the war continues, we still have the opportunity to talk with the next guest, people 's deputy of ukraine and member of the verkhovna rada committee on national security, defense and intelligence, iryna fries with us, ms. iryna, congratulations, thank you for being with us in the morning, glory to ukraine, heroes, glory, good morning, mrs. irina, by the end of march we are now promised that it will probably be possible to agree on all the amendments, talk and start. in fact, more specifically, the conversation about mobilization is about this bill, i understand that it is difficult with this too, because everyone has their own vision, and there are amendments that are similar to each other , you have divided them into categories and packages, you are considering them, but in general, the deputies do not have any common vision of what this bill should look like, do we understand well, well , look, the bill was really divided.

in the directions, well, in fact, it was preparation , conditionally speaking, for the first reading, this is how we prepared the previous draft law, which was withdrawn, that is, we went point by point, almost point by point, in these directions in order for the committee to decide on its vision, regarding one or another proposal from the authors, now these edits of more than 400 will be formed along these lines and will be considered, as you correctly said the package. in each direction, a large number of amendments are identical, duplicated , so i think that talking about the fact that this time can be stretched for a very long time, and preparing for the second reading, is not worth it, the committee is determined to work very actively in order not to slow down bringing the bill to the floor, at the same time the committee really decided on key controversial issues, in particular the electronic cabinet, electronic carriage who did not make a final decision

on the provision of consular services abroad, but at the same time did not agree with the excessive powers of the state central committee to block accounts , etc., so in this case we have a situation where almost half, that is, somewhere around 200, if we take the non-factional thousands of amendments there (200 the amendments really came from the servants, and in fact, if the servants)... were determined to see this bill dealt with quickly enough, they would be in a position to determine which amendments for them are key to to really go through each of these edits and not drag it out in time. i have heard this from several deputies, and we understand that now it is not only editorial spam, but also a lot of active hype work on all youtubes and... televisions and telegrams, but among

the swarm of thoughts there would be a few that interested me, in particular, the proposal , should we not consider all these amendments, how should we consider the general approach, that for combat operations, to raise the salaries of our military, which are at zero, well, at least in the region of 500 units in the equivalent, so that, well,... an option proposed by some of your colleagues, this kind of thing is considered by the committee as a way out of the situation, so that the mobilization does not slip due to the fact that it has already been disconnected in such a way that it is not even possible to put a two, a two with a minus was not even put, you you are absolutely right, as for this draft law, it is not provided for there, that is... can it be introduced by a separate amendment or

in a committee decision? well, you probably can, but there is a separate bill from roman kostenko that clearly lays out the motivational factors for people who can be mobilized, and that exactly in what way the state should directly raise financial support for them. from my point of view, if we really did not slow down the kostenkiv draft law, and also considered it. even in conjunction with this draft law on mobilization, then that one is even cooler, yes, that one, well, the absolutely unacceptable trail that mobilization has acquired, it would in a certain way really be removed, regarding the possibility of putting a payment at the level of at least 500 € in this bill . it can be done only... already, if the committee in

will propose this in its decision because the time for submission of revisions has already expired, and therefore any new revisions. they can only be based on the committee's decision, therefore either consider the kostenkiv draft law in parallel and operationally, or have the opportunity to contribute to this one. ugh. i also want to go back to one story, ms. irina, about this publication recently by the wall street journal, it was published on march 1, they published these documents from the 22nd year. this is a so-called peace agreement or an act of surrender, if any read it carefully according to the points, who knows it, in a word, your opinion is interesting as a member of the profile committee, and in general, whether the committee reflected that the great international

military strategist arahamiya was for some reason actually responsible for such things and for the points of this document, and it is simply unclear where the war is , where... a peace agreement, and where arachamia, three three points do not add up even in a perfect triangle, in which all three angles must be obtuse. well, actually, the committee didn't comment on the latest wall street journal post. we we know that this situation was considered even when arahamia was in istanbul, then it was called the istanbul agreements, yes, which already stirred society then, because they were really considered. complete capitulation, if we go by the conditions put forward by the russian federation or its representatives during these meetings, so today it is premature to talk about the fact that this agreement can gain some relevance, from my point of view, it is rather necessary

