after the russian offensive on kharkiv. the secretary of state of the united states arrived in ukraine. this is a signal of reassurance, writes the western press. will american military aid arrive at the front in time? we analyze it in today's issue of bbc ukraine. i am olga polamaryuk. well, the situation in kharkiv oblast is currently attracting the attention of many. military experts are analyzing whether the russians will succeed in breaking through ukrainian defenses, whether ukraine will be able to repulse the offensive, and whether partners will have time to help the armed forces.

of ukraine. well, the most difficult situation is around now vovchanska people will be evacuated from there according to calculations. more than 30,000 russian troops are participating in the offensive on kharkiv oblast. the new york times published an article based on a conversation with the head of the main intelligence agency of ukraine, in which kyrylo budanov called the situation in the kharkiv region close to critical. later, however, gur was informed that budanov's words were somewhat twisted. he himself stated on the air of the telethon that the situation with the russian invasion in the kharkiv region is gradually stabilizing. well, against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the kharkiv region the secretary of state of the united states arrived in ukraine. this is a timely visit in a dangerous period for ukraine, as western experts comment on blinken's testimony. after all , diplomatic visits by representatives of the countries that provide the largest military support to ukraine are of great importance. 9 hours on

the train is still the best way to get to kyiv, even if you're the top us diplomat, a quick transition to a more familiar motorcade before a long day of negotiations. anthony blinken was the first to meet president zelensky. this is a difficult period for ukraine, and a difficult period for the east of the country, for our soldiers. thank you for coming especially these days. to support ukraine, this is the first visit by a high-ranking american official since the release of $61 billion in military aid to kyiv, which has been delayed by political disagreements and is now slow in delivery. we know this is a difficult time, but we also know that help is on the way, some of it has already arrived, more is coming, and it will have a real impact on the battlefield against russian aggression. here's what's happening now: through

russian offensive in the north-east of kharkiv region, thousands of people leave their homes, they arrive in kharkiv, where it is relatively safe and for a long time, although few people believe that the russians are capable of capturing the city, and soon it may be within the range of artillery. kharkiv is constantly subjected to rocket attacks, and if... the russian offensive is not restrained, the destruction will be even greater. ukraine is trying with all its might to hold the front line. so what did the top american official bring? we are talking about it with my colleague, bbc correspondent zhanna bespyachok is in touch with us now, she is in kyiv. my friend, congratulations, here is the visit of the secretary of state of the united states at such a time, what significance does it have, right now? congratulations ulya.

first of all, of course, this is an important diplomatic and broader political signal of support for appeasement, it really is, but it is worth considering that such visits are planned in advance, and it is not worth tying it clearly to the offensive of the russian army in the north of kharkiv region, most likely it planned just after the approval of military aid to the congress, but what really very, very much importantly. to note within the framework of this visit, firstly, that such visits by state secretaries to a country where a war is ongoing in the hot phase, or to a region where a large-scale armed escalation is taking place, usually take place when there is a need to look for new solutions, new approaches , and actually talk about what to do next, and how to proceed, this is the first moment. secondly, we can turn to

anthony blinken's rather sarcastic speech before the students of the cppi in kyiv. this performance was broadcast to the world media, so it contained messages and messages that were not exactly addressed only to the student and teaching audience of the ukrainian university, what he was talking about, he was talking about the fact that it is important for ukraine, with the help of its western partners and allies, to build such a stable security model that, and here there are two very important conditions that he voiced, will not need review every year, and which... will not depend so much on the help and support of a specific country, a specific ally, that is, it can be said that he indirectly took into account, say, this year's experience of ukraine of the united states of america, when everyone saw how much the situation at

the front depended on america's help, that ukraine could quickly lose certain important ones. positions, even if they are defensive positions, it is not about counterattacks, unless it receives a certain number of the same shells, interceptor missiles for air defense and other types of weapons, so this is a plus, but what else would i still note in addition to this , these are important diplomatic and political signals, but sometimes the signal is also what the official and representative of the united states of such... level did not say publicly in his in his speech or in his other short speeches on camera, he did not voice any criticism of the ukrainian authorities, the need for which was ripe within ukrainian society, it is enough to mention the cases of pressure on journalists of various media, quite

