WILL SEE IT.
EVERYONE WILL FEEL THAT PEACE
IS COMING, AND QUOTE.
JOINING US NOW FROM LVIV IS A
CORRESPONDENT AT LARGE FOR THE
WASHINGTON POST.
IN HIS LATEST REPORTING TO TALK
TO UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS IN A TOWN
NEAR KYIV AS THEY TRY TO PUSH
THE RUSSIANS OUT.
GOOD TO SEE, YOU THANK YOU FOR
MAKING TIME TO BE HERE TONIGHT
AND I WANT TO TALK FIRST
TONIGHT ABOUT WHAT I SAID FOR
US AT THE TOP OF THE, SHOW
REPORTS OF TWO UKRAINIAN
MILITARY HELICOPTERS STRIKING A
RUSSIAN OIL DEPOT.
DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THAT BIG OF
A DEAL GIVEN HOW MANY ATTACKS
THERE HAVE BEEN IN UKRAINE, BUT
IT REALLY IS.
>> IT IS A HUGE DEAL.
NO ONE EXPECTED THIS TO HAPPEN
AT ALL AND THROUGHOUT THIS SIX
WEEKS THE UKRAINIANS HAVE
BASICALLY DONE A LOT OF
DEFENSIVE ACTION AND IN THE
PAST WEEK OR SO THEY STARTED
MOUNTING COUNTER OFFENSIVES, ON
SPECIFIC TARGETS, IN AND AROUND
KYIV.
VERY SMALL AND LOCAL COUNTER
OFFENSIVES.
SO, THE FACT THAT THEY WENT
ACROSS THE BORDER TO KNOCK OUT
THIS OIL DEPOT WITH TWO
HELICOPTERS, IT'S EXTREMELY
SIGNIFICANT FOR SEVERAL
REASONS.
CHIEF AMONG THEM IS THAT, FIRST
OF, ALL IT SHOWS THAT
UKRAINIANS HAVE THE CAPABILITY
TO GO ACROSS AND DO SOMETHING
LIKE THIS.
AND TAKE THE BATTLE INTO
RUSSIAN SOIL.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT ALSO
CHALLENGES RUSSIA'S NARRATIVE
OF THE WAR.
FIERCELY CHALLENGES IT.
THE RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA MACHINE
HAS TOLD THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE AND
THE WORLD THAT, BASICALLY, THEY
ARE IN CONTROL.
THAT THEY HAVE DESTROYED THE
UKRAINIAN AIR FORCES AND THE
AIR BASES.
AND SO THIS ATTACK LITERALLY
SHOWS THAT THE RUSSIANS WERE
WRONG AND THAT THEY DON'T HAVE
THE WAR UNDER CONTROL.
AND THAT UKRAINIANS WILL HAVE
THE CAPABILITY, THE AIR
CAPABILITY, OF DOING SUCH A
MASSIVE HIT.
>> SUDARSAN, YOU REPORTED THIS
WEEK FROM A TOWN NEAR KYIV
WHERE UKRAINIAN FORCES WERE
ENGAGED IN PUSHING THE RUSSIANS
BACK.
I WANT TO PLAY A LITTLE BIT OF
THE VIDEO THAT ACCOMPANIED YOUR
STORY.
THIS IS OF A UKRAINIAN SOLDIER
WHO COMES ACROSS A BACK BACK
ABANDONED BY A RUSSIAN SOLDIER.
>> OH!
HE FORGOT HIS MO WHEN HE WAS RUNNING.
RUNNING.
purchases on your
THAT IS NOT VERY USEFUL.
LOOK!
A MACHINE GUN.
YES, HE WAS A MACHINE GUNNER.
YOU SEE?
I'M JUST LOOKING FOR SOMETHING
USEFUL.
BECAUSE THAT IS HOW WAR LOOKS.
THAT IS USEFUL.
>> GIVE US A SENSE, SUDARSAN,
OF WHAT THAT WAS ABOUT AND HOW
THOSE UKRAINIAN TROOPS YOU
ENCOUNTERED ARE FEELING ABOUT
THIS WAR.
>> RIGHT.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS VIDEO,
YOU CAN SEE THE CONFIDENCE HE
WAS FEELING.
HE WAS EXTREMELY CALM.
HE PICKED UP HIS BACKPACK AND
WAS LOOKING FOR THINGS OF USE.
AND YOU CAN REALLY SEE IT.
NOW THAT EVENT, IN THAT TOWN,
THERE WAS SHELLING GOING ON
INCESSANTLY.
SO, THE RUSSIANS WERE ONLY
ABOUT TWO MILES AWAY AND THEY
WERE SHELLING US AND THERE WAS
A CHANCE TO RETURN THE FIRE.
AND THE VERY NEXT DAY TO WHEN
ONE OF OUR PHOTOGRAPHERS WENT,
THERE HIM THERE WAS ALSO
SHELLING THERE ON WEDNESDAY.
BETWEEN THURSDAY AND FRIDAY,
THE RUSSIANS ARE PART OF THE
AIRPORT.
THAT TOWN, BY THE WAY, IS ONLY
FIVE MILES AWAY FROM THE
AIRPORT.
AND YOU TALKED ABOUT IT AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE PROGRAM, THE
AIRPORT THAT THE RUSSIANS
WANTED TO USE TO TRY AND
CAPTURE THE CAPITAL OF KYIV.
SO, IN THIS TOWN, THE SOLDIERS
WERE EXTREMELY CONFIDENT IN
JUST A WEEK EARLIER THEY
MANAGED TO PUT THE PUSH THE
RUSSIANS OUT OF THE VILLAGE.
THERE WAS ALSO SORTS OF
GUERRILLA TACTICS.
THEY EVEN DESTROYED A DAM, THEY
TOLD ME, NEARBY, WHICH ALLOWED
THE RIVER THAT FORMED BY THE
VILLAGE TO FLOOD UP.
THAT PREVENTED RUSSIANS FORCES
FROM BRINGING REINFORCEMENT AND
FROM RESUPPLY AND OUR SOLDIERS
INSIDE THE VILLAGE.
AND THEY HAD TO LITERALLY
PUSHBACK AND CROSSED THE
FLOODED RIVER TO GET AWAY FROM
THE UKRAINIAN FORCES.
SO, YEAH, IT WAS A SIGNIFICANT
VICTORY FOR THE UKRAINIANS.
BUT I THINK AT THAT MOMENT, NO,
ONE NOT A SINGLE SOLDIER FROM
EARLY IN THE WEEK HAD EXPECTED
THAT THE RUSSIANS WOULD SIMPLY