andrii smolii and oleksiy holobutskyi were guests of our program today. thank you gentlemen. let me remind you that during the program we conducted surveys. we asked you, friends, whether it is necessary to resume broadcasts of meetings of the verkhovna rada of ukraine during martial law. 91% yes, 9% no. this is the verdict program today. i say goodbye to you, the program was conducted by serhii rudenko. goodbye. there are discounts on deflu, 20% in psyllanyk, bam and oskad pharmacies. it is a good tradition, during the christmas holidays, to carol together with the picardy carol third tickets on the concert website. the spirit of christmas

will definitely come to your city. picardy tertia. good health to good people. live sound. there are 15% discounts on strength detox at psyllium pam and oskad pharmacies. greetings, this is svoboda live, my name is vlasta lazur. four people were killed and at least 38 injured as a result of russian missile strikes on ukraine on the night and morning of january 8. according to the armed forces, all eight russian kamikaze drones and only 18 missiles from the 51st that were aimed at ukraine were shot down overnight. explosions rang out in kharkiv oblast, dnipropetrovsk region, zaporizhzhia, khmelnytskyi. consequences. so in the material of our

correspondents. i was standing right by the window, because the ice was so cold in the morning, and i thought, how will my son go to work? well, he got out and only he left the house, and i had already moved away from the window and immediately there was an explosion. and immediately into a breakdown. and when are you promised to close the windows? well, there, they have already removed the dimensions. i don't see anything wrong.

i don’t know yet, my mother is sawing there, after 7 o’clock , explosions were heard, well, somewhere far away, and the last explosion was heard very loudly, and we were blown away the windows in the entrance, and the house, the house shook, and now we see what you see, the results.

arrived, we didn't have time to run anywhere, we were just sleeping , we didn't see anything, and then these disturbances woke us up, at first it was a roar, i thought, oh, what could it be, but it was like a bang, the walls were moving, at first i thought it was a neighbor we have a wall over there. knocked hard, and then a second explosion, glass flew, emotions, well, what emotions, shock say, not shock, barbarians, children also live in the place, and as you do not know anything, where it flew, then first of all you worry about them. i was so

lost, the socks were in front of me, i couldn't find them, i couldn't hear the sirens, i don't know, i was washing, i just heard it once, then the second time. i came out, i see already red smoke, a black headscarf, a terrible explosion , we heard, and the window just opened to our balcony , well, we were scared, the child was scared, and the cats from... it went well, maybe when they go, the united states warned ukraine that soon washington will not be able to to supply kyiv

with missiles for the patriot system, it is reported the new york times, citing white house and pentagon officials. let me remind you that the patriots are intended for countermeasures. missiles, new york times journalists emphasize that the appearance of such systems in ukraine changed the course of the battle for the sky and saved thousands of lives. the reason for the probable stoppage of the supply of missiles for the patriots is money. according to the publication, the cost of one interceptor missile can range from two to four million dollars. i would like to remind you that aid to ukraine from the usa for this year has not yet been approved. in early january , the white house announced that there was money for a new one there is no military support for ukraine, until a decision on further funding is made by congress. in kyiv, they hope that the congress will approve the aid already in january, but there are no guarantees yet. well, as of december 31 last year, the patriot system shot down 15 dagger missiles. this was reported in the air force, already on january 2 of this year

, according to the ukrainian military, ukraine managed to shoot down 10 more daggers. and in the end, what will happen if there is a lack of funding, because of a lack of funding, the us will stop supplying missiles. for patriots, will ukraine have the strength and means to knock down the same daggers, for example, and in this way save people's lives. well, what else , besides the patriots, can the usa put on hold until there is no money. we will now talk about this in more detail, oleksiy yezhak, an expert of the national institute of strategic studies, joins our broadcast. good evening. good evening. i have already focused attention today on the fact that during the current attack, russia launched on ukraine. 51 missiles, of various types, and also eight shahed, and in the air force they reported that they managed to shoot down all the drones, but only 18 missiles, and here is yuriy ignat, the spokesman of the air force, he said that there is nothing extraordinary here, the percentage of

