WEBVTT - Jason Smart explains why Ukraine’s future matters in the United States 0:00:04.600 --> 0:00:07.800 Very pleased to be joined on this episode of the 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:14.720 Warning podcast by Jason Smart, who is in Kiev, Ukraine. Jason, welcome, 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:16.280 Thank you, Steve. 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:16.919 Good to see you. 0:00:17.960 --> 0:00:21.040 Why don't we start out by you telling the audience 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:24.560 how long you've been in Ukraine what it is that 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:25.400 you're doing there. 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:31.040 So I've been in Ukraine since about twenty fifteen, pretty 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:34.159 steadily since then, and I'm currently a journalist for the 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:37.599 Kiev Post, the largest English language newspaper in the country 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:40.320 that's been in existence since nineteen ninety five. 0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:49.800 Talk to us about life in Kiev this Christmas season, 0:00:51.360 --> 0:00:52.280 heading into winter. 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:57.280 So recently it's been sort of complicated. There's been a 0:00:57.320 --> 0:01:00.640 series of missile strikes. Yesterday, I think there's five air 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:05.479 raid warnings, and Ukraine has been fortunate thanks to specifically 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:08.800 American Patriot missiles, has been able to shoot down a 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:10.720 lot of the missiles that are coming into the territory. 0:01:11.200 --> 0:01:14.759 The last Christmas was far worse without the air defense. 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:19.119 Ukraine was getting hit regularly. There's losing electricity, and it's 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:21.880 so bad that walking down the streets of Kiev you 0:01:21.880 --> 0:01:25.200 couldn't hold a conversation with somebody by your side because 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:27.600 there's so much noise in the generators. There's just so 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:31.400 many generators everywhere, you just gonna have a conversation. So 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:33.640 we're past that point. At this point, they are able 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:35.800 to shoot a lot of them down. Yet the Irani 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:39.840 made drones are still almost daily hitting Ukraine. They try 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:42.479 to figure out where the air defense is located, and 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.720 then they try to exploit in various infrastructure targets that 0:01:45.720 --> 0:01:47.960 they have. And that's in addition to the fact that 0:01:47.960 --> 0:01:52.120 the ballistic missiles, those that are produced by Russia, as well, 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:55.200 as it seems done now, missiles that are produced by 0:01:55.200 --> 0:01:57.559 North Korea and Iran are also going to be used. 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:03.440 What is the rale of the Ukrainian people in this moment? 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:13.440 Is it defiant, exhausted, resolved? How do they assess the 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:21.720 counter offensive, its status? And how do they assess the 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:28.080 politics of the country right now heading into twenty twenty four. 0:02:30.240 --> 0:02:32.760 So I would say that the morale overall in the 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:37.079 population remains very resolved. There's certainly a desire to defeat 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:41.120 Russia that's not changed at all. I can't even imagine 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:43.600 how people would respond if you're ask them, do you 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:46.520 think it's time to kind of deal with Putin, nobody 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:50.160 would accept that argument. That being said, obviously they recognize 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:54.040 there's been setbacks with things like the counter offensive. Those setbacks, though, 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:56.360 we're not something that we can blame just in one place. 0:02:56.440 --> 0:02:59.200 Let's be fair, for a forour kilometer by four kilometer, 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:01.520 which is, you know, two and a half mile by 0:03:01.520 --> 0:03:04.440 two and a half mile large area, they uncovered about 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:07.440 twenty thousand land mines on the Russian side. That many 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:10.960 landmines obviously slows things down, especially when there's not sufficient 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:16.079 amount of demining equipment. But more at that point, I 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:19.520 think that on the Ukrainian side there remains a very 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:25.040 strong desire to see victory. The president of the country, Zelenski, 0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:29.000 has an approval rating that's above eighty percent. It's probably 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:32.280 