to talk about the need to strengthen our partnership assistance , strengthening the coalition on support of ukraine. in order to really achieve the goals set by us as a state, and not to go for those conditions, yes, which i will accept , well, that is, which are absolutely illogical for us, as a state in the future, we have to say goodbye already, mrs. irina, but tell me , maryana still goes to your committee, she is still a member of the committee, i am talking about bezugolo, in a word, if possible, yes, well, well... at least something must be stable in the defense of our country, for example, maryana . ms. irina, thank you for participating in our program. iryna friz, people's deputy, member of the committee on national security, defense and intelligence of the ukrainian parliament. for a short time, unfortunately, we rejoiced, i am talking about the fact that the ukrainian sky was clear, for a very

short period, and the russian aviation resumed its activity, it is reported that launches were recorded in zaporizhzhia, donetsk region. logivskyi, pokrovskyi districts, so remember about safety and where possible just stay in shelters. now we will talk about what will happen next on our airwaves, meet yuri fizer's interview with steve kapus, president of radio svoboda, the new president of radio svoboda, they will talk about freedom of speech in ukraine, about the importance of the work of our fellow journalists in the post-soviet era. in a huge space about the reaction of the western media to the war that russia unleashed against ukraine, and why radio liberty in russia was announced, imagine yourself as a foreign agent. in a moment, roman and i will return to you at 14:10, be sure to stay with espresso and

donate. greetings, this is exclusive espresso, today i will talk about journalism as it is, as it should be, and my today's guest knows this very well, steven kapus, president, radio free europe, radio liberty. congratulations, mr. kapus, and thank you for joining us today. thank you very much for inviting me. so let's talk about radio liberty's presence in ukraine. having offices in both kyiv and lviv, can we say that the ukrainian offices are becoming a kind of journalistic hub for radio liberty in the post-soviet space. i think

that is a very apt description. radio liberty has been working in ukraine for 70 years. this year we celebrate our 70th anniversary. we are proud that ukraine is home to our largest organization in europe, radio liberty. radio liberty is incredibly important right now, given everything that is happening in ukraine. we believe that it is very important to have a representative office in both kyiv and lviv with correspondents who cover the whole country. they report from the front line and tell the stories of ukrainians, demonstrating the resilience of the ukrainian people. and providing timely information. for 70.

and that's good, but the head office still remains in prague. that's right, our chief office is located in prague, czech republic. we work in 23 countries in europe and central asia, broadcasting in 27 languages, taking into account everything that is happening. in ukraine, here is our largest project, which is of vital importance. let's talk about freedom of speech, in particular in ukraine. you have been here for a few weeks and have a good understanding of the current situation. can you say that we have freedom of speech in ukraine? i ask this question because, as you know, some ukrainian channels are exclusively from the digital network here in ukraine, including our espresso tv channel. so, do you think we have freedom of speech in the general sense? i believe that freedom

of speech is a vital part of any democratic country . of course, there is a lot going on here, and we are aware that we are in a state of war. however, during my recent meetings with president zelenskyi. we believe that it is of decisive importance, since ukraine continues to strive for the status of a member of the eu and continues to develop as a democracy. despite the challenges of wartime, we must remember that journalists treat issues of national security with respect. however, it is very important to stand up for freedom of the press and

to stand up for responsibility for independent work without censorship. thank you. as an international journalist, i know that there is freedom of the press in western countries. but i am interested in the reaction there to the situation in ukraine, in particular to russian aggression and war. did it decrease? this attention to this problem. i noticed that during the last year, some western media did not pay attention only to the events in ukraine. why do you think this happened? i don't take it instruct other newsrooms on how to cover the news. yes, i noticed that some news organizations pay less attention to ukrainian issues. frankly, we don't get it, and it's the complete opposite of

