as they say, the walls in the coffee shop were returned to kyiv , they also took today for tomorrow, because one does not have enough time anymore, at the same time, the main roadblocks remain in kyiv, they will not be dismantled, in order not to violate the defense capability of the capital, there are almost no minibuses visible on the streets, this is related with a shortage of fuel, because of this, there are also significantly fewer private cars, by the way, parking fees have also been renewed as of today, and they have also allowed the sale of alcohol in cafes and restaurants until 10 p.m., if unpleasant incidents are associated with this fact, the ban will be renewed they will renew the city, it will come to life. the authorities record that up to two and a half million people live in the capital during the day. kyivans are happy about the reduction of the curfew. you can stay somewhere a little longer and go for a walk. i want people to come back and our kyiv should be resuscitated and it should stop. it is just

as active, but all kyivans the authorities ask you not to ignore air alarms for your own safety markevich inna lebedenko andrii lhzten 1+1 marathon single news watch the program of the ukrainian voice of america service time in the studio nataliya leonov i congratulate the north atlantic alliance already in the coming months, the governments of sweden and finland may receive two new members against the background of the russian war against ukraine, officially announced the decision to submit an application for membership in the alliance, this issue is currently being discussed at a meeting of the heads of foreign policy departments of nato members in berlin . secretary of state blinking kotra emphasized the intention of the usa, together with its allies, to provide all the necessary assistance to ukraine, all these events are closely monitored by our european correspondent bohdan tsyupin he joins our studio from london. i congratulate bohdan. good evening. sweden and

finland decided to join nato. sweden, in particular, decided to break the 200-year tradition of neutrality . why bohdan and do the citizens of these countries support such a decision is actually a very interesting story , that is, sweden, unlike finland, followed the policy military, so to speak, neutrality after the napoleonic wars after the period of er warrior of the 19th century for almost 200 years er she avoided warriors she was able to avoid participation in the first world war in the second world war but obviously then there was no nato, which was created after the second world war, we do not know how the swedes would have collapsed in those days if there was a union that could guarantee their protection, but now after

russia attacked ukraine with a new invasion on february 24, the swedes, after the finns, decided that they should join this defense union is a very serious break with traditions and in particular in sweden the mood is different from the way things are in finland, many more swedes in this country object to the country was changing its tradition, but today the prime minister of the government said that after a meeting with all the main parties in the parliament, after a long debate, serious serious discussions, they came to this conclusion . sweden will

join nato the obstacle to a military conflict will be higher and will have a deterrent effect in northern europe and this will be especially true if sweden and finland join nato together as a member nato sweden will not only strengthen its security, but will contribute to the improvement of security in the baltic sea region and for nato in general bohdan, so the governments of these countries have already decided and how quickly these new members can be accepted into the alliance and what it will mean for the course of the war in ukraine we have already talked about the fact that this can happen very quickly because the armies of sweden and finland are actually armed with western weapons according to nato standards, these countries participate in regular exercises and so on and so on so that it can happen very, very quickly, for example, we are already talking about the fact that official applications may be submitted in the coming days. as early as next month

, the procedures for signing protocols may take place, and then the parliaments of all 30 nato countries each of them must ratify these agreements and it is quite possible that at the next nato summit in madrid at the end of next month it is possible that it will be officially announced that there are already 32 countries in the nato union, but for this a lot needs to be done and today about the fact that for example, the parliament of canada can approve the necessary decision within days, and not months as previously in rare cases, said the representative of the government from ottawa, who was in brussels, anne sween, we not only support the entry of finland and sweden, but we also support their quick entry, canada

has a lot with these countries in common when it comes to values ​​and the nordic reality, our goal is to be the first among the countries that ratify the accession of finland and sweden, we understand that the transition period between application and ratification must be shortened we will also work with other countries to ensure a quick process of accession in addition to sweden and finland. in berlin, they usually talked about ukraine on the sidelines of the meetings of the heads of foreign policy departments of nato member countries in berlin. state secretary blinken had separate meetings with his colleagues in germany from germany, great britain and france . the results are met by secretary of state blinken said that the usa and allies are focused on providing ukraine with as much support as possible on the battlefield to repel russian aggression, about what new aid it is said both from nato itself and from the partner countries regarding the new aid, we