about eighty eight percent of our call correctly, and this 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:34.480 is all addicted to the fact that the population is 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:38.200 very united. I mean, they recognize this. His genocidal Vladimir 0:03:38.240 --> 0:03:40.760 Putin has been very clear, and it was clear yesterday 0:03:40.800 --> 0:03:44.920 when he had his annual address the press that his 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:48.800 intention has not changed. He wishes to conquer Ukraine. He 0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:52.760 also signaled very clearly that after Ukraine, there's other things 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:54.680 in the work such as the country in Moltova and 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:58.240 including the Baltic states which are all NATO members. Vladimir 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:02.320 Putin is unrepentent. He is complete decided that this is 0:04:02.360 --> 0:04:05.640 what he wishes to be, the hill that he dies 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:08.320 on if it needs to be. And Russia is lost 0:04:08.480 --> 0:04:11.640 over three hundred thousand troops casualties I should say necessarily died, 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:15.080 but to those who have died it's well over one 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:18.160 hundred and senty thousand. This point, Russia is just bleeding 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:19.800 out men and he will not stop. 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:25.600 What is the casualty count or the Ukrainian armed forces 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:26.280 at this. 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:30.400 Point, so the numbers aren't public. Ukraine doesn't publish them, 0:04:30.480 --> 0:04:33.880 but it is estimated to be less than half of 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:36.280 what the Russians are. And it's surprising at first, it 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:39.280 seems not feasible. It seems, you know, it's just sort 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:41.960 of like propaganda. But the fact is it make sense. 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:46.680 Russia doesn't respect the lives of its soldiers. It does 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:49.960 d mind fields, using the soldiers to run across them. 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:53.359 These are generally to be fair, not something to do 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:55.680 with all soldiers, specifically the ones that are, for instance, 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:57.720 prisoners who they forced to go to the war or 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:00.920 ethnic minorities, they use them for the same purposes. Those 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:04.000 that have AIDS or other diseases that are communicable, they 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:06.599 use for purposes such as this. So that this is 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:08.960 something that Russia has used as sort of a stape 0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:12.279 of the war, which is that they're ken father. They're 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:14.800 happy to send them off in droves and very few 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:15.360 might return. 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:22.560 Are there public estimates or government estimates of how many 0:05:22.960 --> 0:05:30.320 Ukrainian women and Ukrainian children have been raped by Russian 0:05:31.000 --> 0:05:38.160 soldiers or Russian mercenaries or Russian parabilitaries. 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:43.279 Yeah, there's at the prosecutor's office a lot of cases open, 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:48.080 about ninety thousand cases of rape and sexual assault, the 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:51.599 majority of which were against small children as well as 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:56.039 against elderly women. And in the case sickly enough, is 0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:58.800 the same for both the Russian soldiers who have been 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:01.520 captured and who've been dud has said that it's because 0:06:01.520 --> 0:06:03.440 they don't run away as fast, so it's easier to 0:06:03.440 --> 0:06:07.120 get them. So the rape of children has become so 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:11.320 significant that they're the psychologists here overwhelmed by it. Some 0:06:11.360 --> 0:06:13.960 of the interviews which you can find online, you're not 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:16.680 hard to find what the psychologists have said about. You know, 0:06:16.720 --> 0:06:21.640 they've just for no specific reason castrated little boys, raped 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:26.360 girls to death, raped little girls or little boys to 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:27.760 death in front of their parents, and then raped the 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:31.320 mother to death. This is something that Russia has engaged 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:32.440 in Ukraine. 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:42.000 Is there an official count, precise count of how many 0:06:42.240 --> 0:06:50.320 children have been kidnapped by those Russian forces who have 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:59.920 raped upwards of ninety thousand people and taken them ease? 