FLICKER OF HOPE HERE FOR SOME
SORT OF NEGOTIATION THAN WE'VE
SEEN IN A WHILE.
>> ALL RIGHT.
JOINING US NOW CHIEF OF STAFF TO
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY
ANDRIY YERMAK.
WE'D LIKE TO START THERE.
WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THIS,
RUSSIA PLANNING TO RADICALLY REDUCE ACTIVITY AROUND KYIV, AND
REDUCE ACTIVITY AROUND KYIV, AND
CAN YOU ADD TO IT?
>> GOOD MORNING.
FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO SAY
THAT I HOPE THAT TODAY AMERICANS
WAKE UP THE SUN AND PEACEFUL
SKY, UNFORTUNATELY IT'S NOT
HAPPENED IN MY COUNTRY.
TONIGHT IT WAS NEAR OF THE MORNING IT WAS BOMBING OF THE --
MORNING IT WAS BOMBING OF THE --
OUR BEAUTIFUL CITY MYKOLALV.
IT RATTLED BUILDINGS.
YES, IT WAS A VERY TERRIBLE
PICTURE AND FOR THIS MOMENT WE
KNOW THAT SEVEN PERSONS KILLED
AND MORE THAN 20 PERSONS WAS
DAMAGED.
CONCERNING THE OPERATIONS ABOUT
THE SITUATION AROUND KYIV, YES,
WE LAST COUPLE OF THE DAYS HAVE
A VERY HARD FIGHTING OF OUR
ARMY, OF THE SMALL CITIES AROUND
KYIV, AND WE CAN SEE THAT OUR
PEOPLE, OUR SOLDIERS, OUR
HEROES, IT'S A LITTLE BIT GO
DOWN THE RUSSIAN TROOPS FROM
KYIV, BUT THE SITUATION IS STILL
VERY DIFFICULT AND WE CONTINUE
TO FIGHT AS WELL FOR OTHER
DIRECTIONS, BUT I CANNOT SAY ABOUT THE MOST DIFFICULT
ABOUT THE MOST DIFFICULT
SITUATION THAT NOW CONTINUES IN
MARIUPOL.
THEY CONTINUE THE FULL BLOCKAGE
OF THIS CITY.
VERY SLOWLY SOME PEOPLE THROUGH
THE DIFFICULT WORKING OF OUR
MILITARY, OUR NEGOTIATIONS
GROUP, TAKE THE POSSIBILITY THAT
THE PEOPLE CAN GO OUT FROM THE
CITY, WHICH STILL IN VERY BAD
SITUATION.
THEY HAVE NO FOOD, THEY HAVE NO
WATER AND IT'S HAPPENED IN OUR
TIME, IT'S HAPPENED PRACTICALLY
NOW THAT IN THE CENTER OF EUROPE
HAVING THIS TERRIBLE WAR AND
HAVING THIS ABSOLUTELY MILITARY
CRIME OF RUSSIA.
>> WE'RE TALKING WITH THE CHIEF
OF STAFF TO PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY,
ANDRIY YERMAK.
SIR, I'D LIKE TO ASK YOU WHAT AT
THIS MOMENT DOES UKRAINE NEED
FROM THE WEST AND HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO WHAT YOU ARE GETTING?
COMPARE TO WHAT YOU ARE GETTING?
SNOO>> YOU KNOW, THAT, FIRST OF
I CAN SAY THAT A FRIEND IN NEED
IS A FRIEND INDEED AND WE ARE
ABSOLUTELY GRATEFUL FOR UNITED
STATES FOR THE SUPPORT WHICH YOU
WILL PROVIDE FOR US.
THIS IS POLITICAL AND ECONOMICAL
AND MILITARY TECHNICAL.
NO OTHER NATION HAS HELPED US
THIS MUCH SO FAR.
AT THE SAME TIME WE NEED MORE.
WE NEED MORE TO WIN THIS WAR.
THEY BARRAGED OUR CITIES WITH
ROCKETS AND MISSILES SEVERAL
TIMES OF THE DAY, EVERY DAY.
WE NEED THE FIGHTER JETS AND
LONG RANGE MISSILES TO CLOSE OUR
SKY.
WE NEED HEAVY WEAPONS.