do not have the details, for example, there are still no reports on whether the european union will follow the previously announced embargo on russian oil use in the countries of the european union, we do not know specifically what is included, for example, in the e500 million package announced by the european union to help ukraine, but mr. blinkin clearly outlined at this meeting that it is about continuing to actively work in three main directions, namely the first is e implement the sanctions that have already been announced, those that have already been implemented and work on new ones. the second is to help ukraine militarily and the third is to

help in diplomatic efforts. allies in north america to respond to the change in the security situation in europe and what putin has done, what russia has done now with this invasion of ukraine has created, as we said at the beginning of this conversation, such a political earthquake in europe, which in particular changes the position and e the work of nato, and in particular, today in an interview with the ukrainian voice of america, the american political scientist i obozhynsky spoke about this, this is what he focused his attention on, i think that as a result of this war, nato will seriously rethink its strategy and position when it comes to the defense of its territory of its states members and strengthening the strength and

stability of peace in the odesa region, the genre is something that could happen a long time ago, it is proof that putin's strategy has the opposite effect and instead of creating discord in the alliance instead of advancing nato further from its borders, putin's actions brought the borders closer to russia by joining these two countries to nato, the baltic sea region will turn from a disputed region into essentially an internal nato lake, 95% of the region's coastline will be nato territory, and this is important and will also significantly add to the air space and will strengthen the alliance's ability to protect the baltic states, a region that used to be one of the most vulnerable, this will bring significant benefits to the alliance, he also mentioned that the us and allies are ready to help ukraine at the table of negotiations this is a very interesting statement that this means that it is about the possibility of renewing the diplomatic process, because in recent weeks there was no discussion about diplomats at all about the fact that many countries, many

leaders want a diplomatic solution to the problems, we constantly talk about the fact that analysts and political scientists are constantly trying to guess when is russia, on what terms, maybe she would like to sit down at the negotiating table, would it be beneficial for ukraine, there is a lot of talk about this in the western press in the western media they will agree, but they also talk about the fact that putin is currently under the influence of his generals, who may be misinforming him about the successes or defeats of the russian army, or under the influence of their ideological attitudes, he is not ready, he does not even want to talk about the fact that russia is ready to conduct some kind of negotiations, that is what moscow previously stated

, that is, negotiations, which in fact were not actually a proposal for negotiations, but a demand for capitulation to kyiv, which ukraine obviously rejected. so, until now, unfortunately, there is no platform for any negotiations. and they talk about it both in the west and even in russia they admit that uh, in this situation, they do n't have to talk about anything, so far putin wants to fight. finland declared that it wants to join nato because the russian invasion of ukraine showed the aggressiveness of moscow and the threat of the russian side , meanwhile, finland has its own experience of resisting moscow 's aggression.

starting the so-called winter war, although the finnish army was much smaller, the soviet invaders suffered heavy losses. a 94-year-old veteran and pioneer now lives near the border with russia, where more than 80 years ago fierce battles took place. class and said that the war between russia and finland had begun and that the school was being closed with five hands later niemi joined the army and fought at the front in the so-called soviet dru war, finnish remembers how he carried the bodies of his dead comrades even though in finland escaped full soviet occupation, it was forced to give russia about 10% of its territory , in particular, karelia. 99-year-old unto hakuli fought from 1942 to 1944. the secret of our success was

that we fought a little better than the russians. after the war, finland and russia coexisted relatively peacefully . veterans had the opportunity to visit battle sites on the other side of the border when the war in ukraine began and our opinion about russia completely changed, especially because of how brutally russians treat ukrainians, it also affected the decision to join nato or not, if you asked me, i would definitely say that i would guarantee our security, joining nato will give us more protection, there are different opinions and russia certainly does not like that its neighbor joins nato, but if you look at the baltic countries, poland when they joined nato, nothing bad happened to them. about four thousand veterans of the war with russia still live in finland. a few weeks ago, the day of those who died defending their homeland was commemorated there. this time, the ceremonies took place against the background of pro-russian war news.

ukraine and readiness in finland to give up neutral status yurii mamon bohdan tsyupin henryzhol voice of america the american fast food chain mcdonald's announced a complete exit from russia due to its war against ukraine, after more than 30 years of presence on the russian market, the company announced the sale of all restaurants and the cessation of business in russia, the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in ukraine and unpredictable operating conditions led mcdonald's to the conclusion that continuing business in russia is not appropriate and does not coincide with values in a company statement, mcdonald's goes to the mcdonald's chain in russia, which owns more than 850 restaurants where more than 62,000 people work .