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:05.040 How many children are missing? 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:10.280 So tragically we know about only twenty thousand, though it's 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:13.840 estimated being one hundreds of thousands. Like in the case 0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:16.080 of the rape of children, we only know about it 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:18.160 when they have made it to the free Ukraine, that 0:07:18.240 --> 0:07:22.320 is to say that their parents are in the unoccupied territories. 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:25.760 Those who remain occupied territories, there's no way of knowing 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:28.600 what's occurred. So the number of rapes, for instance, their 0:07:28.640 --> 0:07:32.160 murders is undoubtedly much higher. The numbers of people that 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:35.240 be kinnapped us much higher. Simply the parents are not 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:39.040 in free Ukraine, they are occupied Ukraine, and so there's 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:41.720 no way for the Ukrainian Prosecutor's office to know that 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:44.800 this has occurred. But it is estimated that the reality 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:46.760 is that though it is about twenty thousand that's public 0:07:46.800 --> 0:07:48.840 UNNI of children who have been abducted from their parents, 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:51.000 many of them who then have their names changed when 0:07:51.000 --> 0:07:54.920 they move to Russia. The reality is that the numbers 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:57.120 are going to be multiple times higher than that. 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:12.400 How is the building Maga Republican opposition to arming Ukraine 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:20.840 being covered in Ukraine? How has President Zelensky's visit to 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:27.400 the United States been covered domestically in Ukraine? Is it 0:08:27.480 --> 0:08:35.360 through a prism of worry that American support with regard 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:41.800 to funding for the lethal weaponry necessary to repel the 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:44.640 Russian military will be cut off? 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:48.240 Sadly, To be frank with you, yes, there is quite 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:53.080 a few about that. There's a lot of lack of 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:57.720 understanding of why this is. The Ukrainians can understand why. 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:01.040 You know, We've just a year ago said they were 0:09:01.120 --> 0:09:03.520 allies and we'd stick it out with them, and today 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:06.760 the United States has decided that it's got other priorities. 0:09:06.960 --> 0:09:08.440 I keep in mind, this is a country where their 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:12.760 abduction is going on today. There are people of both sexes, 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:15.440 of all ages being raped to death today. There are 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:19.120 people that are pits being tortured in eastern Ukraine, and 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:23.640 the atrocity is just fancy you've never had imagined in 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:26.720 your life. And they do not understand why it is 0:09:26.760 --> 0:09:29.480 that there is a growing group of Americans who just 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:33.160 do not have any sympathy for their plight, who write 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:35.360 it off the things that are nonsense, such as you 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:38.400 know the corruption. Listen, there's tons of oversight of the 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:40.760 money going to Ukraine, just absolutely tons that he was 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:44.640 twelve or thirteen different government agencies that are looking into 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:47.120 an oversight of the money. There's not been any prompts 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:50.559 so far. And they don't understand why is that Americans 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:53.200 are going to hang them out to dry, to a 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:57.360 bunch of bloodthirsty savages that have nothing else in their 0:09:57.360 --> 0:09:59.680 minds than they commit genocide. And that's what we see 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:02.040 a current today. 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:06.199 Well, they have to have some idea what do they 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:06.880 think it is? 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:12.680 They really don't. They're very scared by it because in mind, 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:15.480 the Ukraine perspective on this is they read in the 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:18.360 news that the US is tying and support for their 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:23.079 country to immigration. They have no idea what US immigration 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:25.880 is like, why that's a big deal. They have no 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:29.800 idea how you tie bills together in the US. These 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:33.040 are all things that are very foreign to them, So 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:34.680 it is not something that makes a lot of sense. 