Putin’s Endgame: A Conversation With Fiona Hill

<p>Ending the war in Ukraine very much depends on how and when President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia allows it to end.</p><p>In an interview for his podcast “The Ezra Klein Show,” the opinion columnist Ezra Klein spoke with one of the world’s leading experts on Mr. Putin, Fiona Hill, a foreign policy adviser for three United States presidents.</p><p>Today, we run the discussion between Ms. Hill and Ezra Klein about how Mr. Putin is approaching this moment, and the right and wrong ways for the West to engage him. </p><p>Guest: Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution.</p><p>Have you lost a loved one during the pandemic? The Daily is working on a special episode memorializing those we have lost to the coronavirus. If you would like to share their name on the episode, please RECORD A VOICE MEMO and send it to us at <a href="mailto:thedaily@nytimes.com">thedaily@nytimes.com</a>. You can find more information and<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/03/podcasts/daily-memorial-covid.html"> specific instructions here</a>.</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Here’s a guide to the<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/russia-ukraine-nato-europe.html"> roots of the Ukraine war</a>.</li><li>About two-thirds of Ukraine’s population of 44 million people lived in cities before Russia’s invasion began. Now, many urban areas are in the cross hairs of war.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/ukraine-cities.html"> What cities is Russia targeting</a>?</li></ul><p>Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>