NPR's Michel Martin talks to Russian historian Sergey Radchenko about what happens to Russia's sphere of influence in the Middle East with Assad gone. KUOW is Seattle’s NPR news station.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Ukrainians will be experiencing yet another Christmas dealing with Russia's all-out assault. And this time of year is especially difficult for children. YURIY BOYECHKO ...

NPR's Michel Martin talks to Russian historian Sergey Radchenko about what happens to Russia's sphere of influence in the Middle East with Assad gone.

GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Michel. MARTIN: First, the U.S. carried out numerous ... those Syrians love the American military. MARTIN: So Iran and Russia were both big backers of Bashar al-Assad. What does this mean for them? MYRE: Well, this was really the ...