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:40.040 They just understand that for some closing this border or 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:42.480 whatever it is the Americans wish to do is something 0:10:42.480 --> 0:10:45.320 that's more important than what's happening to their population. They 0:10:45.440 --> 0:10:49.319 truly don't have a strong understanding. There's obviously, yes, a 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:52.840 great deal of apprehension about the return of Donald Trump. 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:55.600 There's a great deal of fear of what that might mean. 0:10:56.440 --> 0:10:58.680 Just today I was with the journalists who asked, you know, 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:01.160 Trump has promised in the world twenty four hours. Do 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:03.120 you think that means to just give the whole territory 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:05.920 over to Russia? What do you think that is? Some mean, yes, 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:08.160 there's significant concern in the population. 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:14.839 When you look at it from Kiev. Who are the 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:21.720 Americans that are viewed by the Ukrainians as being Putin's 0:11:22.880 --> 0:11:27.600 most astonishing, useful idiots. Who are the Americans that they 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:34.640 see and revile as being on the other side of 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:37.080 this fight, being on the Russian side? 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:41.200 Well, undoubtedly Tucker Carlson has a special place in their hearts. 0:11:41.720 --> 0:11:47.080 Tucker Carlson is so widely cited in Russian news it's nightly, 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:50.640 literally every single night, for that matter, there's a YouTube channel. 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:52.520 I'm sure you can find YouTube if you just take 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:55.800 Tucker Carlson Russian and you see his television shows are 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:59.760 being translated to Russian. Who's paying for that? Where's it 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:02.959 come from? But whatever it is, the Russian government or 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:05.520 whoever is behind it is so pleased by it that 0:12:05.600 --> 0:12:08.480 it is translating tons of episodes, especially the key parts, 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:10.720 and using them, and the fact that it's showing up 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:14.959 routinely is amazing. Alex Jones is another great example. He's 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:18.040 been on Russian TV. He cited as a person fighting 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:21.040 for freedom in America who has been oppressed. The Russian 0:12:21.040 --> 0:12:24.640 press just loves him, and so we look at these guys. 0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:26.960 You know, if Russian press is highlighting you as an 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:30.520 example of what's good about America, you're probably actually the 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:33.760 worst part of America. And that's what Russia has tried 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:37.600 to really put an effort to expose their population into morows. 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:46.480 What Republican members of the Senate and or Congress are 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:54.120 you routinely saying on Russian state TV, Russian propaganda channels 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:54.800 and outlets. 0:12:56.080 --> 0:12:59.959 So the different congressman, senators, it varies anytime they see 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:03.120 something to oppose Ukraine or any time that they come 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:09.640 up and use Ukraine sorry Russian talking points, it is cited. 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:12.360 I mean, Russia is constantly on the hunt for who 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:15.280 it is they can cite as an example. Who is 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:17.800 it we can say is an example that there is 0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:20.040 really a lot of support in America for what we're doing. 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:23.839 What we're doing is not, you know, grossly unethical, but 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:27.800 in fact Americans support it. And I think that when 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:31.520 we look at it as a whole, I would say 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:34.520 that there's a few who are really their favorites. The 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:39.160 congress woman from Georgia or Marjorie Taylor Green is obviously 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:41.720 at the very top of the list. Is routine inside it. 