my name is khrystyna yatskiv, and i congratulate my co-host in this project, ayder muzhdabayev. salam aleikum. alaykum salaam. we will certainly talk in this program about what is happening directly in crimea. why do they continue to find partially or completely sunken russian, in particular military vessels, what is happening with the observance and non-observance of human rights. why the blackout, what happened to the balaclava thing? purely potentially, but let's start with the security situation and a very unusual event that happened literally these days, and in my opinion in they have already talked about it on all broadcasts, but we will look at it specifically in the context of crimea. the sea of ​​azov and, in general, the south of our country, the downing of the a50 long-range radar aircraft and the downing of the il-22 command control post. according to some military... policy, this

became possible thanks to the active work of the defense forces of ukraine in the crimea in the first days of january, when the radar systems, radio electronic warfare systems were affected, in general, it was broken, pardon the words, i hope the occupier will understand, because our broadcasts are being watched, about reshyn, was created in to the crimean air defense system, and it certainly gave a certain ground for the defense forces to carry out a special operation to destroy these important aircraft, at least disable one of them for a certain time. i am now happy to welcome our esteemed guest to the line, literally in a few moments, with whom we will talk about the situation of control over the occupied crimea, whether it remains... in fact, this control

is completely in the hands of the russian occupier . ben godges, lieutenant general of the armed forces of the united states, retired, former commander of united states forces in europe. mr. ben, i congratulate you, glory to ukraine. thank you very much for the invitation, congratulations. in one of your comments, you very aptly noted that the one who controls... can win the war, can we say after the episode with the a50 and il-22 planes that whoever does not completely control crimea, in fact, cannot claim total victory in this war, and are we one step closer to the de-occupation of the peninsula, including the destruction of these important flying objects. crimea is indeed the largest part

of ukraine that is still under temporary occupation. and all russian logistics, their air and naval forces are really concentrated there, and from there they attack mainland ukraine. accordingly, it is very important for ukraine to return crimea in order to rebuild its economy, and ultimately to cut off crimea. in order to worsen the access of the russians. given what you say, it is now very difficult for the russian air force to carry out airstrikes and attack ukraine from air. ukrainian air defense systems are working. we see that the means of radio-electronic warfare also justify themselves. if ukraine had long-range systems, they would really be able to hit targets in the territories they are now. was occupied by

russia, and then it will have no choice but to withdraw its troops from crimea. ayder your question? dear mr. general, i want to ask, in general, according to your professional opinion, what are the minimum military conditions on our side, on the ukrainian side, necessary to start an operation. with the liberation of crimea, in the first place the next step is to cut off crimea from the rest of the occupied territories, which is, in principle, the beginning of the operation to liberate the peninsula, what is required for this from a military point of view, precisely from a military point of view, is minimal. i think there are three main conditions: firstly, ukraine needs stability. so that

russians could not actually live on the crimean peninsula, the military could not operate. it is very important, in fact, to continue special operations there in order to... undermine the activities of the russians, including in donbas. it is very important to cut off crimea so that the russians do not had access to it. secondly, it is very important to make crimea completely isolated. there are only two ways for us to isolate crimea. we are talking about the destruction of the crimean bridge, including from the side of the mainland. it is very important to do this with the help of the air force, with the help of missiles and ... actions, then crimea will become isolated, and this is very important. thirdly, it is necessary to pass the fortifications and defense structures that russia was building. this is necessary in order to proceed to the assault on the headquarters of the russians, as well as to eliminate their artillery. it needs to be destroyed

headquarters, logistics must be destroyed, personnel must be destroyed. mr. godges, we understand how much. the crimean peninsula is very sacred for putin and for russia , as a concept, as an empire, so imagine that they are simply fleeing from there, because it became inconvenient for them in terms of logistics or supplies to be there, we, as residents of the peninsula until recently, can literally it is difficult to imagine what to do in a situation where a potential partisan opens up in our country. the nature of the war and resistance in the crimea are those of the russians occupiers who can hide in the mountains, in the terrain and in other, let's say, suitable opportunities of crimea. yes, the kremlin and