a lot of them had already gathered with the participation of the sbu in particular, about this , or about corruption, the problem of corruption, what is this problem. again on the agenda in ukraine, it is very serious, antony blinken did not talk about it, so far the american partners refrain from such public criticism. jeanne, thank you for such a long answer. bbc correspondent zhana bespiachuk from kyiv. thank you colleague. so, during a visit to kyiv, anthony blinken said that the war in ukraine has reached a critical point. but do the armed forces of ukraine have the resources? to know the course of events and what can hold back the russian offensive, we asked defense express expert ivan kyrychevskyi about it. everything that is in this world can shoot and it is available, it is necessary, there is no separate thing, you know, this is necessary more, and this is less, it is necessary, well, it is somehow, well, unfortunately, not like that, because

here the question is that they can prove faster that you can transfer a dubro not a car from one flight, and even there, if we are talking about... some, let's say, researchers have already calculated what is possible based on the sum of the packages that you were enough bradley and three hundred m113 armored personnel carriers are oriented somewhere like that, well, there is a question that it is not possible to bring them there by planes as quickly as you would like, that is, there are no ops there, we promised, but we do not give, it is simply not delivered very quickly, to put it mildly, the russians could not pass in the area of ​​liptsi, that is, to develop success directly in the kharkiv region, that is, they clearly had the intention to attack not on... on vovchansk, which is there by itself, well, maybe it has a symbolic meaning for us, for them a direct meaning, no, for them it is important directly was important to kharkiv, there their offensive, well, stalled in the first day, thanks to the fact that if the capabilities of the defense forces of ukraine increased significantly, yes, so when american help

arrives at the front, and this is the opinion of the former chief of staff of the united states marine corps in europe, brandon kearney. i think that this is the beginning of the spring offensive of the russians, they want to... take advantage of the better weather conditions and the forces accumulated over the winter, they will try to advance and seize the initiative from the ukrainians, but i am not sure that they will succeed, because the russian troops demonstrate the incompetence of their command and management, their logistical support, coordination of fire support and efforts of their aviation. they will not be able to rise to the level of ukrainian defense, not to mention the level of ukrainian offensive operations. which i think will start later in the summer. regarding military aid, a lot was said about large armed systems, hymers, related capabilities, but what the ukrainians need now and have needed for several months is artillery ammunition, ammunition for

small arms, they are in us military warehouses in europe, in germany and throughout nato. the contribution of other nato countries, which also send, should not be underestimated. aid, all this will greatly affect the ukrainian ability to repel the russian offensive. i think that a large part of the help which the us congress agreed to is literally in the hands of ukrainians. american delay. aid had an impact, it was not justified, the ukrainians needed ammunition months ago, they are getting it now, the important thing is that they can use it effectively, much better than the russians did during their offensive, should they have received the aid earlier, of course the important thing is , that they now have it, yes, well , long- range missile attacks can turn the tide of events, that's what western analysts believe, and the possibility of striking with them territory and here's what mark kimmit, ex-assistant to the us secretary of state for military and political issues, says about it? it is important that

american military equipment from the last tranche arrives in ukraine. some of the equipment was in europe, some is being flown in by airplanes. military equipment will be important, because the russian offensive is taking place in kharkiv region. the question is not exactly what kind of help will come, in particular attacks, but how? can use russia understood that we will not allow them to strike on russian territory. what russia is doing is applying controlled air bombs, launches them from the territory of the country, with impunity. until the military systems we provide can be used to their full potential, i believe this will only contribute to the continuation of the war and not increase the chances of victory. the term used two years ago is enough for fights, not enough for victories. it would have been much more important to give the ukrainians what they needed to win two years ago,