missiles shot down is the same and so on, they paid attention, they paid attention to the fact that ballistics there was a lot, but tell me, isn't this already a sign of a shortage of rockets for the patriots? er, i think that it is not necessary, well, here it should be said, for example, such a well-known system in ukraine as the iron dome in israel, it shoots down only a small percentage of missiles, the elegance of this system is that it shoots down only those missiles that fly correctly to the target , they simply ignore everything else, it just falls somewhere on the territory of israel, explodes, but does not hit, and so... this is how the system works, in principle, in our case, the russians are also looking for places , where they can hit, and where there are no air defenses, that's one factor, there just might be, where they were going this time, there just might not be

enough air defenses, well not deployed there were, uh, that might be, and it can be something that simply, simply did not happen reactions to on... to certain trajectories, because they weren't considered too dangerous, but in any case, if something flies into ukraine and we don't react, like how poland didn't react when several missiles, well, this means that there is still a certain, certain element of economy, well, it must be said that no country in the world has complete protection, defends itself. just the basics, so, well, for now, i think it's too early to talk about a critical shortage of missiles, but it's clear that missiles like the patriot, they will be used in addition to, against the most complex targets, well, daggers,

ballistic iskanders, but not only patriots are in ukraine, of course, there is also a european system, and the patriots themselves are not only american in ukraine. and missiles, anti-missiles for them are not only american, so i think, well, there may be a problem, but not now and not as critical as the russian telegram channel is trying to present it. well, it’s not only russian telegram channels that are trying to submit, american publications also write about it, well, they didn’t say, they didn’t say that they warned ukraine that there would be no missiles, they warned the administration warned lawmakers that after a certain time there would be no restoration of the united states stockpile through which aid is provided to ukraine, but there are others. options for missiles to enter ukraine, well, you just need to understand what this package is, which will not

be voted on, the united states must restore its own stocks, from which missiles were provided to ukraine. right now there is no such money, they cannot reduce their stockpile of missiles below a certain level, but this does not mean that their does not exist at all, and there is another mechanism, we heard now, it is launched when, for example, japanese missiles. are supplied to the united states to restore their stocks and, accordingly, various options for supplying aid to ukraine appear. in any case, it is not about the fact that right now there is such a big saving, although i agree that there is a sign of saving, in the fact that it was said not only by the air force, but also by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces that, well looks like a smaller percentage is down, i not yet... to say why, it still seems to me that there may be other reasons, just

other directions of strikes, which were not there, there was simply no defense, i will clarify with regard to the patriots, if i understand correctly that so far , only patriot missiles knock down daggers, russian daggers, patriot and samty, european italian-french, it seems, well, there is a collective development, about them in general. they don't say, but they are there, and they shoot down an aster missile, i don't remember if there are 60 or 30, it is a very effective system, it is works by itself, and in the end we don’t know, for sure, by what means exactly the daggers are knocked out, patriot yes, but maybe by others, i understand, by russian missiles, look, i very clearly remember how about a year ago, maybe a little more, a little less. a number of ukrainian experts and even officials, the secretary of the national security council

or representatives of intelligence, all the time said that russia had two or three missiles left , or that russia had already used 70% of its missile potential, now at the end of last year and at the beginning of this year, we had possibility to make sure that russia's missile stocks are not running out, it looks like, on the contrary, they are replenishing them quite quickly, at the expense of... what they are producing themselves, are these the missile stocks of the allies, there is iran, the dprk, so far, i think, mainly theirs and they do not produce them so quickly, after all, there was a pause, there was such a drone pause, when there were only drone strikes, there for several months they did not launch such large missiles, system missiles, which significantly, significantly, significantly affect the infrastructure and generally on the situation. they accumulate not so quickly, i think that those speeds are known, in principle, both our

