Russia Intensifies Attacks On Ukraine, Summer Travel Season, Wildfire Forecast
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Ukrainian officials say Russia launched its largest airstrike since the start of the conflict. Sunday's attack killed 12 people and happened only hours prior to a prisoner exchange. What's it mean for potential ceasefire talks? I'm Michelle Martin, that's A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News.

Memorial Day is considered the unofficial start of summer and the summer travel season. Millions will take to the roads and skies this holiday weekend, but a deadly air collision in D.C. in January and reports of air traffic control outages have raised safety concerns. What should you know before you go? And the summer wildfire season is here. Forecasts predict an above normal fire risk in some parts of the country. Yet cuts to the U.S. Forest Service makes fighting fires harder. Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day.

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Russia has launched massive drone and missile assaults on Ukrainian cities over the weekend. The attacks happened over the past three nights, even as the two countries carried out the largest prisoner exchange since Russia's full-scale invasion began more than three years ago. President Trump criticized the strikes while also repeating his claim that this war would have never started under his watch. Joining us to talk about all this is NPR's Joanna Kakissis, who's in Kiev. Good morning, Joanna. Good morning, Michelle.

So let's start with Russia's latest drone and missile strikes. What can you tell us? So Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities over the past three days, and these attacks have killed at least a dozen people, including children, and injured many more, and also destroyed homes. And so here in Kyiv, we consider ourselves lucky if, after all that, we are only sleep-deprived. Here's what woke me up last night.

That's the sound of Ukraine's air defenses shooting down drones buzzing over our neighborhood. Joanna, I've been hearing you report on these attacks just about every day, and they seem to be escalating. So why has Russia intensified its attacks in recent weeks?

So, Michelle, we don't really have a clear answer, but this all happened after the Trump administration brokered a 30-day ceasefire proposal in March. Ukraine agreed to it, but Russia refused unless the West stopped sending weapons to Ukraine. And now last month, Russian missiles hit near a playground in one Ukrainian city and the crowded downtown of another city, killing 53 civilians and all including several children. After this weekend's attacks, President Trump cruelly

criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin on social media, saying Putin had, quote, gone absolutely crazy. But Trump also slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and former President Biden and insisted they were also to blame for the war. So considering all this, have the diplomatic efforts to end the war made any headway at all?

In terms of ending the war, no. As I said, Russia has not even agreed to a ceasefire, even after talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul. A couple of weeks ago, the only breakthrough out of those talks was an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war from each country, an exchange which took place this weekend. And you were there for this latest prisoner exchange. Tell us about that. What kind of condition were the Ukrainians in?

So, Michelle, they all looked sickly and gaunt. Their clothes were just hanging off them. Their heads were shaved. We don't know yet what these soldiers endured in Russian captivity, but other Ukrainians imprisoned by Russia have described horrific conditions. They were starved, beaten, and tortured. And what was the scene as these soldiers came home?

Well, it was incredibly moving and also heartbreaking. Families were gathered in this leafy courtyard in northern Ukraine, waiting to see if their loved ones would be among the soldiers getting off these chartered buses. 18-year-old Milena Moroz held a photo of her father, who has been missing since February, and she broke down when we talked. I'm sure you've never been able to say, I love you, my daughter.

She's saying, I wish I had told them, I love you, Dad. So when the buses carrying the soldiers arrived, the families rushed to hug them as they walked out. One young soldier, Anton Kobylnik, told us he'd been in captivity for three years. He's saying, I won't really feel like I'm at home until I see my mom. We only saw a handful of these reunions. However, Michelle, most family members were left alone.

waiting in tears, including 18-year-old Milena Moroz. Her father is still missing. Oh, it's so tragic. That's NPR's Joanna Kakisic in Kiev. Joanna, thank you. You're welcome.

The summer travel season is underway, with millions of Americans on the move over the long holiday weekend. But there are also some big questions about the summer travel season, including whether the nation's fragile air traffic control system can handle the surge. NPR's Joel Rose covers transportation. So, Joel, what kind of numbers are we expecting from this Memorial Day weekend?

Big ones. The forecast from AAA is that we will see a record this holiday weekend with 45 million Americans traveling at least 50 miles from home. That is expected to break a record that has stood for 20 years. And it's mostly because of a record number of Americans driving this weekend. Drivers will find gas prices at their lowest levels on Memorial Day since 2021, according to GasBuddy.com.

Air travel is not quite expected to break the all-time record, but it is still forecast to be up about 12% compared to the levels before the COVID pandemic, according to AAA. So the demand for holiday travel this weekend is definitely there. You know, Joel, summer and airline travel go hand in hand. So what's the outlook for the skies? Airlines went into this year very optimistic about 2025, and they were expecting strong demand.

But a lot of things have happened to cut into that optimism. The forecasts for international travel have softened because of political tensions between the U.S. and other countries. There's a lot of concern the travel from Canada and Europe to the U.S. will be down this summer. Also, we have seen some very high-profile problems in the aviation system itself. You had the midair collision at Washington Reagan National Airport in January between a regional jet and a military helicopter.