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:46.000 By the way, she also cites Russian government sanctioned by 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:49.280 the US government, sanctioned news sources, and they're sanctioned for 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:53.520 him to try to mess in the US elections. But 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:57.960 they are literally government propaganda. It's nonsense. They're completely nonsense. 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:04.120 Things Zelenski buyings in France and literally baseless, literally basis 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:05.800 and you could say the same thing about me and 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:07.920 I have the same degrie of truth. It's just baseless, 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:11.040 and that sided by people like this, I mean, I 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:14.560 will say yes, the Magropublicans in Poling are the least 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:18.680 supportive of Ukraine out of any demographic in America. They 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:24.000 believe essentially conspiracy theories about Ukraine. They believe things that 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:27.720 are nonsensical, and they also have a very nonsensical view 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:30.800 of Russia as a country. It's defending Christian values or 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:35.560 somehow defending traditional family values, which is just simply not true. 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:39.840 Russia does none of the above. Russia is a criminal 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:44.680 state runlive Vladimir Putin, who's the mafia don And anyone 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:47.040 who thinks otherwise should really just take a look at 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:50.680 what is Russia. That is a terrifying country with a 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:54.120 population that's quite brainwashed. And there is sadly yes US 0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:56.480 congressman or senators who somehow think that it's a light 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:59.000 to the east and nothing to be further from truth. 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:06.640 Do you get the sense sitting in Ukraine that the 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:14.320 war is yet to escalate to its full potential? 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:18.960 The war will worsen, I mean undoubted will. Listen, the 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:22.840 Russians have located here in Ukraine an estimated six hundred 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:26.360 thousand troops, at least what Putin said yesterday, the estimate 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:28.760 prior to yesterday have been about four hundred and fifty thousand, 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:31.320 so let's say it's you know, five hundred something at least. 0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:36.920 The Ukrainian military is quite large, but it's still really 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:40.160 slightly larger than the Russian military. The advantage of Ukraine 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:43.880 has though, as it suffers far less losses, and thanks 0:15:43.920 --> 0:15:48.120 to specifically the American technology that is here, the military hardware, 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:51.960 it is able to defend itself and to suffer less 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:54.480 losses than the Russian stew and to evacuated soldiers more 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:57.520 efficiently than the Russian stew and since so there's survival 0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:01.520 rates much higher. That being said, you know, Russia has 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:04.680 no intent of stopping what it's doing now, and so 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:07.920 we can expect that Vladimir Putin, as he becomes more 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:11.040 frustrated by this war, will engage in other human rights 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:13.800 atrocities in the bombing of cities as he currently does, 0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:17.560 and to just continue this. But I think there's another element, 0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:19.920 which is that there is a lot of evidence that 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:22.280 Russia is trying to stir up tensions in other countries, 0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:28.120 including in the Balkans, including Moldova, in order specifically to 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.280 distract from what's going on here so that he'll have 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:33.320 more of a free hand and less attention will be 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:34.000 placed on him. 