LONG RANGE ARTILLERY SYSTEMS AND
MULTILAUNCH ROCKET SYSTEMS,
MLRS.
WE NEED ANTI-SHIP MISSILES, WE
NEED KILLER DRONES.
WE NEED THEM AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE.
WE ARE ASKING FOR WEEKS.
IN THE MEANTIME OUR PEOPLE HAVE
BEEN DYING BY THOUSANDS.
HOW MANY MORE DEATHS SHOULD BE
ENOUGH TO MAKE THE LAND LEASE
WAR?
IT'S NECESSARY.
IF SOMEBODY KNOWS IT'S NECESSARY
TO TELL US HOW MANY NUMBERS,
10,000, 100,000? HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE HAVE TO
HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE HAVE TO
LOSE THEIR HOUSES, HOMES AND RUN
TO LEAVE.
THEY ARE MILLIONS OF REFUGEES
ALREADY WE HAVE DURING THIS WAR.
IS IT NOT ENOUGH?
THE WEAPONS ARE GOOD TO STOP THE
RUSSIAN TROOPS BUT IT'S NOT
ENOUGH TO BREAK MOSCOW'S
AGGRESSIVE AMBITIONS, NOT ENOUGH
TO STOP THIS WAR.
THE ONLY WAY TO DO IT IS TO
PUNISH THE RUSSIA'S ECONOMY.
IT'S WHY, OF COURSE, IT'S VERY
IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE ALL THE
SANCTIONS.
IT'S NECESSARY THAT NEW
SANCTIONS WILL BE ISSUED EVERY
WEEK AND MAYBE TWO TIMES, THREE
TIMES IN A WEEK BECAUSE IF THIS
WAR IS NOT STOPPING, IT MEANS
THAT IT'S NOT ENOUGH THESE
SANCTIONS.
WE ARE WORKING VERY CLOSELY AND
SHARE OUR OPINION AND WE
APPRECIATE THAT OUR PARTNERS
LISTEN TO US, BUT ONCE AGAIN,
EVERY DAY, EVERY HOUR DIES OUR
PEOPLE, DIES, KILLED OUR
CHILDREN, BOMBING PRACTICALLY
NONSTOP ON OUR CITIES, SOME OF
THEM IT'S PRACTICALLY DESTROYED.
THIS WAR, WHICH VERY SIMILAR AS
HAPPENED IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR
AND VERY SIMILAR WE SAW HOW
NAZIS, FASCISTS IN TERRITORY OF
EUROPE, IT'S HAPPENED IN THIS
DAY.
IT'S NECESSARY TO STOP.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO STOP.
BUT YOU CAN SEE AND ALL THE
WORLD SEES HOW UKRAINIAN, OUR
BRAVE NATION, IS FIGHTING MORE
THAN ONE MONTH AND WE WILL BE
FIGHTING UNTIL OUR VICTORY.
BUT I'M ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT
VICTORY OF UKRAINE WILL BE
VICTORY OF UNITED STATES, IT
WILL BE VICTORY OF ALL FREE
WORLD.
>> YES.
MR. YERMAK, LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT
MARIUPOL.
WE'VE SPOKEN ABOUT THE BATTLES
AROUND KYIV, WE'VE SPOKEN ABOUT
HOW UKRAINIAN FORCES HAVE
BRAVELY PUSHED BACK RUSSIAN
FORCES AND ARE LAUNCHING
COUNTER-OFFENSES, NOW, OF
COURSE, THE RUSSIANS TRYING TO
CONSOLIDATE THE SOUTH AND
CONTINUE THEIR INHUMANE
BOMBARDMENT OF MARIUPOL.
WHAT DO YOU NEED SPECIFICALLY
FOR MARIUPOL AND TALK ABOUT HOW
THAT CITY IS ON THE EDGE NOW.
HOW CLOSE IS THAT CITY TO
FALLING INTO RUSSIAN HANDS
WITHOUT THE RIGHT KIND OF HELP?
SNOO>> THE SITUATION IN MARIUPOL
TERRIBLE.
IT'S STILL TERRIBLE.
