MIKE: LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE
EVOLVING SITUATION ON THE GROUND
IN UKRAINE.
LET’S FIRST START WITH THE
HUMANITARIAN CRISIS.
TEN OR 11 DAYS AGO UKRAINIANS
WERE IN THEIR HOMES LIVING THEIR
LIVES, RAISING THEIR FAMILIES
AND NOW 10, 11 DAYS LATER, MORE
THAN A MILLION AND A HALF PEOPLE
HAVE FLED UKRAINE AND ARE NOW
REFUGEES AT NEIGHBORING
COUNTRIES.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF THEM GOING
TO POLAND AND POLAND HAS
WELCOMED THEM WITH OPEN ARMS,
SOME TO BELARUS, SOME TO
ESLOVAQUIA AND SOME TO HUNGARY
AND SOME TO ROMANIA AND SOME TO
MOLDOVA AND, THEN, OF COURSE,
THE OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES BUT
IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, A MILLION
AND A HALF IN 10 OR 11 DAYS, A
COUNTRY OF I THINK 46 MILLION OR
SO, IT MAKES YOU WANT TO WONDER
WHAT THE ULTIMATE NUMBER IS
GOING TO BE AND WHAT THE REFUGEE
CRISIS WILL BE IN A LOT OF THE
EUROPEAN NATIONS AND PERHAPS
ELSEWHERE AROUND THE WORLD.
LET’S GO TO MAP NUMBER 2 TO SHOW
YOU THE RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE IN
SOUTHERN UKRAINE.
SO A LOT OF FOCUS DOWN HERE TO
THE SOUTH AREAS WHERE THE
RUSSIANS HAVE BEEN, A BIG AREA
ODESA, VLADIMIR PUTIN THINKING
IF HE CONTROL IT IS BLACK SEA HE
ULTIMATELY CONTROLS MUCH OF
UKRAINE AND SO YOU SEE WHERE THE
RUSSIANS HAVE CONTROLLED, THEY
ARE BRANCHING OUT TO THE WEST,
TO THE NORTH AND TO THE EAST AS
THEY TRY TO EXPAND THEIR POWER
AND INFLUENCE.
THEY NOW CONTROL THE
ZAPORIZHZHIA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
AND PART IS CONTROLLING ENERGY
IN UKRAINE AND AS YOU SEE
RUSSIAN FORCES CONTINUE TO PUSH
WEST AND ULTIMATELY THEY WILL
PUSH NORTH TOWARD KYVI TO GO
FROM THE SOUTH AND THE NORTH AND
EAST AT KYIV.
THAT’S A LOOK AT WHERE THINGS
ARE AT THE MOMENT.
ENERGY, LET’S TALK ENERGY.
SO 54% OF UKRAINIAN ENERGY COMES
FROM NUCLEAR POWER.
SO THERE’S BEEN A LOT SAID ABOUT
WHAT THEY’VE BEEN DOING, THE
RUSSIANS IN TERMS OF GOING TO
THE VARIOUS NUCLEAR POWER
PLANTS.
YOU HAVE CHERNOBYL, THE BEST
KNOWN IN THE WORLD BECAUSE OF
THE DISASTER THERE YEARS AGO.
YOU’VE ALSO GOT THIS ONE,
NORTHWEST AND YOU HAVE THIS ONE
HERE, A LITTLE BIT SOUTH OF
THERE, THE BLACK SPECS ARE COAL
POWER PLANTS AND SO PUTIN
CLEARLY THINKING THAT IF HE
CONTROLS THE ENERGY SECTOR IN
UKRAINE, THEN ULTIMATELY HE WILL
HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF TAKING
THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.
OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF CONCERN WHEN
HE’S SHELLING AREAS NEAR NUCLEAR
POWER PLANTS AND RAISED GREAT
DEAL OF ALARM IN THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND LET
ME BRING GILLIAN AND BEN TO SEE
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS AND
THOUGHTS AS WE LOOK AT THE MAP
HERE AND LACK AT SOME SOME OF TH
AREAS OF FOCUS AT THIS POINT IN
THIS WAR.
GILLIAN: IT’S AMAZING, MIKE, WE
ARE STARTING TO HEAR TALES NOT
JUST OF RUSSIAN CITIZENS AND
UKRAINIAN CITIZENS TAKING UP
ARMS AGAINST THE RUSSIAN
MILITARY BUT WE ARE NOW STARTING
TO HEAR ABOUT PEOPLE FROM OTHER
EUROPEANS TRAVELING ACROSS
BORDER INSIDE TO GET INTO
UKRAINE TO JOIN THAT EFFORT.
MIKE: YEAH, I THINK THERE’S NO
QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
I THINK A LOT OF EUROPEANS HAVE
TAKEN THIS PERSONALLY SEEING A
BIG BULLY VLADIMIR PUTIN GOING
ACROSS THE BORDER INTO A COUNTRY
WHICH WAS LIVING VERY PEACEFULLY
MINDING ITS OWN BUSINESS, AGAIN,
RAISING THEIR FAMILIES AND
CONDUCTING THEIR BUSINESSES AND
NOW PUTIN IS BASICALLY BEING A
BULLY GOING IN AND SMASHING AND
DESTROYING A NEIGHBORING COUNTRY
AND I THINK A LOT OF EUROPEANS
ARE LOOKING AT THAT, ALARMED
ABOUT WHAT HIS ULTIMATE GOES
WILL BE BUT IMMEDIATELY
CONCERNED ABOUT HIM JUST GOING
ACROSS THE BORDER AT WILL AND
IMPOSING HIS WILL ON THE
UKRAINIAN FREE-LOVING PEOPLE.
BEN: YEAH, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT
THE FOREIGN FIGHTERS COMING TO
FIGHT HERE, FOREIGN MINISTER
SAID EARLIER TODAY THAT AT THIS
POINT 20,000 HAVE SO FAR COME
AND THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT
ACTUALLY SAID IT WILL NOT BE
ILLEGAL FOR FIGHTERS TO COME AND
JOIN THE FIGHT HERE WHICH IS A
PRETTY SIGNIFICANT MOVE ON THEIR
PART.
IF YOU LACK AT THE MAP, MIKE,
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STANDS
OUT TO ME HOW PUTIN FOCUSED ON
THE STRATEGIC KEY ELEMENTS HERE.
HE’S TAKEN -- WORKING ON TAKING
THE COAST AND BLACK SEA, KHARKIV
AND IF HE GETS KYIV ITSELF HE’S
IN A REALLY GOOD NEGOTIATING
POSITION.
PEOPLE LOOK AHEAD TO THE
OUTCOME.
NOBODY KNOW WHAT IS PUTIN IS
PLANNING HERE.
FULL OCCUPATION OR NOT, IF HE
CAN CONTROL STRATEGIC SITES HE
HAS A STRONGHOLD IN THE COUNTRY
AND HE DOESN’T HAVE TO GO THE
WHOLE WAY IF HE CAN CONTROL
THOSE SITES.
IT’S INTERESTING TO DO THAT AND
QUITE SUCCESSFULLY AND ONCE YOU
HE HOLDS THEM YOU EXPECT HIM TO
HOLD ON BEFORE PUSHING FURTHER.