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:42.760 When you assess the situation, to what degree do you 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:47.760 think that Vladimir Putin is calculating that Donald Trump will 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:52.800 be elected president in November twenty four take office in 0:16:52.920 --> 0:17:01.320 January twenty five. A precipitate, a constitutional crime is domestically 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:11.200 and be attempt to or resolved to withdraw America from 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:19.600 its NATO obligations, which are harder to do than the 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:29.879 MAGA spokespeople allow, but nevertheless concernedly signal that countries that 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:36.159 America is obligated to defend under Article five, including the 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:41.320 Balitic republics, would not be defended and leaving them naked 0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:53.159 outside of America's deterrence perimeter. What degree to which do 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:56.280 you look at the situation and see that the Putin 0:17:56.400 --> 0:17:59.919 is just holding on waiting for that to happen. 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:03.919 You know, I would generally agree with that assessment. So 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:06.560 I think that Donald Trump is something that is the 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:10.439 hope for Varmora Putin, and as time goes on, you know, 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:12.400 I don't think that's part, isn't talking point. I think 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:16.480 that is accurate because I see enough of what's happening 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:19.399 in Russia that affirms that listen, I read the Russian 0:18:19.400 --> 0:18:23.040 news every day, obviously speak Russian, and I'm telling you 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:25.320 when you read the Russian news and you read what 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:30.800 their television channels, the Kremlin Finance Telvin channels, when they 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:33.760 say things such as our friends that Republicans are doing 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:36.640 this right now, or we're closer to victory and Donald 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:39.520 Trump will join us for how should you interpret that? 0:18:39.640 --> 0:18:42.720 I mean, to me, it is a very scary thought 0:18:43.119 --> 0:18:45.000 that there is not just I mean, I understand all 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:48.520 countries will have a preference in an election. That's normal, 0:18:48.680 --> 0:18:50.200 but the fact that they consider it to be their 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:53.760 ally being elected who will help them to conquer Ukraine, 0:18:54.440 --> 0:18:57.159 I find it to be just sickening. I mean, it 0:18:57.240 --> 0:19:00.760 is truly. I don't remember this ever once Russian history 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:03.440 in its relation to the United States, where the Russians 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:06.840 have been so unambivalent about the fact that one of 0:19:06.880 --> 0:19:09.720 the two candidates is someone who is going to help 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:12.159 them to win, and then the fact that they are 0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:15.400 citing people who the same guy Donald Trump cites, such 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:18.719 as Tucker Carlson. The people who are the most loudmouthed 0:19:18.840 --> 0:19:21.960 in the mag of movement are exactly the people show 0:19:22.000 --> 0:19:25.480 up in a Russian TV To me, this is just incredible. 0:19:25.520 --> 0:19:27.440 And we're not talking you know, a one time thing 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:30.400 where somebody has a quote that's taken out of context 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:33.800 that Russians use it. We're talking steadily and routinely. The 0:19:33.920 --> 0:19:36.440 Russians say, but look, there are good people in America 0:19:36.480 --> 0:19:38.800 and this is what they believe. This is what they say. 0:19:39.000 --> 0:19:42.240 But Donald Trump on a personal level, yes, I mean 0:19:42.359 --> 0:19:45.000 his lack of predictability, how scary he is for the 0:19:45.080 --> 0:19:49.200 NATO countries. Just listen to what the Foreign Minister of Lithuania, 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:53.520 gabrielis linz Burgas, has been saying. They're tremendously worried. They 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:56.920 know that Donald Trump is dangerous for them. They never 0:19:57.000 --> 0:19:58.920 use his name. Is there politically you know, they're trying 0:19:58.960 --> 0:20:01.399 to be neutral, they are f ministry, but it's very 0:20:01.400 --> 0:20:03.520 clear what they're saying. They're saying that the Russians are 0:20:03.520 --> 0:20:05.800 going to try to conquer Ukraine and then go for 0:20:05.840 --> 0:20:08.159 the Baltic States. But they definitely have an eye on 0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:10.679 what happens next to Washington, and we all understand exactly 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:14.000 what they're referring to. They're referring to the Donald Trump 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:16.919 coming back, a guy who's promised not to make America 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:19.880 great again, but to have revenge. What does that mean? 0:20:20.280 --> 0:20:22.560 And the fact that they have all the investigations going 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:25.480 on now in the US House about Hunter Biden, which 0:20:25.520 --> 0:20:28.840 is touching on Barisma and Ukraine. I have no doubt whatsoever. 