russian oil refineries are civilian targets, however, military experts we spoke with disagree with this assessment, they say that russian refineries are perfectly legitimate military targets, even by the way some nato officials say that these strikes had a significant impact on russian economy and undermined russia's ability to finance its war against ukraine. i had a question, i had an opportunity to ask this question in the pentagon, to ask why they do not consider russian refineries to be legitimate targets. for ukraine and what is the assessment of the effects of these strikes on the military situation, let's hear. why the pentagon does not consider oil refineries, which are directly related to russia's ability to finance this war, as legitimate strategic goals for ukraine. i will not speak for ms wallender, and obviously the minister's words speak for themselves. as minister austin emphasized, we are focused. on the support

of ukraine and its ability to defend its sovereign territory. so, when it comes to the current situation on the battlefield, we continue to think and support ukraine's efforts with regaining sovereign territory and protecting the territory from further russian aggression. i'll stop there. so do you have an estimate of the impact of the strikes on the refinery on the war? no, we don't have it. ostap, also this week there were large-scale russian attacks on the ukrainian energy infrastructure. in ukraine, they say that repelling such attacks is becoming more and more difficult due to the lack of air defenses. how are these statements being reacted to in the us in light of the already six-month delay in aid? oleksiy, we heard the reaction from the white house, the spokeswoman of the white house karinzhan pierre condemned said that these attacks were another reminder that ukraine is in critical need of air defense capabilities. and rockets to

them appealed to congress to immediately approve the necessary funding. oleksiy, but the question arises, what can the white house, the pentagon do now, without waiting for the actions of the congress, or are there any ways of providing assistance to ukraine right now? let's hear what the pentagon responded to this? can the united states do something on its own or with the help of allies to give ukraine what it needs already? now while we wait for congressional action. yes, and we do. of course, the most important thing we can do is approve additional funding. but this does not mean that the ministry of defense and the us government are not doing anything. we continue to consult closely with our international allies and partners, as well as with ukraine, on the importance of providing them with such critical assets, including air defense. we will continue to consult with our coalition around the world to see what we can get. for ukraine on this front, but

again, the most important thing we can do right now from a us national security perspective is to approve additional funding. oleksiy, these are all words, what about actions. we actually saw a few steps this week. the state department has approved the sale to ukraine of equipment to support and modernize air defense systems of the hokk for $138 million. this contract will be paid on account. which congress recently included in the budget for ukraine. oleksiy also saw another step, it is somewhat unusual, it is about what the united states handed over to ukraine seized weapons that iran was trying to deliver to the houthis in yemen. we are talking about small arms, and these are ek-47 assault rifles, these are also machine guns, we are talking about small arms rifles and cartridges, about half a million sets of small arms, they say in the central command that this may be enough to...

equip one brigade with small arms, these there are steps, but we know that ukrainians need artillery, ukrainians need air defense means to shoot down russian missiles, in particular ballistics, ppok systems, about which i mentioned earlier, they can shoot down drones and cruise missiles, you can't shoot down ballistics from them, the ukrainians also need heavy equipment, the pentagon says that all this requires funding from congress. ostapa, in fact, regarding actions that ukraine has been waiting for for six months after this week. over the easter break , the house of representatives is back to business, and is the funding issue any closer to being resolved now? oleksiy, while there are more questions than answers, mike johnson, speaker of the house of representatives says that continues to work with congressmen and the white house, he said this in particular in a comment to our correspondent kateryna lisonova. earlier, the speaker made various proposals, he said that a new draft law with changes would be possible, he voiced a proposal to provide aid to ukraine as a loan. loan and possibly use to

pay for this loan the freezing of assets of russian oligarchs in the united states, but again oleksia, we do not have concrete terms yet, various dates were mentioned, they said, maybe the second half. maybe may, let's keep an eye on it, everything will depend on how quickly the speaker can come to an agreement with the republicans in the congress and also with the white house. ostap, thank you very much, i will remind our viewers that the voice of america journalist, ostap yarysh, was in touch with us. and we continue: greece can transfer up to 32 f-16 fighter jets to ukraine, greek media reported on april 10. the commander of nato's joint forces in europe, general cavoli, has denied the report that the f-16 fighter jets are no longer that useful on the battlefield. at the hearings in congress, the american general spoke about the importance of transferring the f-16 to ukraine and shared the biggest difficulties allies face in the process of training ukrainian pilots. some analysts

believe that f-16 aircraft cannot help ukraine. do you share this opinion, general? the f-16 will help, any aircraft will help, but it is especially difficult to go from the old soviet-era aircraft that were flown by the ukrainians, that they maintained and maintained, to a modern fourth- generation aircraft such as the f-16, we are working on a whole coalition of countries is working with them, in the end it will be an extremely valuable thing for them. i understand that we are training them on the f-16, and there are countries that will supply the f-16 to ukraine, right? yes, that's right. why doesn't the united states provide them with f-16s? we support

