money together. So he's - that's been his reaction.
SIMON: Professor Radchenko, can you help us understand - the way you see it - what the goals of the Putin regime are for Russia over the next few years?
RADCHENKO: Well, the goal is very clear. First goal is to control Ukraine politically, and, you know, that perhaps includes partitioning Ukraine, i.e., Putin will want to at least control - directly control the territories that he has formally annexed. Of course, the Russians are still fighting for those territories. They've annexed them, but the fighting continues. He does not actually control them. So he wants to claw his way to something like a victory there. And generally, he wants to control Ukraine politically in order to say, look, we have won in this war. And now you have to take Russia seriously.
You - I mean, Russia's neighbors, Russia's European neighbors, everybody will have to take notice, according to Putin. So that's one of his goals. The other is simply to return to, you know, stand tall and proud and to return to Europe on his terms, and to return to the world on his terms. He's been ousted from the councils of the wise, you know, from G8, and so he wants to reclaim that place.
SIMON: Does he want what's been called a greater Russia, a return to the old Soviet Union borders?
RADCHENKO: I don't know. I think that would be too simplistic that he wants to restore the Soviet Union, but he certainly wants to assert Russia's influence beyond its immediate borders and to create something what he calls the Russian world or recreate it.
SIMON: Sergey Radchenko is an expert on Russia and a professor at the Johns Hopkins University. Professor, thanks so much for joining us.
RADCHENKO: Thank you for having me, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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