UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT MAY NOT BE
WILLING TO ACCEDE TO.
RICHARD, THANKS SO MUCH.
>>> JOE AND MIKA, THE CONVOY WE
HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT FOR MORE
THAN A WEEK STILL SITS SOMEWHERE
OUTSIDE OF KYIV.
AS RICH AROUNDARD JUST SAID, THE RUSSIAN MILITARY IS STRUGGLING
RUSSIAN MILITARY IS STRUGGLING
TO TAKE WHAT AMOUNTS TO A SUBURB
OUTSIDE OF KYIV, AND SO FAR THE
UKRAINIANS ARE HOLDING UP.
>> AS MOST MILITARY EXPERTS HAVE
BEEN SAYING FOR SOME TIME, IT IS
ONE THING TO FIGHT THE
UKRAINIANS IN OPEN FIELDS IN
LESS DENSELY POPULATED SPACES.
IT IS QUITE ANOTHER TO ENGAGE IN
URBAN WARFARE WITH THEM WHERE
THE UKRAINIANS WOULD HAVE THE
ADVANTAGE.
WE HAVE SEEN CITY STREETS WHILE
THEY'VE BEEN TRYING TO MARCH
TOWARD KYIV THAT HAVE BEEN
REDUCED, IF YOU LOOK AT THE
STREETS, THE RUSSIAN TANKS AND
THE VEHICLES HAVE JUST BEEN
REDUCED BY ASHES BECAUSE THEY'RE
JUST EASY TARGETS FOR THESE
UKRAINIANS.
THEY'RE EASY TARGETS EVEN OUT IN
THE COUNTRY.
WE HAVE FUEL SUPPLY CONVOYS
BEING CAUGHT YESTERDAY AND BLOWN
TO PIECES AND TRAPPED.
YOU HAVE RUSSIANS THAT ARE NOW
ESCAPING THOSE CONVOYS BECAUSE
THEY KNOW THEY'RE SITTING DUCKS.
SO WE HAVE, AS YOU ARE LOOKING
AT THESE TERRIBLE IMAGES, WE
HAVE QUITE A FEW THINGS GOING AT
THE SAME TIME.
YOU DO, OF COURSE, HAVE A
HUMANITARIAN CRISIS THAT
CONTINUES TO EXPAND, WELL OVER 2
MILLION PEOPLE ARE FLEEING
UKRAINE AND GOING WEST.
YOU ALSO THOUGH DO HAVE THE
SECOND STORY OF RUSSIAN TROOPS
ARE STALLED.
THERE WAS AN EXTENSIVE PENTAGON
BRIEFING YESTERDAY.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS WITH THE WARNING
THAT THIS COULD CHANGE AT ANY
TIME, BUT AT LEAST AS OF
YESTERDAY WHAT WE'VE SAID AND
WHAT IS PENTAGON HAS SAID IS
THAT RUSSIAN TROOPS HAVE
STALLED.RDAY GET KILLED IN
COMBAT, TWO COLONELS GETTING
KILLED IN COMBAT, HIGH-RANKING
COLONELS.
>> DEFINITELY NOT WHAT THEY WERE
EXPECTING.
>> NOT WHAT THEY WERE EXPECTING
AT ALL.
OF COURSE, WE TALKED ABOUT WHEN
THE OLIGARCHS IN GENERAL WILL
START RESPONDING.
THIS EARLY IN THE WAR WHEN YOU
ALREADY HAVE TWO GENERALS THAT
HAVE BEEN KILLED IN A WAR THAT
WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A MOP-UP
OPERATION, AND HEAVEN KNOWS HOW
MANY RUSSIAN SOLDIERS HAVE BEEN
KILLED, PERHAPS 3,000, PERHAPS
5,000, PERHAPS 10,000.
IT IS HARD TO SAY RIGHT NOW.
YOU HAVE ARMS POURING IN AND
ALSO, ED LUCE, A BRIT WOULD
UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF
THIS, ZELENSKYY VERY MUCH STILL
ALIVE.
CHURCHILLIAN.
I WILL SAY IT FITS HIM BETTER
THAN ANYBODY ELSE SINCE
CHURCHILL HIMSELF.