ONE OF THE RESULTS WHICH WE
EXPECT FROM TODAY'S NEGOTIATION
IN ISTANBUL IS THE POSSIBILITY
THAT HUMANITARIAN CORRIDORS WILL
BE OPEN AND WE GET THE
OPPORTUNITY TO BRING THE FOOD
AND WATER FOR THE PEOPLE WHO
STAYED BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE
WANT TO GO FROM THE CITY, FOR
THEM IT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE THAT
RUSSIAN SOLDIERS WILL BE
OCCUPIED THIS CITY IN THE AZOV
SEA.
IT MEANS THAT THESE PEOPLE
DECIDED TO DIED BUT NOT LEAVE
THE CITY BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S
NOW MARIUPOL IT'S A SYMBOL, IT'S
A SYMBOL OF THE FIGHTING OF OUR
SOLDIERS, OF OUR HEROES AND FOR
OUR CIVILIAN PEOPLE.
IT MEANS THAT FOR US IT'S VERY
IMPORTANT TO HELP.
AND, OF COURSE, IT'S ONE OF THE
MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS WHICH EVERY
DAY AND COUPLE OF TIMES OF DAYS
DISCUSSED IN SOME MEETINGS WITH
THE PRESIDENT, WITH OUR
MILITARY, OUR GOVERNMENTS, HOW
TO HELP TO SURVIVE THE PEOPLE IN
MARIUPOL.
AND, OF COURSE, IF TODAY --
BECAUSE JUST NOW I RECEIVED
INFORMATION A COUPLE OF MINUTES
AGO THEY FINISHED THE
NEGOTIATION IN ISTANBUL.
WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO
LISTEN SOME BRIEFINGS OF OUR
DELEGATION, BUT IMMEDIATELY
AFTER OUR CONVERSATION I WILL
HAVE THE TALKING WITH OUR PEOPLE
FROM ISTANBUL AND RECEIVE THE
FULL INFORMATION.
IF WE DECIDED AND THEN WE CAN
OPEN THIS HUMANITARIAN CORRIDOR
TO MARIUPOL, BECAUSE ONCE AGAIN,
IT'S CATASTROPHIC.
I CAN SAY THAT RUSSIANS MAKE IN
MARIUPOL THE SAME WHICH HAPPENED
PRACTICALLY THE SAME WHICH
HAPPENED DURING THE SECOND WAR
IN THE BLOCKADE OF LENINGRAD
WHICH IS NOW CALLED ST.
PETERSBURG.
>> MR. YERMAK, THANK YOU FOR
BEING WITH US THIS MORNING.
THERE IS A REPORT IN TODAY'S
"WALL STREET JOURNAL" THAT TWO
OF YOUR UKRAINIAN NEGOTIATORS
ALONG WITH RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE
ABROMOVICH WERE SUSPECTED TO
HAVE BEEN POISONED DURING PEACE
TALKS IN KYIV A COUPLE WEEKS
AGO.
CAN YOU CONFIRM WHETHER THAT
ACTUALLY HAPPENED?
>> YOU KNOW, ME AS YOU READ
ABOUT THIS NEWS IN SOME MEDIA, I
KNOW THAT ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE
DELEGATIONS FROM UKRAINE WHICH
MENTIONED IN THIS INFORMATION
IT'S RIGHT, THEY PARTICIPATED IN
NEGOTIATIONS AND IT'S NOT ANY
MOMENT JUST TO THINK THAT IT CAN
BE HAPPENED.
THE SAME I SEE TODAY AMONG THE
RUSSIAN DELEGATIONS I SEE MR.
ABRAMOVICH, HE LOOKS HEALTHY.
THIS IS MY ANSWER.
>> OKAY.
SO YOU DON'T HAVE ANY DEFINITIVE
INFORMATION ABOUT WHETHER YOUR
UKRAINIAN DELEGATES IN THAT
PEACE TALK WERE POISONED AT THIS
HOUR?
>> YOU KNOW, THAT THE WAR TODAY,
THE CURRENT WAR IN THE WORLD,
IT'S NOT JUST MILITARY, IT'S WAR
OF THE INFORMATION.
IT MEANS THAT WE ARE UP
PRACTICALLY EVERY DAY ON THE
INFORMATIONAL ATTACKS FROM THE
SIDE OF RUSSIA.