And a few weeks later, there was a hard landing in Toronto where another regional jet flipped over on the runway. And in recent weeks, we have seen hundreds of flights canceled or delayed or diverted around Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, outside New York City, because of several radar and communication outages in the facility that manages that airspace. Also, there's a shortage of air traffic controllers in Newark and really across the whole country. And all of this is creating a lot of uncertainty around air travel this summer.

So speaking of Newark, what's new there? The FAA has now capped the number of flights in and out at Newark at a level that the agency says is more in line with what air traffic control can handle. The FAA says it's working to install new fiber optic lines and adding new backup systems to help with the technical problems in Newark.

The FAA says it's also trying to speed up hiring and training of new air traffic controllers. But, you know, the reality is that it takes years to train them to work in complex and congested airspace. And the system nationwide is more than 3,000 controllers short. So there's no quick fix there. So is Newark Airport ready for the summer travel season? I mean, what's going on? Federal regulators and aviation industry experts say it is safe to fly through Newark. And so does United Airlines. And this is a very big deal for United because...

Newark is a major hub. In particular, it is United's biggest international hub in the country. So United says it has seen some customers trying to avoid Newark, rebooking to other airports in the New York area and to other airlines.

But United says it's optimistic that these new limits on the number of flights should reduce delays this summer. Now, anything else travelers need to know about? This is the first Memorial Day since the real ID requirement took effect. Officially, that means you cannot just show up with a standard driver's license or state ID at airport security stations.

In practice, TSA is still allowing people without a real ID to travel, but they say you may experience delays and have to go through some additional screening if you don't have the updated real ID. Joel Rose covers transportation for NPR. Thanks, Joel. You're welcome.

The summer fire season has already kicked off with some significant fires in the Midwest and Arizona. The latest wildfire forecast from the federal government is predicting above normal fire potential in much of the West and some southeastern states. There's heightened concern this year because the Trump administration has been cutting staff at the U.S. Forest Service, the nation's lead wildland firefighting agency. Watching all of this closely is Ryan Heinshus, the news director at KNAU in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Arizona. So, Ryan, your station has been reporting on a pretty big fire there in Arizona already, which the U.S. Forest Service responded to. How's that going? Yeah, this was a big one. More than 20,000 acres in the rural White Mountains of eastern Arizona. At its height, more than 700 personnel were fighting it. And they pulled off what I think was a bit of a miracle by building miles of fire line in anticipation of heavy winds.

Fortunately, they were successful in keeping the fire from progressing toward local communities. All right. That's good. That's good news. Now, it sounds like concerns about the federal response might not kick in unless it's a busy summer for fires and lots of places are competing for personnel to fight them. What's the forecast there?

Well, forecasters say the Southwest, along with parts of southern Nevada, Utah and Colorado, are facing higher than normal potential for wildfire over the next month or so. You know, a lot of people in Rocky Mountain states, including us here in Flagstaff, are worried because it was a below average year for snowfall. And that can really create especially dry conditions.

Elevated fire danger is also predicted in parts of central and southern California, and will stretch up into eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle, along with parts of Texas and Oklahoma. Even some mid-Atlantic states, Minnesota and Florida, are facing possible wildfires. Yeah, living in Los Angeles, Ryan, I know that we are constantly in fire season. Doesn't matter what time of the year it is. Now, the Trump administration says there's nothing to worry about because the jobs that have been cut...

to the Forest Service were not to frontline firefighting staff, but a lot of people say it's not that simple. So what are you hearing?

Well, it really remains to be seen how layoffs will affect firefighting this season. And yes, it's true that frontline firefighters were spared from the Doge staffing cuts earlier this year, but an unknown number of Forest Service employees who do contribute to firefighting work were affected. Those with what are known as red cards, these are employees who don't typically work in fire, but can hop in if needed. They're especially important with wildfire starts

that are near communities to really beef up the firefighting staff. Full-time firefighters are still out there doing the hard work, of course, but there's a worry that the hotshot crews and others could ultimately be short-staffed. And when these big wildfires do pop up, the personnel just won't be there to adequately respond. Wow. All right. So what are you going to be watching for as this fire season unfolds?

We're going to see what the federal response is like. Of course, sources have been telling NPR that some of the people who either chose to leave or were fired from the Forest Service are among the most experienced in leading wildland firefighting crews. Some of those folks with the red cards I talked about.

Even though firefighting isn't their full-time job, they spend a lot of time doing it and are in leadership positions. That's Ryan Heinshus, the news director at KNAU in Flagstaff, Arizona. Ryan, thanks. Thank you, A. Thank you.

And that's Up First for Monday, May 26th. I'm Amy Martinez. And I'm Michelle Martin. Thanks for waking up with NPR. Your NPR station makes Up First possible each morning. Support their work and ours at donate.npr.org slash upfirst. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Rylan Barton, Catherine Laidlaw, H.J. Mai, and Mohamed El-Bardisi. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Lindsay Taddei. We get engineering support from Damian Herring, and our technical director is David Greenberg. Join us again tomorrow.

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