but now the question is, even if you give ukraine everything it wants, is it enough to win, then how the russian economy has shifted to military production, and the number of troops they can raise is increasing, along with whether the united states is partly to blame for russia's progress on the front, or the delay. helped advance the russians, journalists asked british defense minister grant shabbs about this and this is what he answered. the world somehow fails to focus on this all the time. we have known for many months that ukraine needs more military equipment. britain found an opportunity and stepped up aid, having allocated the largest package this year and then again last month and also sent additional gear. it is known that inside. politics in america meant that there was a delay because of what was going on in

congress, and that created some problems. we cannot go back to the past, but we can continue to provide support to our ukrainian ally, and this is what i discussed the day before with the minister of defense of ukraine. on another question to the british minister, whether it will be a difficult summer for ukraine. firstly, it has always been difficult for ukraine, and secondly, these have always exceeded the expectations of the world, they are incredibly brave, they are people who are not prepared to have their country enslaved, and britain plays a very significant role, perhaps not fully recognized in the united kingdom itself, but when i speak to with president zelenskyi or with my colleague minister omerov, the first thing they usually say is that they did not do without the initiative of britain, which leads other countries. to help protect ukraine. i have no doubt that it will be a difficult summer, but y

i also have no doubt that ukraine will survive it. more and more help is coming from civilized countries who recognize that it is wrong, that putin can invade his neighbors, and if we let him do it, there will be no end to it. he will continue to invade other countries in the region. so, the secretary of the united states of america, anthony blinken, came to visit kyiv and announced that american aid is on the way, and it will be of decisive importance at the front. according to him, part of the help has already arrived in ukraine, later more will arrive, and blinken is visiting ukraine for the fourth time since the start of the full-scale invasion of russia, and this is the first visit by a high-ranking american official after congress unblocked a large package of military aid to ukraine. well, that's all we have time to talk about today, subscribe to our pages in social networks

so as not to miss the most important news, and we will be on the air tomorrow, as always, at 9 p.m., follow, read, comment, good luck and take care himself. greetings, friends, on the air of the espresso tv channel the second part of the verdict program, my name is serhiy rudenko, and in this part of the program we will talk about the following. close the rear for the armed forces. european countries are discussing the possibility of sending troops to the western regions of ukraine. should zelensky officially apply for help? protracted war. reshuffles in the russian government testify to putin's preparations for prolonged aggression. why ukraine still hasn't put the economy on a war

footing. reformatting of the government. after the release of kubrakov, the ministry of reconstruction plans to share again what results can we expect government reform? friends, i remind you that we work live on the espresso tv channel, as well as on our youtube and facebook platforms. for those who are currently watching us live there, please subscribe to our pages, and also take part in our survey, today we ask you about whether ukraine should ask partners to introduce troops on the territory of ukraine, yes. no, everything is quite simple on youtube, if you have your own opinion that does not fit into a yes or no answer, please write in the comments below video, if you watch us on tv, grab your smartphone or phone and vote if you think ukraine should ask partners to send troops 0800 211 381, no 0800 211 382, ​​all calls to

these numbers are free, vote, at the end of the program we will sum up this vote. i would like to introduce the guests of today's studio, this is yevgenia kravchuk, people's deputy from the servant of the people, deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee on humanitarian and information policy, chairman of the pariye committee on of culture, science, media and sports, ms. yevgenia, i congratulate you, thank you for being with us today, congratulations, good evening, oleksiy kucherenko, people's deputy of ukraine from the batkivshchyna faction, first deputy chairman of the verkhovna rada committee on energy and housing of communal economy mr. oleksiy, i congratulate you and thank you for being with us today, congratulations, good evening, and yaroslav zheleznyak should still join us, a little later, we will wait for yaroslav zheleznyak and join him later in the conversation, but for now, sir oleksiy and ms. yevgenia, i suggest you give an answer in the format of a blitz survey to the question whether ukraine should ask its partners

to deploy troops on the territory of the ukrainian state, let's start with ms. kravchuk. well, this is a very hypothetical question, because the conversations around this with many conditions and so on, you must definitely ask for what can be given and given quite quickly, as zelensky said today with blinkin, that we need two more patriots there, to protect kharkiv, and this can really help on the battlefield, and count on the data stage, someone will go... to the front line instead of ukrainians, well, i think it's not worth it. thank you, mr. oleksiy, is the presence of foreign troops on the territory of ukraine, regardless of whether it is on the front line or not on the front line, to what extent can it reassure putin and create new conditions in the russian-ukrainian war? well, unfortunately, i didn't hear the answer of my colleague, mrs.