the french automaker renault also announced the sale of assets in russia worth more than $2 billion. according to the calculations of yale university, about a thousand companies have announced that in these minutes the vote in the senate has begun, which starts the procedure for adopting a bill on the allocation of 40 billion dollars of aid to ukraine, the leader of the republican minority in the inter-mcconnell senate said in stockholm on sunday that he intends to use a parliamentary procedure that will reduce further debate on the issue to 30 hours, which will allow the bill to be voted on as early as wednesday, pentagon spokesman john kerby said on friday that the draft law will not be accepted until next thursday, may 19, this may affect the ability of the shaba to provide uninterrupted military aid to ukraine, about 6,000 ukrainians received permission from the american government to come to the united states under the youth-info ukraine humanitarian password program, we unite for ukraine, this is part of

the goal announced at the end of april by president joe biden to accept up to 100,000 citizens of ukraine in the united states, according to the terms of the program, the participants of the program had to arrive in the territory from the territory of ukraine as of february 11, 2022 have a sponsor in the united states pass vaccinations and other health requirements and pass the necessary biometric background and security checks my colleague maria pross knows about why do us residents sponsor people whom they have never met in person? ukrainian valentina lemus and her husband from el salvador own the casa lemus hotel and restaurant in raton, new mexico to help ukrainians who, because of the war, wanted to come to the us. they decided to become sponsors for two married couples . under the united for ukraine program , i published on facebook on ukrainians in america, er,

i published an ad there, very, very, many people applied in the first two days, i chose two couples who were themselves they were so ready because how is it very a complicated process, first of all, you bear a very big responsibility because when you submit the form, it is a personal declaration, sponsorship, uh, know how to indicate all your taxes, what you paid, what you have, how much money you have in your account, where you live, you show everything, valentina says hopes that the couples sponsored by them will work for their business, and knowledge of english is not required in america, it is not cheap, no matter what you want, you have to work here for the first time, we give free housing with employment conditions because we also need people, i'm sorry, for starters, when you've

never been to america and you don't speak the language, you can communicate. my mother came here about eight months ago. there is another ukrainian -speaking person. informational support for those who want to become a sponsor, because helping ukrainians in other ways is provided by the non-governmental organization vel-candidate yus, its head for replacement tells that the initiative was created to coordinate the efforts of the government, governmental organizations and the us private sector to support afghan refugees, and now ukrainians, the uniqueness of this program created for ukrainians is that you can seek asylum here only with the support of a sponsor . the work we did for the afghan allies, to do this we could create

the conditions and provide information for us, it was a very natural turn to say to america - this is your time to shine, let's show what the american looks like hospitality, at the same time, the united for ukraine program currently does not provide any financial assistance for american sponsors, experts also say that there may be fewer people willing to vouch for ukrainians due to the situation with advance refugees, which was not so long ago, she was highly criticized for bringing people here without any support or resources that can be provided to these people. i expect the same thing to happen to the ukrainian community. polina and her family recently found a sponsor in south carolina , but she says that the search was not easy. he simply says that all the financial support rests on the shoulders of the people who will accept you. and this probably scares them because it has been two years without insurance, there is

no support, but despite this, he says that his organization has seen a significant willingness of americans to help ukrainians. in the first days of our launch, our website had over 250 unique hits per minute, thousands of americans had already subscribed to us for information on how they can become a sponsor and we also see in our partner organizations calls and inquiries from americans who have heard about the program and want to know how they can help . migration status in general, as announced by president joe biden at the end of april, up to 100,000 citizens of ukraine may come to the usa through the zazikayu and other programs maria prus about savchuk zhenya dyulo

the voice of america after the full-scale russian invasion, many ukrainian artists became cultural ambassadors of their country abroad, one of the loudest now is the voice of jamala, since the beginning of the war, the singer has already visited dozens of countries, performing at charity events in support of ukrainians affected by the war, as well as helping to raise funds for the armed forces of ukraine had already arrived in the united states, among other things, to receive an award for outstanding artistic leadership on behalf of ukrainian artists from of the atlantic council, but how did the singer's life change after february 24? and what else can the international artistic community do to support ukraine? see our interview. thank you for taking the time to talk to