intelligence and western intelligence, they talk about these rates, russia, they withstand them, they talk about a hundred missiles, a hundred missiles of various types per month and 1,000 drones per month, well, these are general estimates, they are certainly not of the best quality, because there are still not enough of them, because in... those strikes, it was said about those strikes, it was found out that in those new year's strikes, there were already rockets produced in the fourth quarter, that is, the pace there low, now there is a big competition for production rates, for the rates of production of those ammunitions that ukraine receives from the allies, those missiles that we receive from the allies from various sources there, and the rates of production of russian missiles, russian missiles on... i i think they will no longer increase the pace of their production,

they are high enough, they are not zero, the quality is less, because there are more and more reports that they hit their own on their own territory, on the occupied territory on their own, it is increasing, tempos with higher ones can to be, and this is precisely what the achievement of a certain limit of these... paces says about the fact that missiles still appear, missiles of their evil allies, from the dprk and iran, i think they appeared, i have a feeling what about those strikes that...were in kyiv in december, they were also a bit strange there, something, something new appeared there, it was unusual, even before the new year, so i think they are getting something, but not at a high rate, there we are still talking about units, and after all, if china allows these missiles from the dprk and iran

to appear in russia, this means that china itself does not need them so much in its confrontation. with the west, that is, it is not about a perfect weapon, but still, still, it gets to russia, yes. and you said that the fact that they, well, today there was a report that a russian missile fell on the occupied territory of luhansk region, and it seems that a few days ago it also fell on the territory of the russian voronezh region, is a sign that the missiles are of poor quality, or i i didn't understand you, yes, i think these are signs that they... leave, the quality, the quality of inspection , the quality inspection is not as high as the military needs, well, it's not missiles, it's guided bombs, i think, but i think the same with missiles, maybe that's one of the answers to the question of why a smaller percentage was reported to have been shot down this time, perhaps the missiles simply do not

fly so accurately, they destroy civilian infrastructure, of course, but they do not hit... in critical places, perhaps this is one of the answers, but in any case they are in a hurry, it means that the quality decreases, and if they take even such missiles of the dprk, which had to be searched for a long time, where are their signs, american messages, but so far we have shown this missile, well, there was an old missile there, still a soviet one of such a technological level, and this means that , well, they are already fine with these missiles and... look, at the beginning we talked about the patriots, about the fact that the missiles for these systems may become a pause in their supply, but if we consider not only the example of the patriots, if you look at the situation more broadly, it is due to lack of funding and non-continuation aid from the united states to ukraine , if this continues,

the risks of losing or not keeping up, more precisely, what weapons are there risks now, which... and in the near future, and how critical it can be, seriously in the short term , if we understood about patriots, there are such risks, you say there is a place to replace, and what else can be at risk of supply disruptions, well , a lot of things are at risk, if we don't look at this aspect of balancing the budget, that's also important, i think there now it is not discussed, it is resolved there... this issue is solved by other mechanisms, but what concerns weapons, i would say that after the means of anti-aircraft anti-missile defense, this is the main thing, here are the patriots of the latest version, which knock down daggers, again -3, this version, it is critical, of course, it is difficult, there are not many of these systems in europe, the rest, i

think, are barrels and artillery, this is an intense war, now we see that it has already decreased a lot. the intensity of the use of ammunition by ukraine, it is now much lower than that of russia, and this is also due to the lack of ammunition there there are enough, it is necessary, or rather, it is not that there is a shortage right now, but it is necessary to save, and the second is, after all, the barrels that we received, the actual guns, the actual means from which the shooting takes place, they also wear out, and they are also needed to restore , and lo... now even, well, it’s already three sevens, the three sevens titanium screw, which we received from the united states, the british are already starting production there, well, it’s basically a british original system, there it is, it can be a problem, i i think artillery, artillery and air defense means are the most critical, well, of course, money, well, like

