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Speaker 1: All right, now to geopolitical news. Ukraine is taking center

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Speaker 1: stage the European Leader's summit over in Brussels. Now, leaders

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Speaker 1: from the twenty seven EU countries are meaning to discuss

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Speaker 1: increase in Ukraine's defense capabilities as well as the latest

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Speaker 1: internal unrest inside Russia. From where we are joined now

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Speaker 1: by Oksana mark Aarova, Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States.

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Speaker 1: My ambassador, thank you very much for joining us. What

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Speaker 1: do you want to see from the summit? What do

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Speaker 1: you want, what kind of commitment do you want from

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Speaker 1: the West.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for having me.

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Speaker 3: It's always good to be back on Bloomberg. For me

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Speaker 3: as former Minister of Finance, this is a very national

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Speaker 3: place to be. Well, you know it's this summit is

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Speaker 3: yet another opportunity for us to discuss with our European

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Speaker 3: family as a candidate country now about what can we

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Speaker 3: do together to get to just peace faster.

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Speaker 2: And actually the ask remains the same.

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Speaker 3: More weapons, more support to Ukraine, more sanctions for Russia,

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Speaker 3: and of course we will be also discussed in our

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Speaker 3: passed to European Union and which again we're implementing all

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Speaker 3: the reforms in very difficult areas, including the justice reforms

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Speaker 3: and others in order to fast and become member of

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Speaker 3: the European Union.

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Speaker 4: Well, I know when there was the summer in London

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Speaker 4: there was the proposal from the EU fifteen billion euros

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Speaker 4: spread out over four years. How does that amount sound

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Speaker 4: you ox on it as an acceptable amount?

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Speaker 2: Should it be more?

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Speaker 3: Well, first of all, we are very grateful and it's

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Speaker 3: one of the greatest outcomes of this conference that we

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Speaker 3: have heard loud and clear this commitment for four years,

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Speaker 3: and frankly that Ukraine will be included in the European.

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Speaker 2: Budget for four years.

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Speaker 3: Of course, we all hope that this sum will be

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Speaker 3: front loaded, and as you know, we are in the

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Speaker 3: IMF program right now. We just concluded a very productive

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Speaker 3: visit of our Minister of Finance to Washington, DC. Unfortunately,

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Speaker 3: again we still need a lot of support this year.

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Speaker 2: The Ukrainian budget is fully funded.

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Speaker 3: We are discussing twenty twenty four now, and that will

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Speaker 3: require all of our friends and partners, including all G

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Speaker 3: seven countries, to help us to go through twenty twenty four.

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Speaker 2: Regardless of where we are on.

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Speaker 3: The battlefield and how fast we will win, there is

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Speaker 3: no question already in our mind that we will. So

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Speaker 3: thank you to the European Union, thank you for taking

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Speaker 3: a leading it. We look forward discussing with our American

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Speaker 3: colleagues what kind of direct budgets support in addition to

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Speaker 3: security assistance we will be able to receive and other.

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Speaker 2: G seven partners.

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Speaker 3: And again we'll look forward to doing everything on our

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Speaker 3: own and get back to business, get back to recovery

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Speaker 3: as soon as possible, and becoming self sustainable. But right

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Speaker 3: now we still need, before we win, assistance from our

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Speaker 3: friends and allies in order to get to that victory.

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Speaker 1: And I'm aster I hear your message. We need help now,

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Speaker 1: will be okay later and definitely the idea that we're

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Speaker 1: you but the West, I can hear you saying that

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Speaker 1: over and over. And I'm wondering, then, how the events

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Speaker 1: that have unfolded in Moscow help back case. How are

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Speaker 1: you capitalizing on that in the narrative that you're spending

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Speaker 1: right now.

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Speaker 3: Well, first of all, what we have seen during this

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Speaker 3: weekend was something that we have been saying all alone

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Speaker 3: this very difficult four hundred and ninety days, that regime

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Speaker 3: in Russia is very weak. It's a typical U tuocracy

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Speaker 3: that is not based on a power.

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Speaker 2: Of democracy, on support of the people.

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Speaker 3: It's just based on the power grab and struggle and

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Speaker 3: all the horrific aggressive words that Kremlin is waging on

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Speaker 3: Ukraine's in twenty fourteen, since twenty twenty two, but also

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Speaker 3: on Georgia.

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Speaker 2: And other places.

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Speaker 3: You know. So I think after these events on Sunday,

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Speaker 3: everyone have seen what we have been saying, that actually

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Speaker 3: there is no support, that there is so much internal infighting,

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Speaker 3: and that if any kind is a failed state, it's

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Speaker 3: not Ukraine, as Russia was trying to convince everyone during

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Speaker 3: the previous thirty years, it's actually Russia.