us . of artistic leadership from atlantica, everyone is in the garden if we read what she writes that recognizes the efforts of ukrainian artists and how they use their creative talents in order to preserve culture and ukrainian identity. during this war, we see now that russia is trying to erase this identity, but on the other hand, we also see this kind of surge of this ukrainian culture of creativity. i am very grateful for this award . here now we are receiving this award uh i am the casting of all the women all the children who are now just in the bomb shelters uh all who are now fighting for their lives i only went to use this moment for that more once to remind, hmm, to embarrass them a little so that they

understand that it has been a long time for a long time, there has been a mass war in ukraine for three weeks, excuse me, for three months, a mass war has been going on in ukraine , everyone in every individual city, and they don't they have to get used to it, they don't have to adapt to it, these are all the messages. you have already been to many dozens of countries, by the way, how much else, because on a full-time basis. to be honest, i didn't count something, but it's europe and iceland. it's very difficult to talk about war in countries where there is no war and there was no war, you are many were acute and were in different countries before the full-scale war and saw how they behaved then and how they are now, do you see any negative attitude towards ukrainians? between russia and

ukraine before they thought that we are all one big family and we will not lie that many ukrainians really have relatives in russia, but what they are doing now they see this border exactly where is ukraine and where is russia how is the language different they do it's the same, they felt it too. it's a pity that at such a price, but, but, now, feeling more of a difference , they provide more support, i don't know, from just hugs to words to financial aid. maybe there were some attempts by the organizers of these concerts, i don't know. -he asked the people with whom he saw them to reconcile with the ukrainians and the russians, there were some joint concerts, that's all, there were

such events in germany. yes, only in germany . i know what they were. what did they do there somehow? two children come out, one wrapped in a russian the flag is different, but in the ukrainian one they hug and that's all, but no, excuse me for the exact position, but no, we will try to measure up, i don't know how it will be possible and what time it will take, but only after they stop killing us , how can you hug how can you hug a murderer? a person

who rapes you can't get a picture . i'm sorry, i don't understand such moments. now the anniversary of the deportation of the crimean tatar people 80 years ago is approaching. many crimean tatars have lost their homes . then in the 14th year, crimea again bought a temporary one , again people thought of leaving, now we are serving as a war headquarters, how the crimean-tatar people are now experiencing this war, how every day my grandfather used to talk about the fact that we did not have bread, we did not have food like you have, and when i was a child, it still annoyed me a little, why do we have to remember this story again and again every time, but when i grew up, i understood that in order not to really forget these horrors, because it cannot be

forgotten, why am i a nazi? because i love your country because i speak ukrainian because i wear the colors of my country why every country you have been you are now in america from every home a flag everyone speaks their own language everyone is proud to be an american regardless of origin today i said about the fact that i am a ukrainian of crimean tatar origin and it is a pain for me because in 1944 all the young people are being measured, they cannot live in their homeland, they cannot live in the homeland of their history. there the beatle suffers scorpions, they did their best

to destroy this iron curtain in the ussr and possibly speed up the end of the soviet soviet system, what else can western artists do, maybe to help ukraine or maybe to reach their masters somewhere in russia if there is an opportunity to invite famous people to us for them to feel what they told their audience you understand it very well it's very good for us to do the same collaborations like uh andriy did with pink flight uh antibodies did with ed shiron i would for example, if she hears me, haha. if she hears me, i would like to do something with her, well, that is, i am in favor of uniting as much as possible now, this is the question of how we will all unite and for in order to prevent

er continuation and stop this war after all and then rebuild our country because we have to go back we have to rebuild our country we have well i really want my children to see er their country er so they have the opportunity to learn and develop there, and this is my dream for me. i am very happy now i travel a lot, i can say yes, very beautiful, everything is incredibly beautiful, but there is nothing better than home, let's hope that your dream will come true, i really want to yes, thank you for thank you, thank you, download the voice of america mobile application, the application allows you to automatically bypass blocking thanks to the built-in vpn service, read news, watch informational programs and videos, as well as

listen to podcasts of the ukrainian service of the voice of america tatar attacks passed both into the hands of the bolshevik invaders and would have given german fascists, but kharkiv to lead and kept ukraine in his heart then and now kharkiv invincible, they were not afraid of shelling, they did not run from the flames instead of saving their own lives, they returned again and again to the burning house for the priceless works of maria priymachenko when russia