HERE HE HAVE THIS FIGURE WHO HAS
BEEN HIDING UNDERGROUND OVER THE
PAST SEVERAL WEEKS, COMING
UPSTAIRS, WALKING INTO HIS
PRESIDENTIAL OFFICES AND SAYING,
"I AM VERY MUCH HERE," HE GAVE
HIS ADDRESS, WE ARE NOT AFRAID,
WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT, WE
ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
>> OVER A SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT,
IT IS QUITE A COMBINATION.
NOT ONLY POPPING UP EVERYWHERE
BUT ACTUALLY SAYING WHERE HE IS.
BANKOVER STREET, HIS OFFICE IS.
I AM NOT AFRAID.
YOU KNOW WHERE I AM.
I AM NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
MY FAMILY ARE HERE.
WE ARE NOT MOVING UNTIL WE'VE
WON THIS WAR.
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SORT OF
OVERSTATE THE MORALE BOOSTING,
THE MORALE STARING EFFECT OF
THIS ON THE UKRAINIAN POPULATION
AND ON THE UKRAINIAN RESISTANCE,
WHILST YOU HAVE A LEADER ALIVE
WHO IS SAYING THIS RUSSIA CANNOT
POSSIBLY HOPE TO SUBDUE THE
UKRAINIAN POPULATION.
SO MY GREAT FEAR IS THEY WANT TO
GET HIM.
AND SO WHEN HE SAYS, "YOU KNOW
WHERE I AM, I'M NOT MOVING, I AM
NOT AFRAID," THAT IS DEEPLY
ADMIRABLE.
IT IS ALSO A RISK.
>> RIGHT.
AND, AGAIN, EXPLAINING THE
IMPORTANCE OF ONE SIDE BEING SO
BOUGHT IN TO A WAR OF LIBERATION
AGAINST ANOTHER SIDE THAT DID
NOT EVEN KNOW THAT THEY WERE
GOING INTO COMBAT, THAT MOST
THOUGHT WERE JUST GOING TO
EXERCISES, CAN'T BE OVERSTATED.
AGAIN, GOING BACK TO THE BATTLE
OF BRITAIN, EVEN IN THE WORST
MOMENTS PUBLIC OPINION POLLS
SHOWED ONLY 3% OF BRITAINS
THOUGHT THAT THEY -- IT WAS
POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO LOSE THE
WAR.
YOU TALK TO UKRAINIANS NOW, IT
IS THE SAME THING.
INNINGS ARE BLEAK, THINGS ARE
TERRIBLE, BUT, RICHARD ENGEL AND
SO MANY OTHERS THAT REPORT FROM
THERE SAY THE UKRAINIANS DON'T
EVEN -- AREN'T EVEN MAKING IT A
POSSIBILITY IN THEIR MIND THAT
THE RUSSIANS WILL EVER DEFEAT
THIS COUNTRY.
>> I THINK THEY UNDERSTAND
ASYMMETRIC WARFARE IN A WAY
MAYBE GREAT POWERS DON'T, THEY
KEEP FORGETTING.
>> CAN I ASK YOU THAT QUESTION?
>> YEAH.
>> BECAUSE BEFORE THEY WENT IN,
I ASKED THE QUESTION, WHY WOULD
VLADIMIR PUTIN AFTER SEEING HIS
OWN COUNTRY CHASED OUT OF
AFGHANISTAN SO MANY YEARS AGO
AND AFTER SEEING THE UNITED
STATES, THE COUNTRY HE HATES THE
MOST, BEING CHASED OUT OF
AFGHANISTAN IN THE HUMILIATING
WAY, WHY WOULD HE THEN IN A FEW
MONTHS LATER PLACE HIMSELF IN
THE SAME POSITION WHERE HE'S
GOING TO BE IN A COUNTRY HE'S
NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO SUBDUE?
42 MILLION PEOPLE.
HE'S NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO
SUBDUE IT.
SUPPLY ROUTES JUST RIGHT ACROSS
THE BORDER FROM POLAND OR
ROMANIA OR OTHER COUNTRIES, HE
HAS SET HIMSELF UP FOR A
MISERABLE FAILURE, AND, AGAIN,
RIGHT AFTER THE UNITED STATES --
THE FOLKS THAT HAD BEEN ON THE
U.S., NOW THE WHOLE WORLD
LOOKING AT RUSSIA.