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Speaker 2: So we have to keep the focus.

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Speaker 3: We have to double down on everything we can do

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Speaker 3: to liberate Ukraine now, to restore our territory, integrity and

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Speaker 3: sovereignty within recognized borders, and all of us together as

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Speaker 3: Transatlantic family, do whatever needs to be done in order

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Speaker 3: to bring to justice those responsible, but also return to peace,

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Speaker 3: to just lasting peace, so that we can focus on

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Speaker 3: how to address food security challenges, energy security challenges, and

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Speaker 3: Ukraine could be after victory a very important element and

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Speaker 3: solution to.

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Speaker 2: All of this.

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Speaker 4: Ambassador, what have you heard on the ground. Has there

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Speaker 4: been a noticeable shifter change in the presence of Wagner

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Speaker 4: soldiers after last weekend.

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Speaker 3: The chief of our intelligence just recently gave an interview

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Speaker 3: saying that yes, some Wagners are still on the territory

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Speaker 3: of Ukraine, somewhere in the south, somewhere in the east,

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Speaker 3: but they are not actively participating in a combat, so

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Speaker 3: we see less and less of them actually since the failure,

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Speaker 3: massive failure in Bahmut, and I think you know, every

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Speaker 3: day of right now, every day of our operations, counter offensives,

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Speaker 3: liberating more territories have an.

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Speaker 2: Impact on the Russian force in Ukraine.

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Speaker 3: Now, it's still very difficult whether Wagner is present there

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Speaker 3: or not.

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Speaker 2: There is still massive.

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Speaker 3: Number of Russian soldiers and they all regardless of whether

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Speaker 3: they're official military or Wagner, they are work criminals.

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Speaker 2: So we still need a lot of support.

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Speaker 3: But the progress is there in liberating both in the

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Speaker 3: south and in the in the east. That's why Russians

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Speaker 3: have doubled down on the terrorist attacks we have in

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Speaker 3: this horrible situation in Kramators and unfortunately the death toll

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Speaker 3: is rising. Twelve people killed, sixty five wounded, including you know,

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Speaker 3: three killed teenage.

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Speaker 1: Girl ambassador, could I ask the opposite question, are you

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Speaker 1: noticing any more militarization or mobilization? There is a narrative

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Speaker 1: that with President Putin in essence dealing with the issues

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Speaker 1: at home, that will be more aggressive on the battlefield.

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Speaker 1: Have you noticed anything along those lines.

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Speaker 2: Well, we are prepared for any type of scenario. I'm sure. Again,

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Speaker 2: we have to be honest.

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Speaker 3: The intent of President Putin, of Kremlin of Russians did

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Speaker 3: not change. They still are trying to destroy us. So

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Speaker 3: we will do everything possible in order to defend our land.

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Speaker 3: The question is are they able.

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Speaker 2: To do that.

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Speaker 3: We have seen how people in Rostov cheered to Wagner

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Speaker 3: exactly the same way they cheered, so the was it

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Speaker 3: true or fake photos of them cheering to Putin? So again,

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Speaker 3: they should focus on their own country and get out

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Speaker 3: from Ukraine.

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Speaker 4: I mean, NATO so far has stayed above the frame

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Speaker 4: when it comes to Wagner, when it comes to any

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Speaker 4: of this, I mean you would assume that they wouldn't

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Speaker 4: want to influence internal Russian politics, But should there be

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Speaker 4: any response from NATO Oxana, you know, things like ensuring

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Speaker 4: that hotline stay open, ensuring that there's no push towards

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Speaker 4: nuclear weapon usage. Should NATO be doing anything following this episode, Well.

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Speaker 3: Look, NATO has been very active. We are the EUP

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Speaker 3: partner with NATO. Ukraine has aspiration to become members member

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Speaker 3: of NATO, and I think all individual NATO countries have

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Speaker 3: been helping us a lot during this past four hundred

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Speaker 3: and ninety days and we're very grateful for that. Now,

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Speaker 3: all of us are democracies. We will not do anything

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Speaker 3: in Russia. We're not interested in doing anythin in Russia.

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Speaker 3: What we have to do is actually take into account

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Speaker 3: how weak and dangerous cituation in Russia is, and all

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Speaker 3: of us together think about contingency plans, and you know

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Speaker 3: what we have to do to protect the civilized world

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Speaker 3: from Russia. And in the nearest term, it means having

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Speaker 3: more help for Ukraine so that we can get them

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Speaker 3: out from Ukraine, so they can be defeated in Ukraine

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Speaker 3: and that will lead faster to just peace.

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Speaker 4: Ambassador, we really appreciate your time today. That is Oksana Marakova,

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Speaker 4: Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States. This is Bloomberg