what our journalists do. we have made ukraine our most covered topic outside the hq apartment. now the main thing is that we continue to do it. so while there are struggles, efforts and different stories at the core of rfe /rl's daily work. there is a general mix of the history of ukraine. and it's not only on the radio, on all platforms. we going nowhere, others may lose interest, but we think it's playing with fire, frankly, because of the seriousness of the issues going on here. you have already said that a few days ago, when you were in kyiv, you had a meeting with the president of ukraine, during which you spoke about the ukrainian journalist

yesipenko. i will tell our audience about this journalist in ukrainian. in a word, on march 10, 2021, a freelance journalist of the radio liberty crimea realia project stopped contacting territory of russia, transitions stopped contacting relatives. later it became known that... he was simply detained by the fsb, he was accused of contacts with the ukrainian special services and the storage and transportation of ammunition, this is no longer an isolated case, but... so, is there any news about vladyslav yesipenko, who has already illegally detained by the fsb for almost three years. yes, it is obtained in crimea, which was occupied by russia. this would not have happened if russia had stayed away from crimea. this is part

of ukraine, and the whole world knows it. but russia has its own illegal ideas about whose crimea should be. so they considered a journalist who tells the story of crimea as a threat. and there he paid a very high price for it. he has been in prison for almost three years. we discussed it with the president, and we were grateful to the president. the situation is complicated by a number of factors, but everyone agrees that he should be released. and the president did tell us that

he intends to raise the issue of our detained colleague this spring at the summit. therefore, we hope that the issue of both crimea and the detention of our esteemed colleague will be raised just then. yes, the president said, and we were grateful that he shared that information. did you discuss with president zelensky the possibility of exchanging the ukrainian journalist for some... or simply his release? we discussed this issue, but we did not receive any specific information from the president on this matter, and frankly, we did not expect it. this is something he has to deal with and we respect the complexity of the situation. however, the point is that

the power is civil, not military, it is the only one crime. is that he is a journalist and tells the stories of crimea. he must definitely return home. this week i had the honor to meet not only with the president, but also with vlad's wife kateryna. she is a very strong woman, just like vlad himself. this family needs to be reunited and we are working on it. we found out that the truth is a real threat to russia, otherwise they would not resort to such radical actions. currently, russia receives two of our colleagues, one in crimea, the other in russia. and

this tactic of arresting journalists simply for that they are telling the truth must stop. did you mention your journalist alsa kurmasheva from radio liberty who was detained in russia a few months ago, she was also convicted of crimes she did not commit, do you have any news or information about her current situation? we are actively exploring all possible avenues for an immediate release. and now we have... several options for the development of events. alsou is a valuable colleague, devoted wife and mother of two children. also, the fact that she is a citizen of the united states opened up other opportunities for us on the way to her

release. as i mentioned earlier, we are eager to learn. all possible options to bring home all our unjustly detained colleagues, including alsa and vlad, as well as those detained in belarus, we think about them every day. i want to tell our viewers that alsu kurmasheva has been in a pre-trial detention center since the end of october last year, she is accused of violating the so-called law on foreign agents, which has been in effect in russia for several years. believes that the journalist herself should have provided documents that she is a foreign agent to the register of agents, well, this is russia, you don't really understand them sometimes. okay, recently the russian'. recently, the general prosecutor's office of russia declared radio liberty an undesirable organization in the country. does anything change for

radio liberty, given that you were previously recognized as a foreign agent? if we are so clearly annoying the russian government, it means that our journalists are doing their job very well. they try to present the profession as an illegal activity, which is an absurd and dangerous concept. they can name us as they want, but we can clearly say that our work will continue. although we don't have any more. office in russia, we still continue to cover the events there, our reports penetrate deep into russia every day, and we

intend to continue this effort. it really amazes me that while they are committing these heinous crimes, when navalny has been silenced forever, when we... get these labels, when bombs fall on ukrainian civilians every day, the level of hatred within russia is increasing, because it is all against the free people, against those who those who want freedom, those who want to live in a sovereign country, those who want to express themselves as a journalist. those who just want to be able to return to russia to visit their sick mother, as was