general general money, which starts all supply chains for ukraine. through allies , they are also important, it is not so, it is not so obvious, but it is important, ukraine also expects money from the european union, i will remind you, thank you very much, oleksiy yezhak, an expert of the national institute of strategic studies, was on radio liberty, thank you, in 2024, ukraine expects f-16 fighter jets to play a leading role in the supply, played by the countries of the european union. the european union also plans to increase production. ammunition up to a million per year, this goal, according to the european commission, will be achieved in the spring. however , the governments of the member countries of the bloc define and recognize that if military aid to ukraine from the usa stops. then the european union will not be able to replace its volumes by its own forces and at the same time remain a key financial donor of ukraine and a home for millions of ukrainians. what will 2024 bring to the relationship between ukraine

and the eu, how much time does the european union take to prepare for a possible war with russia, international forecast for the year from zoryana stepanenko, correspondent of radio liberty in brussels. winter holidays are a traditional period of political calm. in europe, the beginning of 2024 is no exception, and when the entire establishment returns from vacation, it will be time for decisions that can radically affect the situation both in ukraine and on the entire continent. russia has been weakened by the war in ukraine, and the eu states that the aggressor has the ability to quickly recover. she is preparing for a protracted war. maybe even outside of ukraine, but russian the economy is on the military rails, which alarmed the top officials of the eu. politicians, experts. increasingly speaking out loud. when , after the failures in ukraine , the russian military machine strengthens enough to expand the geography of its war, the terms in the eu are called

different. according to estonian intelligence , russia will lack the necessary forces to attack nato countries for another two years. the german defense minister says that the eu has five to eight years to bring its defense capabilities in line with the threat level, and boris pistorius believes that it is very serious, especially for the baltic countries. the top general of belgium and his dutch colleague in his last days in office, and since the new year he is retired, do not rule out that russia could open a second front there, and called on the dutch to prepare for war with the russian federation, to stock up on food and water the spread of russian aggression is restrained by ukraine, and in europe, as at the beginning of the invasion, they are interested in helping it, thereby keeping russia away from their own and foreign borders, but the stockpiles of weapons in the countries of the bloc every decade we took care of the economy, not defense, runs out. the eu is increasing the capacity of its defense industry, for example, the goal of producing a million shells per year, which are in short supply at

the front in ukraine, will become achievable in the spring of 2024, said the relevant european commissioner. russia, according to western special services, already produces 1.5 million per year, but it cannot be made up quickly due to technical reasons. at the same time, assistance within the limits of what is possible, both in the military and political sense, namely ... political considerations, for example, ukraine did not receive the german long-range taurus, eu countries provide. in 2024, in particular , f-16s will fly, and almost two dozen fighters will be given to ukraine. now the netherlands is preparing, which leads the aviation coalition, which, by the way, is expanding. france should also join the training of ukrainian pilots. in their budgets for the new year, many european states have planned billions for weapons for ukraine, unlike the vanguard country on the other side of the ocean. se in the usa, which is delaying american military aid to ukraine for 2024, in the european union is looking around for obvious reasons, the lack of its own military resources. in this case, the governments

of the member countries say, the eu will not be able to compensate ukraine for the us support, which some people worry will disappear altogether if donald trump returns to power. the republican politician, who is now the leader of the sympathy of american voters, insists that europe should catch up with the states in terms of aid to ukraine. if he wins the elections, he promises to end the war within a day, but does not specify exactly how. many in europe remembered trump's last term of office also for the fact that he, annoyed by the low spending of european countries on their own defense compared to the united states, threatened to leave this continent alone and withdraw from nato, although some in his circle, as the leading american media wrote, believe that trump never seriously planned anything like this. the test of the elections awaits the european union as well. as a union, polls predict a rise in the popularity of right-wing populists, food prices and the cost of heating in voters' homes more important to them than a security crisis