president putin, for them crimea is really something sacred, which has great weight and value. they say that this is their historical territory, and they see it as such. strategy, actually in keeping crimea. they believe that russia has the right to crimea, they do not care about ukrainian sovereignty, they do not care about any internationally recognized borders, and of course, this cannot be accepted. the west cannot swallow this, because it is a complete leveling supreme law and international law. accordingly, the russians gradually began to understand that ukraine will gradually regain its crimea. it will not surrender, accordingly there have already been attacks on the crimean bridge, there have been specific actions by the general staff of ukraine. of course, there were certain combat missions that were successful and those that were not. the most important goal is the actual isolation of crimea in order not to leave crimea to russia.

of course, such a scenario is unacceptable for the putin regime, it would be such a powerful blow to the kremlin regime, because the russians, who live far from moscow. who swallow this propaganda fed by the kremlin, for them the fact that crimea became russian is a huge victory for putin. therefore, he will hold his teeth for this achievement. we know how serious the problem is inside russia, but they don't care as long as they keep crimea. if crimea is retaken, it will inevitably lead to the fall of the kremlin regime, putin's regime. mr. general, if you allow me, i will ask you... a political question, all this that we are talking about with you now is possible and depends directly on the solution of the political the crisis in the american congress, ah, which is still ongoing, because without the support

of the united states, advancing to crimea and advancing in general is unlikely, and the united states, they should set an example for other countries, nato and other countries in general. to the world, as a signal that he, they support ukraine, and let's you too, be with us. ah, there were some positive signals, uh, yesterday, the day before yesterday, president biden expressed hope that the crisis can be overcome. he said that the majority of congressmen support ukraine. but there are nuances, and so is the speaker of the chamber representatives said that we discussed some positions there, but there is still no final decision, what is your, personally, your forecast, when and in what way and whether this issue will be resolved at all with military assistance to ukraine, well, israel and taiwan, respectively.

thank you. thank you, an extremely good question, a very important question. there is such an internal political situation in the usa. it is very upsetting that the united states, which should set an example for others, has such internal contradictions regarding aid to ukraine. israel this problem really needs immediate solution. support from both democrats and republicans was and is very important. but unfortunately, this is the kind of political friction that will also be caused by the efforts of trump, who rejects such statements about what he would do if he became president. i really hope that this crisis will be resolved in the near future, because it all plays into the hands of the kremlin. we realize it is important. providing such assistance, i also want to say that president biden needs

to explain to the people of the united states that it is in our interest to support ukraine, why we it is politically beneficial, why it is also beneficial from the point of view of our security, if ukraine wins this war. unfortunately, this message does not get as much publicity from our leader, but it is very important. actually, it is important for us americans to understand why it is so necessary, so you have. and other countries should look at what we are doing, what we can do, you can see, for example, the same situation in germany, because the german leadership does not really want to provide ukraine with taurus systems, as well as other countries that could strain themselves in arms to ukraine, so i think that germany also needs to be pressured, thank you, mr. ben, one more question, recently in one of the comments you noted that... the west, which has the appropriate capacity, could take steps now , which would help

ukraine, first of all, to preserve the expensive and scarce missiles we already have to protect our air defense sky, perhaps they could cover a part of ukraine with their systems so that it does not suffer from russian missile attacks. i have clarifying requests. the question of which part of ukraine in such a case should and could be covered so that none of the parties consider it as an escalation. i have been following the operations of the united states navy, including the situation in the red sea. you saw what the prerequisites were and ultimately what they could have been. consequences, that is, as we explained it, we delivered these strikes because we understood the increasing dynamics