the provision of f-16s to european countries, and the number they are going to provide corresponds to the request of the ukrainians at the moment. i visited ukraine a few weeks ago, one of the conclusions that struck me is about planes, it's not just about transferring to ukraine planes, and regarding training, pilot training and launching them, so to speak, into the work conveyor. can you tell us how much we can help the ukrainians go through this process so that it is meaningful, so that it helps us achieve all the requirements from the point of view of our national security. of course, first of all, it should be noted that we are not the only ones training ukrainian pilots and working on fourth-generation aircraft for them, there is an aviation coalition, denmark and the netherlands are currently doing the most work, we are training some pilots here in the us and also working on some

aircraft maintenance programs, but let me make a few points: what matters in this, believe it or not, is knowing and learning english, if all... the manuals, all the instructions and all the buttons are written in english, you should at least know the language well enough for that, by the way, it's also the international language of flying, so it's just necessary to have some level of language skills, that's the first step. the second step is to determine whether the pilot has sufficient basic training. if a person is already experienced pilot, she goes directly to the f-16. this has some difficulties because these planes are very different from the ones they flew. in the ukrainian air force. otherwise, the person undergoes basic flight training. we have several airmen currently undergoing this training in several different countries, after which they will transition to the f-16. do we have opportunities to train

more ukrainian pilots? in your opinion? the limiting factor regarding the number we are currently preparing is the general availability of ukrainian pilots. ukrainians carefully miscalculate... and this is what determines the actual scale of training, or the number of pilots in the working pipeline. meanwhile, speaker mike johnson is visiting former us president donald trump's residence in florida today. politicians will hold a joint press conference on the integrity of the upcoming elections. vodnoches, according to the american media, the speaker of the house of representatives wants to support. trump to avoid dismissal. far-right republicans are calling for the speaker's dismissal due to dissatisfaction with the government's budget, as well as if if johnson puts aid to ukraine to a vote. the day before, my colleague kateryna elsonova asked american lawmakers about the terms and future aid to ukraine, which is currently stuck in the house

of representatives. i suggest you listen. even if you have some reservations about the overall benefit package. partners, sign this petition bypassing the speaker to start work in ukraine. this is important, i can't tell you how upset and angry i am, it's just un-american that we still haven't voted, still flirting with... those who who is standing in the way, literally appeasing putin, let's call a spade a spade, this is supporting putin's illegal aggression, this is not american, most of us are very supportive of ukraine, i sincerely apologize that this is taking so long. some believe that we have no interest in ukraine, i believe that this is absolutely absurd, we are world leaders, if we lose this leadership, then someone else will take this place. for example, china or russia. that is why this war is so important. i think there are a few republicans who do

do not understand in general, now the republican party is divided approximately 50 to 50 on this issue, and those 50% who are against funding ukraine, they do not understand the negative consequences. if we lose ukraine, it does not mean that we are suddenly off the hook, not at all, it will harm us for generations to come. the question is how to bring this bill to a vote? i am considering the possibility of a separate draft law purely on ukraine. i think this format will help to solve this issue. i will not give money to ukraine, never have and never will. there is no strategy. someone can you tell me what is the strategy for ukraine? they are trying to intimidate us. he said that if we don't give them 60 billion, the russians will go to poland. the people no longer believe in it, putin will not go to poland, if you want to solve this war, wait until

donald trump is elected president, putin will leave ukraine by april 1. by the end of this year, russia plans to completely capture the donetsk region and probably launch an offensive on kharkiv, according to george baros, an analyst at the institute for the study of war. this think tank works, publishes daily reports on the russian invasion of ukraine since february 22 . in exclusive. in an interview with voice of america journalist andrii borys baros, he told how ukraine can effectively oppose russia. about the situation at the front. how does the institute for the study of war assess current developments? who is on the offensive, who captures more territory, who has the advantage? now russian troops have a strategic initiative in the entire theater of hostilities, including. operational initiative in almost all places where battles are currently being fought, including in the northeast

near kharkiv, near kupyansk, luhansk, donetsk, bakhmut district, near chasovoy yar, near avdiivka, ughledar, zaporizhzhia, robotynnoy, even under the kherson krinks. russians have the initiative and have achievements. the russians are now taking advantage of the situation that developed after ukraine's 2023 contour offensive, which it did not achieve. their goals, and now we're seeing the russians ramp up their offensive operations to try to take advantage of that and gain a foothold. roughly, since the beginning of this year 2024, the russians have captured more than 300 km of territory in ukraine. what are the goals of russian for this year? it was assumed that they could focus on capturing donbas, maybe they would go to kharkiv. it seems that the russians are prioritizing operations in