that risks becoming even more global. however , these are the political forces, at least, according to the forecasts now they will still remain in the minority, although they will sound louder in the political arena of the eu. the importance of which politician is in key positions in brussels is really difficult to overestimate. the eu does not play the same role. role in the military support of ukraine, but became a home for millions of ukrainians, as well as its key financial donor. in 2024, the multibillion-dollar macrofinance, which is vital to the budget of ukraine, is promised to be with or without hungary. and plans b are the work of the european commission, not without the help and political will of the member countries, of course. in the new year, the european commission will also prepare negotiations on ukraine's accession to the eu, however, there is no progress here without viktor orban, whose power will be held in the coming years. do not threaten not to achieve, but both in kyiv and brussels are determined to seek an understanding with budapest, because many consider eu membership a guarantee not only of economic prosperity, but

also of ukraine's security and stability. from brussels. zoryana stepanenko, ruslan kuzgov, radio liberty. well, continuing the international, or more precisely, european agenda, the head of the european council, charles michel, announced that he is running for the elections to the european parliament, which should be held in june this year, and if he is elected, he will have to leave the position of the head of the european council early, and then he can take the position of the head of the european council. hungarian prime minister viktor orban. the fact is that from july to december 2024, hungary will preside over the council of the european union. according to the rules, all eu member states chair the council of the european union in turn, and in the absence of a permanent president of the european council , this position passes to the state that actually chairs the council during this rotation period. so, if a candidate to replace charles michel is not found quickly, it is not excluded that

the prime minister of hungary. orbán, albeit temporarily, will perform the same functions that the president of the council usually performs. this may give hungarian prime minister viktor orbán greater influence in the eu, the financial times notes. viktor orbán, let me remind you, actively uses anti-western rhetoric, despite the fact that hungary is a member of the european union, meets with putin despite russian aggression against ukraine. and at the summit of the european union, i will remind you, he vetoed the a quadruple package of financial assistance to ukraine in the amount of 50 billion. what do brussels think about the prospects of viktor orban's presidency in the eurocouncil? our colleague elena abramovych will tell us, she is with us live from brussels, elena, my congratulations, here's what they actually say about orban's chances of taking the reins of the eu into his own hands, and it could happen already this year? yes, i congratulate you, well, i will say right away that the chances are small, and diplomats and

experts say so, and even charles michel himself, on... the evening when he spoke with journalists after his announcement that he was stepping down, he said he would stay, and now there is plenty of time to elect someone else, that there are options in brussels, to quote: avoid viktor orbán, and michel has promised to stay in office until the end , that is, he will conduct an election campaign at the same time, and in fact, we can say, he can remain in office until the end of the european elections, please listen to what he said. i have worked hard and will continue to do so until the last day of my european role. we we know that this summer, after the june elections , the time of democratic transition will come. after the elections, the european commission will also have a chance to pass the baton to a new team. as for the european procedures, here i will say that there is indeed such a clause that states that the presidency can be taken over by the leader of the country that will have at

that... moment the six-month presidency of the council of the european union, but it is important that this the rule usually applies to emergency situations, such as the possible sudden death or illness of a sitting president, and those conditions where there is very little time in order to elect a new leader, and now there is plenty of time, because michel has actually announced that he is coming, and we can say in six months, so there is still time to elect his successor, i.e. a temporary representative, moreover, the procedure for approving a new candidate. tours are not so complicated, i.e. the consent of all 20 member states of the european union is not required for this, only a qualified majority is needed, with the participation of the strongest economies, i.e. hungary will not be able to block such a decision, and by the way, hungarian prime minister viktor orban, seven years that is why, for example, he tried to block the decision on the appointment of ursula fondeyan to the position of the president of the european commission , he did not succeed, that is, he cannot block this type of decision, and the analysts we spoke with say that brussels is determined

to... take advantage of here is this second option, i.e. the appointment of another interim president in opposition to orban. first of all, the danger of orbán becoming the president of the council is zero. the reason is that the vast majority of member states, practically all except hungary, or maybe all but hungary and slovakia are currently united in electing someone else. well, this someone else is quite likely to occupy this position fully and permanently later, but for this it will be necessary for the european elections to have already taken place, and according to the procedures , it is after the european elections that this should happen in the fall, in the post-election period, that is in the fall 2024, new heads of european institutions should be elected, candidate.