of the situation, that is, we could theoretically and practically strike missiles, as russia is doing on ukraine, on the ukrainian population, on ukrainian cities. of course, i know that there will be those who will criticize the possibility of such an intervention, they will say: "don't do it, don't wake the beast, it will escalate." of course, russia will talk about it, but you know, i think that it would be correct for such a decision on the part of ukrainian friends, on the part of america, on the part of great britain, in order for them to curtail their efforts to completely block nato's skies , as well as the sky and the parts ukraine, because we have seen that some of the russian missiles have already entered the territory of nato, we are talking about poland and romania. yes, there was no intention, there was none. they talked about it , but such a reaction is wrong, it only increases our tolerance for what

putin is capable of, he sees that we are not acting adequately, he can choose how to act further. of course, there are perfectly reasonable ways to protect the civilian population and avoid escalation. i am sure that all this rests on the shoulders of the political establishment. mr. godges, very much grateful thank you for joining our airwaves, your opinion is very important in the context of your vision of prospects in crimea, both for the defense forces of ukraine and for the occupiers. i'll just remind you that we had a chance to talk now with ben godges, the former commander of united states forces in europe, and i think it's time to take a short break from our broadcast and ider and i will come back. in a few moments. vasyl zima's big broadcast. two hours of airtime. two hours

of your time. two hours to learn about war and how the world lives. two hours to keep up with economic and sports news. two hours in the company of favorite presenters, presenters who have become like relatives to many, as well as distinguished guests of the studio. events of the day in two hours. vasyl zima's big broadcast. a project for smart and caring people. in the evening. on espresso. we continue the joint project of the espresso tv channel and the tv channel. ater, together, beraber, a program in which we talk about the temporarily occupied crimea, and now i would like to give the floor to eder muzhdabayev, who will once again remind and will actually confirm the thesis that control over the occupied crimea should be returned, brought closer, circumstances should be created so that our troops could reach

the occupied crimea so far, and for this they, our troops, should be supported. eider , ah... thank you, thank you to everyone who watches us, thank you to everyone who helps the armed forces of ukraine, i just want to remind you that no matter what we say here, uh, we either listened to each other there, or took interview, it will not help the liberation of crimea if we are not together and constantly began to help, for example, i think that all viewers of our joint program atp and espresso. together, they strive for the liberation of crimea, and if so, of which i am sure, then each of you should directly help the single, separate crimean battalion named after naman chilibijakhan, this is the 48th separate assault battalion of the armed forces of ukraine. here in

the corner you can see the qr code of monobank, the collection is very important, the collection... has been coming for the third week, but unfortunately it has slowed down, they have collected so far, well, even for 10 drones with thermal imaging cameras have not yet been collected, but the fighters asked us for 50 such drones, which the region needs right now, because you know, the nights are long, the space there is large, the steppe, it is very difficult to fight there, so i ask all of you who can see, to join . scan the qr code and drop as much as you can on the drones, and if you drop on 1+ drones, then there is an option, you can write to me personally on telegram or, sorry, on instagram or on twitter, i will sign this drone or fighters myself will sign this drone with a message you say

thank you very much everyone who helps i hope so until the end of the program or after... the recording, you will all watch and make your donation, it is very necessary, thank you, and let 's try to summarize the topic we discussed, in particular, with the retired lieutenant general of the us armed forces ben hodzhis, what happened these days in the waters of the sea of ​​azov, in general in the ukrainian south, which is still occupied, and can this be considered some kind of fundamental shift? bohdan is in touch with us. he is an aviation expert, manager of the aviation sector. bohdan, congratulations, glory to ukraine. congratulations, glory to heroes. well, according to various estimates, the russians have seven, maybe eight of these big planes with saucers, as they say, on their heads. these are long-range radar reconnaissance aircraft. every time such

a plane takes off, ukrainians, to be honest, are already expecting a missile attack, it was like that before, we are used to it. ah, at the same time, the question of why exactly this expensive, rather rare, even for russians, plane ended up in the range of action of some special operation of the defense forces of ukraine, remains a question too open, we can only proceed from the banal logic written there, i don't know , in all the military textbooks, probably, probably, they needed to find out what was going on, uh... deep into our territories, but their facilities that were affected at the beginning of january in the crimea, well, in fact , they were not allowed to do it safely, without the involvement of these planes, that's why they flew too close, that's why they were hit , so bye, let's go, and please tell me, mr. bohdan, can this be considered really revolutionary, in