HE HAS MADE HIM NOT ONLY ONE OF
THE MOST HATED MEN IN THE WORD,
BUT HE'S ALSO MADE HIMSELF, IF
YOU LOOK AT "THE NEW YORK TIMES"
YESTERDAY, A MAN WHOSE MILITARY
IS NO LONGER FEARED BY EUROPEAN
POWERS THAT HAVE SPENT THE LAST
20 YEARS FEARING IT.
>> IT IS A BRILLIANT QUESTION,
AND I THINK THE ONLY ANSWER CAN
BE THAT HE HAD BAD INFORMATION
ABOUT UKRAINE.
I MEAN, REMEMBER, THIS IS A
PERSON WHO IS VERY, VERY SCARY,
WHO DOESN'T JUST FIRE PEOPLE, HE
POISONS THEM.
WE HAVE TRANSCRIPTS OF SOME OF
THE RUSSIAN DEMONSTRATORS, BY
THE WAY, TRANSLATED, LEAKED AND
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH.
THERE IS TORTURE GOING ON OF
PEOPLE WHO HAVE PEACEFULLY
PROTESTED IN RUSSIA, SO HE IS A
SCARY GUY.
PEOPLE TELL HIM WHAT HE WANTS TO
HEAR.
HIS CIRCLE HAS GOT EVER
NARROWER, AND I SUSPECT WHAT
THEY TOLD HIM -- AND IT IS WHAT,
BY THE WAY, WHAT THE PATRIARCH
OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
SAID IN HIS SERMON YESTERDAY.
THEY TOLD HIM -- HE SAID,
UKRAINE IS THE PRODIGAL SON.
WE'RE WELCOMING BACK THE
PRODIGAL SON INTO THE FOLD.
>> WOW.
>> THAT'S THE MESSAGE THAT PUTIN
WAS RECEIVING.
THESE PEOPLE DON'T HAVE A
NATIONAL IDENTITY, THAT'S A
BUNCH OF BS, WE KNOW THAT
THEY'RE RUSSIANS, THEY ARE
SLAUFIC BROTHERSSLAUF
SLAVIC BROTHERS AND THEY WILL
NOT RESIST.
HE HAS GONE INTO ANOTHER
AFGHANISTAN BECAUSE PEOPLE WON'T
TELL HIM THE TRUTH, OR MAYBE HIS
INTELLIGENCE IS SO SKEWED THEY
DIDN'T FIGURE IT OUT.
>> ONE THING IS OBVIOUS FROM
HERE.
THAT GRAND MILITARY BUILDUP THAT
HE INVESTED ALL OF THAT MONEY IS
WAS SIPHONED OFF BY MANY
MILITARY CONTRACTOR AND THE
YACHTS AND IN THE HOUSES.
YOU CAN LOOK AT THE MILITARY AND
SEE HOW BAD IT IS AND UNDERSTAND
THAT THERE WAS NO QUALITY
CONTROL.
YESTERDAY, THIS WAS A UNIT AFTER
A GENERAL GOT KILLED WHERE THEY
WERE HAVING TO BORROW SIM CARDS
FROM UKRAINIANS, HAVING THEIR
INFORMATION INTERCEPTED.
THEY'RE USING COMMERCIAL GPS
DEVICES IN AIRPLANES.
THEY'RE USING SPARE PARTS IN
THEIR JETS FROM AMERICAN
COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT.
TOTALLY NOT SECURE.
YOU WOULD BE COURT-MARTIALED IN
THE UNITED STATES IF YOU DID
SUCH A THING.
IT APPEARS TO BE A THIRD-RATE
ARMY THAT CAN'T FIGHT OTHER
ARMIES, THAT CAN ONLY KILL
PEOPLE WHETHER IT IS IN GROZNY
OR IN KYIV.
>> THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF
CORRUPTION, A LOT OF HOLLOWING
OUT.
ONE THING WE SHOULD BE VERY,
VERY WARY OF AND AWARE OF IS
THAT IN THESE MILITARY REFORMS
RUSSIA HAS BEEN UNDERTAKING IN
THE LAST FEW YEARS THEY'VE
INCORPORATED TACTICAL
BATTLEFIELD NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
THEY'VE INTEGRATED THAT INTO
THEIR MILITARY DOCTRINE.
THESE ARE LOWER YIELD, NUCLEAR
WEAPONS THAT CAN BE USED IN THE
BATTLEFIELD QUITE EARLY ON INTO
CONVENTIONAL WARFARE.
MY FEAR IS THE MORE HIS
CONVENTIONAL FORCES ARE SHOWN
UP.
>> RIGHT.