the donetsk region this year. they conducted a very intensive five- to six-month campaign to capture avdiyivka. and despite the colossal losses, and they lost the equipment of about three mechanized divisions, they are able to continue the offensive and put pressure on berdychi and other villages in the area. we are also seeing renewed russian attacks at the platoon company level. in the west of bakhmut near temporary yar. according to our estimates, the russians will most likely increase the pressure, add more units of forces and develop an offensive there. we are concerned that if ukrainian forces lose time, in addition to tactical losses, this will open up an opportunity for an operational breakthrough. chas ivars is the last big city on the way to the fortress cities of kostiantynka, druzhkivka, kramatorsk, sloviansk, etc. in recent weeks, kharkiv has been under a flurry of shelling, the most dangerous attacks being guided

aerial bombs. what are the russians trying to achieve by attacking the largest city in the east of ukraine? we are very concerned that russia is creating the conditions for a possible future major mechanized offensive in the kharkiv region, possibly this summer. we have not yet found any signs that the russians are deploying forces in the belgorod region to push the border in the direction of kharkiv. however, we have seen some signs of movement of equipment in the luhansk region, which could potentially return to voronezh or back to belgorod, to the collection points. and depending. from the plans of the russian campaign and the time of execution, if they want to carry out another large-scale campaign offensive in the kharkiv region, then the current strikes by the kab may be aimed at depopulating kharkiv, destroying strongholds there that ukrainian forces can use for defense. what do you see as effective means

of deterring these aerial bombs. ukrainian authorities talk about increasing the number of patriots. a... agree with that, or will that be enough? ukrainians need to fight for airspace . there are several tools for this. the patriots are perhaps the easiest system to achieve these goals because the united states have a large number of patriots, which they could theoretically provide to ukrainians. what is also important to do is to eliminate, so to speak, the space of inviolability that the current policy has created in... inside russia. if you look at the map at the location of kharkiv in relation to bielgorod and voronezh, taking into account the range of aerial bombs, it is 40-70 km. you will realize that you need to shoot down the russian planes while they are still in russian airspace when they are just approaching kharkiv. politically, the usa did not allow the ukrainians to do this, and it is

by mistake the ukrainians should be allowed to shoot down planes in russian airspace before they...get close to the border to launch aerial bombs. it is very difficult to intercept them after they have been released. the patriots are good at it. there are other systems as well, including soviet-era tactical anti-aircraft, arrow or air defense systems, and ammunition for them is also required. another hot topic in recent days is attacks by ukrainian drones on russian refineries. you probably... reaction from the white house and pentagon, how effective and necessary do you think such attacks are? we have seen no immediate effect on the battlefield from ukrainian strikes on gas or oil terminals in russia. nevertheless, they are extremely important. the export of energy resources constitutes a significant part of russia's income, and the deprivation of this

resource and the destruction of the relevant facilities are necessary to contribute to ukraine's ability. to achieve their goals in defense. i think it is also very important to demonstrate that ukrainians can strike illegal military targets in russia. and it does not cross no imaginary red lines. this does not lead to a catastrophic russian tactical nuclear escalation, which the kremlin uses very effectively to deter washington and other western powers from increasing their support for ukraine. i also believe that it allows ukrainians. maximize and gain critical experience of how to use drones and other strike systems to strike targets in russia. another topic is the construction of fortifications along the entire front line. ukraine started this relatively recently construction, the russians have been engaged in this since 2022 . please explain the effectiveness and

necessity of such actions. it is important for the ukrainians to build field fortifications and entrench themselves, this will help strengthen their defenses, it will be more difficult for the russian troops to test themselves in future offensive operations, but this is not a silver bullet, so to speak, it does not guarantee ukraine security, it does not mean that field fortification cannot be broken through. why the ukrainians are now digging in and conducting defensive actions, to be honest , is not because it is from a military point of view vision is the most reasonable for ukrainians. in fact , the ukrainians are forced to do this now by limited resources, there is not enough ammunition, western aid, vehicles, air defense systems, artillery shells for an effective offensive operation. right now, the russians, ukrainians, and nato military analysts are thinking about how to restore maneuverability on the battlefield. it will be much

better if the keys to the solution are found by the ukrainians, and not by the russians. reproductive rights are once again at the center of attention in the us presidential campaign. likely republican candidate donald trump is distancing himself from the arizona supreme court ruling that effectively banned all abortions in the state. details from voice of america correspondent scott stearns, iryna shinkaren tells. this week, donald trump sought to outline his position on abortion restrictions that do not include a statewide ban, which some leaders support. members of his party. the states will determine by vote or legislation, or possibly both, and whatever they decide must be the law of that territory, in this case, by

state law. the next day, the arizona supreme court ruled that the state's 1864 law, which bans nearly all abortions even after rape or incest, still stands and must be enforced. trump says such a decision has gone too far. as you know, it's about state's rights, it's in power. i'm sure the governor and everyone else will get it right, and i think it will be dealt with pretty quickly. arizona gov. kathy hobbs, a democrat , moved quickly to thwart the district prosecutors to prosecute women and doctors who perform abortions. i will not allow extremist district attorneys to use this abortion ban to detain women and doctors seeking or providing medical care they need. we are also expanding access to over-the-counter anti-tangle products. in florida, the state supreme court approved a law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. it will enter into force in may.