the case with zalsu, so i want to assure you that we will not be stopped and we will continue to do our work. speaking about the death of the russian opposition leader, oleksiy navalny. how might his death affect world journalism? this highlights, as i said, that truth is a very powerful tool. i don't call it a weapon because we are not at war. we don't try use force, we're just trying to tell the truth. of course, they want a certain intimidation effect to spread. they want to silence journalists, journalists are killed inside russia,

journalists are imprisoned. you know wall street journal reporter evan, and it 's been almost a year since he was illegally detained and wrongfully detained. despite this, there is still a large amount of journalistic activity. which focuses on what is happening inside the country. do you mean russian journalism? i have referring to journalism that covers what is happening inside russia. it would be wrong to think that they will be able to seal russia from the prying eyes of journalists just like that, it will not happen. does true journalism exist in russia, or does it? only propaganda reigns. well, i'm talking about an external focus on dance events. external, not internal. i believe that

there are still brave people who are doing their best to bring the truth to people. despite the difficulties, they continue their work. however we are dealing with well-funded state media that often push propaganda and ignore it. for example, russia has made it illegal to use the word war to describe what is happening to the ukrainian civilian population. this is both absurd and dangerous. sane people see through this tactic and know the truth. mr. kapus, you mentioned that rfe/rl journalists are actively reporting from the front lines to provide an accurate picture of the situation. however, my question is about another aspect: should western journalists in certain cases consider the possibility of reports from the

front line on the side of the russians? given that such cases do occur. a very interesting question. not sure if it's safe now. i think that russian officials and the russian military consider western journalists as enemies. they see them as a target. we can see with our own eyes the consequences of the actions of the russian military. yesterday i was in buch and irpen and saw for myself. we do not need to make reports in the rear of the territories occupied by the russians. i will say a few words

in ukrainian to tell our audience about it. so, let's talk now about the post-truth. post-truth is what many people say, we are now living in this period, it is when the circumstances under which the objective facts are less significant, and than during the formation of public opinion, than the appeal to some human, subjective emotions and beliefs. we, many people say that we are living in this time and... so now my question to mr. president will be this: how can journalism survive in the post-truth era? maybe i have an old fashioned idea of ​​what the truth will prevail. so much is being done now to pollute the information environment largely through misinformation.

therefore, one of our missions at radio liberty is to fight disinformation, to do everything possible to highlight true information, to separate facts from fiction. i will only say that journalism is a noble calling and we need people now. who seek to speak the truth, we must not give up just because there are forces that do not want the truth to be spoken, shared or seen, you and i are witnessing that is happening, we know what the truth is, and i think, as i said, that journalists are now in an incredibly important position

to tell the world about what... and especially what's happening here in ukraine, that extremely important. we must not give up and we will not. we will not give up. thank you for coming today and answering my questions. thank you very much. please, thank you for the invitation. well, today we talked a lot about journalism, what it should be, what it is, and what it would be in the end, ideally, what we would like it to be. see. i talked about it with steven kapus, the president of radio free europe. radio svoboda, i was interested, i hope you are too, it was an exclusive on espresso, my name is yuriy fizar, see you soon.

it's ten o'clock, it's time to find out what 's happening in ukraine and the world, khrystyna porubiy is working in the studio at this time. the baby's body was pulled out from under the rubble of a house in odesa a few minutes ago, the child, who was not even a year old, was found next to the dead woman, who was discovered by rescuers in the morning, - said the head of the region oleg kiper. this is already the tenth victim yesterday's attack. and the third murdered child who was killed by russian terrorists in this house. three-year-old mark and four-month-old timofeyko also died. search and rescue operations have been going on for more than 30 hours. there may still be people under the ruins, the state emergency service reported. today is a day of mourning in odesa, townspeople carry flowers, candles and toys to a high-rise building, one of the entrances of which collapsed as a result of being hit by an enemy drone.