yevgenia, so please ask me to come up with something in the studio. my point of view is that it is very difficult. the question is, can it stop putin? well, it seems to me, hardly, in the quality of the instructors, well, probably yes, of course, but as for the combat contingents and in general the legal procedure of the legal grounds, the grounds for this, it seems to me that this is a very difficult decision, so i do not think that it can be implemented so quickly. thank you, mr. oleksiy, the day before. adviser to the president of estonia on national security madis rol said that the estonian government is seriously discussing the possibility of sending troops to the west of ukraine to cover the rear of the armed forces of ukraine. at the same time, estonian defense minister hanno pevkur stated that the idea of ​​sending troops to ukraine remains relevant, but there was no concrete discussion

on this topic in the estonian government. there is nothing new here - said the minister of defense of estonia, when france spoke. with the idea of ​​thinking about whether europe and the allies can do something more, this idea has been voiced in various discussions, but it has not gone anywhere, because there is currently no clear understanding among the allies about what this will do, it is clear, ladies and gentlemen, that the question whether to send troops to the territory of ukraine or not is up to our westerners partners, but in this situation, perhaps it is worth talking about the circle itself. from the side of ukraine, the address of the president, the address of the parliament to our western partners, or mrs. yevgenia, but in the backroom institutions it is discussed in general. such a question and whether it is even possible for ukraine to publicly appeal to western partners, because in the end we have nothing to lose from the current situation and, on the contrary

, we gain, because we appeal to the world community, well, in the end , the whole world has to fight against such a big monster as the russian federation , and not only ukraine? well, you you understand that these statements from france and estonia there are... not so many countries, this is a certain probing of the ground, as it will be perceived by the allies, because no one wants to do it first or alone, and in the end it is right and the minister of defense said that no one understands, well, what exactly it can bring, well, we imagine that 200 estonians come to us there, they are the cocks of their military army, so what are they standing for? in lviv, can the supreme commander-in-chief, the commander-in-chief, for example, somehow use it for military operations, we say

about hostilities, that's right, we're not just talking about putting someone in the barracks and, well , thinking about what will happen to them, and now specifically there is a situation of escalation in kharkiv oblast, an acute situation in the kupinsky direction, in pokrovsky, as specifically... theoretically, i don't know, but how decisions are made, this contingent can help in these directions, moreover, there are some appeals to be made by the parliament, i don't think that this is within the competence of the verkhovna rada, of course we need to check, that's for sure in the competence of the military-political leadership of the stake, well the speaker of the parliament enters the stake there, so the question on the insert, i have not heard that it was discussed, at least, that it sounded about it publicly, so let's get out of reality and simply. and get what you can get, and now everyone is asking for artillery, well, i mean on the front, we are waiting for f-16 planes, air defense reinforcement and

of course, joint projects to manufacture our own weapons, this is already a lead-in to your next topic about the economy there during the war. thank you, ms. yevgenia, for the tip, and i want to add yaroslav zheleznyak to the conversation, people's deputy of ukraine from the voice faction, first deputy chairman of the parliament. to the committee on finance, tax and customs policy, mr. yaroslav, i welcome you, thank you for being with us today, good evening, well , since we are asking our tv viewers and conducting a traditional survey among viewers and tv viewers, do they think ukraine should ask partners about the introduction of troops into the territory of the ukrainian state, we did not start this discussion, this discussion was started by macron, and therefore we simply continue this discussion and ask whether ukraine should initiate such an appeal or ask western partners in the event of a worsening of the situation, particularly on the eastern front. i think that this is a very difficult geopolitical issue,