IT MEANS IT'S NECESSARY FOR THE
VIEWERS, FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE
WORLD VERY CAREFULLY CHECK ALL
INFORMATION WHICH SOMETIMES
APPEARS BECAUSE A LOT OF FAKES,
A LOT OF ABSOLUTELY PREPARED AND
ESPECIALLY PREPARED
INFORMATIONAL ATTACK BECAUSE
RUSSIA WANTED AND CAN'T SEE HOW
UNITED UKRAINIAN SOCIETY, HOW
UKRAINIANS UNITED AROUND THE
PRESIDENT, HOW UKRAINIANS TODAY
TOGETHER WE FOR ALL OF OUR
FUTURE HISTORY FORGET ABOUT EAST
AND WEST, NOW ALL UKRAINIANS
STICK TOGETHER AND WE SHOW TO
ALL THE WORLD HOW IT'S POSSIBLE
TO FIGHT FOR OUR LAND, FOR OUR
COUNTRY.
AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT.
>> MR. YERMAK, GIVEN WHAT'S
HAPPENED IN YOUR COUNTRY OVER
THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, BUT
ESPECIALLY OVER THE PAST MONTH,
IF A MEETING WERE POSSIBLE TO BE
HELD BETWEEN PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY
AND PRESIDENT PUTIN, MY QUESTION
TO YOU AND THUS TO PRESIDENT
ZELENSKYY IS WHY WOULD YOU BELIEVE ANYTHING THAT VLADIMIR
BELIEVE ANYTHING THAT VLADIMIR
PUTIN SAID?
>> YOU KNOW, I CAN SAY THAT ALL
THE TIME THAT PRESIDENT
ZELENSKYY OCCUPIED THE POSITION
OF THE PRESIDENT, AND IT WAS IN
HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
PROGRAMS HE ALWAYS SAID MY GOAL
IS TO STOP THE WAR IN UKRAINE
AND BACK ALL OUR TERRITORIES AND
ALL OUR PEOPLE.
IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE BELIEVE
SOMEBODY OR NOT BELIEVE.
WE WILL DO AND CONTINUE TO DO
OUR BEST THAT IT'S IN THAT TIME
STOPPING THE WAR JUST IN DONBAS,
NOW WE ARE STOPPING THIS BIG
AGGRESSION TO ALTHERR TORE OF
UKRAINE, BUT THE GOAL IS THE
SAME, WE WANT TO LIVE IN THE
PEACEFUL UKRAINE.
WE WANT TO BACK OUR TERRITORY.
IT'S OUR PRINCIPLE, IT'S OUR
PHILOSOPHY.
WE NEVER GO FOR ANY COMPROMISE
CONCERNING OUR INDEPENDENCE,
CONCERNING OUR SOVEREIGNTY AND
TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY.
AND IT'S NOT A QUESTION OF THE
BELIEF.
SOMETIMES YOU NEED -- YOU HAVE
TO NEGOTIATE THIS WORLD
POLITICS, WHO IS YOUR NEIGHBORS.
YOU HAVE TO NEGOTIATE THE PEOPLE
TO WHOM YOU MAY -- NOT BE TRUST
FOR, BUT IT'S NECESSARY TO DO
BECAUSE YOU DO ALL THE BEST FOR
YOUR COUNTRY.
I NOT AGREE THAT ZELENSKYY HOW
YOU ASK TO BELIEVE.
HE DO HIS JOB AND CONTINUE TO DO
THE JOB AND DO THE BEST FOR OUR
COUNTRY, AND WE ARE NOT STOPPING
UNTIL WE ARE REALLY BRING TO OUR
LAND A PEACE AND TO BACK ALL OUR
TERRITORIES AND BACK ALL OUR
PEOPLE.
>> ANDRIY YERMAK, CHIEF OF STAFF
TO UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT
ZELENSKYY.
WE THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US
AND WE CERTAINLY THANK YOU AND
CERTAINLY I UNDERSTAND AND
BELIEVE AND I THINK ALL OF US DO
THAT YOU ARE NOT ONLY FIGHTING
FOR YOUR NATION, YOU'RE FIGHTING
FOR YOUR CONTINENT OF EUROPE,
YOU'RE FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM IN
THE WEST.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH
US.
WE GREATLY APPRECIATE IT.
>> THANK YOU.
THANK YOU.