trump is trying to reassure voters that states will reverse these unpopular decisions. at it reminds us that it was he who abolished the federal constitutional protection of abortion rights. we did it, it was an incredible thing, an incredible achievement. we did it, and now the states decide how. want, it's the will of the people, so florida will probably change, arizona will definitely change, everybody wants it to happen, and you get the will of the people, it's incredible. a statement from president joe biden's staff said donald trump is responsible for the suffering and chaos, particularly in arizona, because he proudly abrogated federal constitutional protections, abortion rights. arizona is one of the key states in the presidential election, and abortion rights supporters there say they have enough ... signatures to put a question on the ballot in november that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. arizona democratic congressman greek stanton believes his state and nation are at a turning

point on the issue of abortion. this november in arizona safe legal access to abortion will be on the ballot and people will not go they will run to the polls in arizona and they will find the strength to elect candidates who really consistently and wholeheartedly support abortion rights at every level of government, especially congress. similar abortion initiatives in kansas and ohio have been defeated by republicans in the past two years. iryna shynkarenko, scott stearns, voice of america. download the voice of america mobile application. the application allows you to automatically bypass blocking thanks to. built-in vpn service, read news, watch informative programs and videos, and also listen to podcasts of the ukrainian voice of america service. on this we will say goodbye,

also watch our daily briefings at 18 on youtube and facebook, where you can ask us your questions live. subscribe to the new voice of america ukrainian pages on viber and whatsapp. thank you for staying with us, have a good night. and good morning, see you there are 15% discounts on gepargin at podorozhnyk, pam and oskad pharmacies. exclusively on the air of our channel. congratulations, friends,

politklub is on the air on the espresso tv channel. the most relevant topics of the week: russia's war against ukraine, the war in the middle east, the crisis in border between ukraine and poland. topics that resonate in our society. drone attack on... kyiv and other cities of ukraine, drone attacks on moscow and other cities of russia. analysis of the processes that change the country and each of us. the country should get the right to start negotiations on joining the eu. vitaly portnikov and guests of the project: we are bored because there is nothing to fight about. let's make it up. they help to understand the present and predict the future. for the world, a second trump presidency will be terrifying. a project for those who care and think. politclub every sunday at 20:10 at espresso.

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glory to ukraine, this is the verdict program, my name is serhiy rudenko, i congratulate everyone and wish everyone good health, for the next two

hours we will talk about... ukraine, about the world, about the war and about our victory, today in the program. the battle of yar, the russians are intensifying mechanized attacks against the backdrop of a shortage of personnel and ammunition in the armed forces. is there a threat of a breakthrough. waiting for bold decisions. while american aid is blocked, the european union is going to expand military support to ukraine. mobilization without... demobilization, the draft law adopted by the parliament is waiting for the signature of the president, will the new legislation help to win in war over the next hour, we will talk about this and other things with our guests, political expert volodymyr tsibulko, americanist oleksandr kraev and politician boryslav bereza. the second part of our program will feature journalists olga len and oleksiy mustafin. however,

before starting our today. a big conversation, let's watch a video of the repulse of the attack of the russian occupiers near the temporal ravine, heavy battles are currently taking place there, let's watch a video of how the enemies were beaten by the ukrainians. glory to the armed forces of ukraine, glory to the heroes.

friends, we are working. live on the tv channel, as well as on our youtube and facebook platforms, for those who are currently watching us on social networks and on the youtube platform. please take part in our survey, today we are asking you about the following: would you entrust the power of the military to the political forces after the war? yes, no, everything is quite simple on youtube, if you have a special opinion, please write it in the comments under this video. if you're watching us on tv, pick up your smartphone or phone and vote. if you would believe it. power military police after the war (0800-211-381) no 0800 211-382. all calls to these numbers are free, call, at the end of the program we will sum up the results of this vote. we have our first guest on the phone, this is volodymyr tsibulko, political analyst, writer, people's deputy of ukraine of the fourth convocation, mr. volodymyr, i congratulate you, thank you for being with us today, congratulations, glory to ukraine,

glory to the heroes. let's start our conversation with the law.