0:20:29.359 --> 0:20:31.640 And by the way, we know this is ties back 0:20:31.680 --> 0:20:34.800 to Russian intelligence the whole story. There are people that 0:20:35.440 --> 0:20:38.000 were inclusion with Russian intelligence, who met with people like 0:20:38.119 --> 0:20:42.520 Giuliani in regards that you know years ago now. But 0:20:42.640 --> 0:20:46.680 those those things are all being done specifically to benefit 0:20:46.760 --> 0:20:48.080 Donald Trump and his campaign. 0:20:50.720 --> 0:20:58.680 You used three times a word in describing pudent subjectives 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:04.480 during this conversation, and the word is conquer as in 0:21:04.640 --> 0:21:08.640 conquer Ukraine, and I want to drill down on that. 0:21:10.520 --> 0:21:15.040 Do you mean to say that it is Vladimir Putin's 0:21:15.320 --> 0:21:24.600 aim to occupy Ukraine fully and completely the full nation 0:21:25.880 --> 0:21:30.800 of in the mid forties of millions of people, that 0:21:32.640 --> 0:21:36.960 in the way that Germany did France and did Greece 0:21:38.080 --> 0:21:43.240 and did the Netherlands as an occupying power, as a 0:21:43.280 --> 0:21:49.480 controlling power, making illegal the Ukrainian language. What do you 0:21:49.680 --> 0:21:52.800 mean by that? Yeah? 0:21:52.840 --> 0:21:55.320 Actually, the example of Germany that you gave is pretty 0:21:55.359 --> 0:21:57.160 much what I mean by that. So we can only 0:21:57.240 --> 0:22:00.359 look at the occupied terraportratories so far, some of the 0:22:00.440 --> 0:22:02.879 eastern parts of Ukraine and what we saw there, and 0:22:02.960 --> 0:22:06.600 we'll just say that's probably a good example a prologue 0:22:06.640 --> 0:22:09.600 of what is to come. History is but a prologue, 0:22:09.960 --> 0:22:12.600 and in this case we see that in those regions 0:22:12.920 --> 0:22:16.119 there is forced taking a citizenship of Russian citizenship, that is, 0:22:17.200 --> 0:22:20.240 those who have refused. If you know, many things have happened. 0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:23.960 You know, just yesterday they were raiding their houses, stealing 0:22:23.960 --> 0:22:26.080 their possessions, stealing the cash they might have had or 0:22:26.240 --> 0:22:29.800 anything had value, and then throwing them out into the streets. 0:22:30.080 --> 0:22:32.239 There is also the fact they've you know, kidnapped their 0:22:32.320 --> 0:22:34.920 children so they can send the Russia to be rucified, 0:22:34.920 --> 0:22:38.639 to only speak Russian and also to become more Russian like, 0:22:38.720 --> 0:22:41.880 and to forget the Ukrainian identity. They've eradicated, stopped out 0:22:41.880 --> 0:22:45.240 the Ukrainian language and culture. They've closed down the Ukrainian 0:22:45.320 --> 0:22:49.440 churches for that matter. I mean, they've closed down Protestant churches, 0:22:49.480 --> 0:22:52.560 Baptist churches, Evangelical churches because it's considered to be a 0:22:52.560 --> 0:22:55.480 pro American conspiracy in the eyes of the Russians. I've 0:22:55.480 --> 0:22:59.440 interviewed pastors from eastern Ukraine who lived under occupation or 0:22:59.480 --> 0:23:02.280 who are capped by Russians, who are tortured. I mean 0:23:02.480 --> 0:23:05.520 they hooked their generals up to electric prods and lit 0:23:05.560 --> 0:23:08.159 them up. These pastors because they said that, you know, 0:23:08.280 --> 0:23:12.480 all Evangelicals are all Protestants are part of the American conspiracy. 0:23:12.640 --> 0:23:14.919 It's something that the Russians really believe. It's not just 0:23:15.000 --> 0:23:17.760 you know, crazy, This is not so far outside of 0:23:17.760 --> 0:23:19.760 the rum. I've met enough people who have suffered these 0:23:19.800 --> 0:23:22.959 sorts of faiths to say that it's what happens. So 0:23:23.160 --> 0:23:24.359 and I talked about what's going to happen to the 0:23:24.359 --> 0:23:27.440 rest of Ukraine. Yes, I'd imagine be very naugous that 0:23:27.760 --> 0:23:31.040 Russia is historically also taken the male population from the 0:23:31.200 --> 0:23:35.359 regions and forces them to become soldiers for their military. 0:23:35.760 --> 0:23:39.479 Once again. They use them primarily as cannon. Father There 0:23:39.520 --> 0:23:41.359 is no intent that they're going to win the war, 0:23:42.119 --> 0:23:44.800 said I should say, come back victoriously. They send the 0:23:44.880 --> 0:23:47.679 soldiers to die. There's an understanding they're going there to 0:23:47.720 --> 0:23:48.399 be wiped away. 0:23:48.920 --> 0:23:57.119 They've taken three hundred thousand casualties. Does Russia have the 0:23:57.280 --> 0:24:05.920 wherewith all military to occupy the whole of Ukraine if 0:24:06.000 --> 0:24:09.760 Western military support collapses. 0:24:11.359 --> 0:24:14.160 Yes, I mean that's the whole thing, is that Ukraine 0:24:14.800 --> 0:24:17.480 is able to keep it together because of the Western 0:24:17.600 --> 0:24:21.480 military assistance. Should that not come through. Look at the numbers. 0:24:21.520 --> 0:24:23.840 Russia's got one hundred and forty million people. It's a 0:24:23.880 --> 0:24:26.400 massive country. And the fact is if they just keep 0:24:26.520 --> 0:24:28.680 rounding up people and send them off as they are, 0:24:29.560 --> 0:24:35.080 they will eventually overwhelm Ukraine. Unfortunately. That being said, Ukraine's 0:24:35.160 --> 0:24:38.520 senior advantage has been the Western military technology that allows 0:24:38.560 --> 0:24:41.479 us to suffer far less casualties than the Russian side. 0:24:42.040 --> 0:24:44.439 And it's thanks to the Americans. I mean, I have 0:24:44.520 --> 0:24:46.679 no doubt about it. It is thanks to the American people. 0:24:46.800 --> 0:24:48.920 And Ukrainians are very thankful. I want to be clear. 0:24:49.040 --> 0:24:52.199 Is they're very thankful, and they do bring it up. 0:24:52.240 --> 0:24:54.000 I mean when they hear my accent, it's one of 0:24:54.040 --> 0:24:56.119 the first things they say. They love America. They appreciate 0:24:56.160 --> 0:24:59.560 the Americans have done for them, and they are, you know, 0:25:00.240 --> 0:25:03.520