to some extent a russian-ukrainian event confrontation, someone even... with the destruction of the moscow cruiser, compares, yes, well, look, it is clear that this is in principle a very significant victory, and it goes beyond a purely military victory, if only because previously these aircraft in these zones and flew like that, but there was no means to get them or destroy them, that is, we see that there have been certain changes in terms of strengthening the anti-aircraft defense system or supplying these or other means that were allowed in the current configuration, in the current conditions. . get these planes and destroy even one, in fact, two units of quite valuable equipment, because if we are talking about the 50th, the marketability of such an aircraft, according to various estimates, is from 300 to 300. if we are talking about a destroyed, or partially, well-damaged il 22m, then its value starts only with the aircraft itself from 300 million dollars and additionally from

equipment it can cost from 50 to 100 million dollars, that is, this economic loss is very tangible, we understand that it is not only of a military nature, okay, then the question about the situation with russian aviation, in particular occupied... well, i think that for those who know at least a little bit about crimea, for whom it is no secret that there are airports there, which were generally built as civilian objects, planes once flew there, both ukrainians and people from from other countries could come, could fly to simferopol, actually and not only that, however , the mode of functioning of these facilities remains under great question, you know that people are registered there and still some even work, receive salaries. but no planes land there, except perhaps for military purposes. in addition, from at the beginning of the so-called svo

, the krasnodar airport itself was closed and still has not resumed its work, no matter how the russians announced it. mr. bohdan, what is happening to them with these objects and with civil aviation in general? yes, if we talk about civil aviation in the border or temporarily occupied territories of ukraine. these airports remain closed, in fact, since february 22, airports in the bryansk, belgorod and other regions, including the krasnodar territory, have imposed restrictions on civil aircraft flights to the data airports, i.e. they do not directly serve civilian aircraft, at the same time they remain open for military transport and military aviation. in addition, we remember that since the time of the soviet union, a large number of airports were so-called dual- purpose airfields. that is, they were built from the point of view of being able to serve both the military and civilians, to solve tasks, and this also applies to airports on the territory of the russian federation, that is, these

infrastructures today used exclusively for the conduct of war and the landing or maintenance of certain aircraft. at the same time, there is a certain procedure, that is, in principle, it is currently in force in civilian airports of ukraine, when airports are in front of the airport. the so-called regime of forced idle time, i.e. the staff receives 2/3 of the basic salary rate, that is, in principle, supports, performs conditional maintenance of the infrastructure itself so that the airport does not fall into disrepair and preserves certain certificates, but at the same time somehow active commercial activity this the infrastructure does not perform, and i have a question that concerns, well, in principle, also the air topic, well, in general... last year, well, and the beginning of this year was such a period, well, of significant improvement of the situation for ukraine at sea and in

the air, it is obvious , everyone emphasizes this both in the west and in us as well, but we have not yet received a single f-16 from any of our partners in the west, in your professional opinion, how exactly... actually an expert on air defense issues, including , which can dramatically change to change when these f-16s will appear in the air in some number, which will additionally be such an increase, what it will lead to, and how it will change the course of the war. yes, if we talk about the appearance of f16 in ukrainian airspace. then it will have several important key changes. the first important key change is that these aircraft are an element of the complex air defense system according to the nato concept,

that is, these aircraft are quite effectively integrated with western air defense platforms, including those that have already been transferred to ukraine. here, that is the aircraft can receive information from the ground air defense system itself, which detects the target and can destroy this target as the most anti-aircraft battery on the ground. and a missile can be launched directly from the plane in the air, which will then destroy either the short-range missile or this or that drone. the second important component of the aircraft itself can also be a suitable radar, which actually flies at high speed, detects targets, transmits this information to the ground complex, and then they can work on the targets, that is, it is such teamwork that significantly increases effectiveness of the entire air defense system. this is not to say that the soviet migs themselves were not yet integrated into the... system, but the capabilities and range of radar inspection and weapons, including missiles, air, air, which are on board the f16, they have more, in fact