and here i completely agree with my colleague, who said before that we should ask for everything necessary for victory, referring precisely to the fact that now all of europe, ah on... i will say correctly and without exaggeration, the entire democratic world is protected by our citizens, and who followed the course of the debate, which even between the representatives of the democratic party and the republican party, in particular the speaker of the house of representatives, mr. johnson, mitch mcconou, the leader in the senate, he stated many times about it, as well as other high-ranking officials. the united states that we should support ukraine and vote for everything necessary, including military aid, precisely so that the united states military

does not have to fight on the same baltic front in the future, if god forbid it happens, so i agree with the statement of some european politicians , mr. macron, probably the most vivid in his rhetoric, apart from his this statement, he did not... recently he gave such a sufficiently resonant interview within europe for zaeconomist, where he emphasized that the imaginary security of the european continent, which is already fragile, it can be very quickly fall apart, and that is why we need to help and think about strengthening precisely the military part, it is good that they declare, i think that ukraine should stand on its side on the theses that we have now, this is involvement. to the peace summit, this is european integration and integration into nato, and that of course, everything is necessary for the front, there is a long enough list. and the more the

better, and the faster the better. thank you, mr. yaroslav, in the meantime, there are major personnel changes in russia, although these personnel changes are taking place in some small area, it is a conditional group of people who are fighting against ukraine, who are fighting against the whole world, they changed the minister of defense, shoigu went to adviser from the russian federation, andrii bilousov, an economist who was an adviser on economic issues, came to replace shaygu. in putin, and putin, as western analysts say, seeks to create all the opportunities for the development of russia's military-industrial complex, for which shaigu himself was not quite suitable, what bilausov himself, who is still a candidate for the position of minister of defense of the russian federation, says, let's listen, because we are talking about a state defense order and the fact that bilousov obviously has to

restart this big military... industrial machine that is in russia, obviously, according to putin, it should produce much more weapons than it currently has, let's listen bilousova. i would like to highlight two key tasks that the president has set before me: the first is to ensure the full integration of the economy of the armed forces into the general economy , taking into account the objective increase in the scale of military expenditures, which have already exceeded 6.7% of the country's gdp, everything that is in the country is efficient and advanced, everything must work for victory, for the armed forces to be able to fulfill their tasks. mr. oleksiy, russia makes it clear that they are involved in an arms race, and obviously an arms race not with ukraine, but with the whole world, well, that's absolutely obviously, what can ukraine respond to russia?

well. a few words about russia, about the fact that i understand the concept of bilousov and the reasons for his appointment, he proved in practice in his own country that the military industry can be the center of economic growth, and indeed he in his time i read there his history of relations with putin, he convinced her that it was necessary... well , actually, it is not a pity, it is not a pity to invest very large sums of money in the military industry, they were too launched there, and they led to raising the economy in general and the absolute growth and quality, unfortunately, and the quantity of weapons that today we, primarily the armed forces, feel there on ourselves, and the fact that seeing the missiles, which should have ended, as...

expected, and other weapons should run out, as you can see, it does not run out, and unfortunately, planes fly and parts also appear for them, so how can ukraine respond, well, you know, here we have a discussion all the time about the economics of martial law, wartime, i don't think anyone fully understands that, well as well as the energy industry of wartime, martial law, but nevertheless, i can say that we have... well, as far as i'm concerned, the economy is not of peacetime, but also of non-wartime, you understand, can it be and what is it to the end, well , they don't understand me to the end, and the maximum they can do is the relocation of many of our enterprises, from kharkiv oblast, from sumy oblast, from other regions close there from mykolaiv oblast, close to the front line,

relocation. and there is a chance to really restart them, to bring them to new technological rails, but when i read banal things about that in fact, during the two years of the war, we have not moved at all in terms of drones, well, unfortunately, we have not moved fundamentally, and there are calls all the time, and now there are calls for volunteers, for mayors of cities, in any way, drones, drones, anything, but it's not our industry, not our public procurement, they can't provide it quickly, well, questions arise, questions arise, what ukraine can really do, well, at least a plus, it's that our economy didn't collapse, and it shows certain growth, they at least go to deductions budget, at least jobs are preserved, and overpayments go to suppliers, i.e. as

a minimum... the economy is breathing, well, this is positive as