almost twice the range than, for example, the main list of missiles used on the same mig-29, that is, we are talking about the range of detecting targets at a distance of 160 km or more, we are talking about hitting air targets at a range of 160 or more kilometers depending on what types of air-to-air missiles will be delivered, because even under the conditions of this single air defense system, the aircraft can only see 160 km with its updated radar, but at the same time if i'm on... the installation that sees there on several hundreds of kilometers further, as a rule, we are talking about such modern systems as samsya, etc., which are capable under certain conditions of seeing targets at a distance of even up to 300 km, that is, an aircraft can launch a missile even if it does not see a target, but ground complexes allow this missile to hit this target find and destroy, here, but if we talk specifically about the supply in the 16th, then the key factor will be, in addition to the supply of the aircraft itself in a certain

understandable amount. and these are at least several squadrons at the first stage. the second important component is the supply of the appropriate types of ammunition to the aircraft, because the aircraft itself is unarmed, it is actually just an aircraft of a certain platform, but of course it must be supplied with guided air bombs, guided air bombs, air- to-air or air-to-ground missiles, here including cruise missiles, at least medium-range, of course, it will depend on the quantity in which these weapons will be supplied... the effectiveness of the aircraft will really depend, if these are large batches that will be constantly supplied, in fact, these aircraft will allow at least 12-16 hours to be in the air, this will be a very significant factor, in fact, i would say, a turning point for a certain direction of the front, or for example for the situation on this or that battlefield, here together with the fact that, if, unfortunately, such supplies they will be limited, as, for example, it happens with artillery today, then unfortunately we will see some

point improvement. but it will be difficult to talk about any drastic changes, because we can see that even during the corresponding strikes that nato troops have carried out in the past few weeks in the middle east on the khosyts, we were talking about the launch of hundreds of cruise missiles and the simultaneous destruction of dozens of powerful objects . and tell me, please, mr. bohdan, once again, the destruction of the a50 led to the idea of ​​whether ukraine will have similar aircraft and ... radar reconnaissance in order to basically control and report everything that needs to be scouted for the f-16 that we may have, will we need such aircraft as well, that is, is it worth it already think about it now? so look, if we talk about the possibility of ukraine obtaining such types of aircraft, indeed, several units of such aircraft would have a very serious effect, from the point of view of supporting both ground

-based radar detection systems, including directly the aircraft-16 themselves, after all they allow, just like the russian a50u, to help fighter jets detect targets in advance and effectively destroy them, that is , such an aircraft, it can be a language command center, it can help increase the efficiency and speed of information exchange, it can help detect ground targets at a greater distance and air targets, i.e. we are talking about hundreds of kilometers, but at the same time we understand that deliberately... if such an aircraft is released, it will be a very, very important target of the enemy, that is , in fact, the infrastructure of the airfield where this aircraft can is based or will be based, it will most likely try to be subjected to one or another missile attacks or, for example , strikes by kemikaji drones, so of course it will be necessary to ensure adequate protection of such an aircraft, on the other hand, to date, ukraine partly has access to certain data that are obtained from such aircrafts of the anti-aircraft defense, partner countries, but... we

understand that having your own aircraft and operating at the right time in the right volume with one or another means is a completely different story than periodically with a certain delay to receive some limited amount of information from partner countries, or , for example, as we can see, this happened , including, for example, with the satellite communication of the stalin system, when in certain areas it is provided by the decision of one or another owner, in other areas, where it would be very useful for the ukrainian defense forces, or , for example, for a sabotage-reconnaissance group, this... unfortunately, there is no signal of this access. mr. bohdan, if i understood you correctly, despite the fact that the f16 is a rather old, old model, but with all this the equipment that you mentioned, at the moment, it is actually significantly ahead of any russian.