00:00For more on this story, let's bring in Doug Herbert, our international affairs editor.
00:04Good to have you, Doug.
00:05How are you, Camille?
00:06What's the significance of these massive strikes on Kyiv and the rest of the country
00:10while these negotiations enter this critical phase?
00:13Is this Russia's way of saying it's got the upper hand?
00:16Not just that it has the upper hand, but that it has absolutely no intention
00:20of letting anyone dictate when it will sign any eventual peace agreement.
00:25You know, we have these two narratives going on right now.
00:28Essentially, we're talking about all these upcoming talks this weekend in the United States.
00:33But the fact of the matter is, and Zelensky has said this in blunt terms, in explicit terms,
00:37he says the ballistic missiles, of which there are about several dozen in this latest overnight barrage,
00:43and the Shahhead drones, they speak for Russia.
00:46Russia can talk endlessly about how it earnestly is in search of peace, how it wants an end to this war.
00:52But the fact of the matter is, and this is what the Ukrainians continually reiterate,
00:55from the high levels all the way on down to the street level,
00:58they basically said Russia goes through the motions of pretending that it's interested in peace,
01:03that it is interested in bringing this war to an end,
01:05when in fact the facts on the ground, at sea, and in the air speak for themselves.
01:10And that is that, no, Russia is not interested in ending this war,
01:13at least not so long as its demands,
01:17and we keep using the word, I keep using the word, maximalist demands,
01:20because that's exactly what they are.
01:22No concessions, and nothing short of what Russia says it absolutely needs,
01:28in order to get from where we are now,
01:31to the prospect of a ceasefire and a peace agreement.
01:35So the foreign minister basically has said overnight,
01:39that Russia is showing how, you know, that it's not interested in peace,
01:42that these brutal attacks speak for themselves.
01:45Zelensky is saying that, and we're having it right down the line.
01:48I will just note that Russia itself, on Friday,
01:52accused the EU, the Europeans, and the U.S. essentially,
01:59people in segments of the U.S. of trying to torpedo any efforts
02:03to really broker an end to this war.
02:05And that statement speaks for itself,
02:07because it shows that the Russians consider any of these talks
02:11that do not include it, that do not include its maximalist demands,
02:14is going nowhere.
02:15So Zelensky is stopping over in Canada before heading off to Mar-a-Lago,
02:19and he'll be speaking to European leaders via video link there.
02:24What's the significance of this?
02:25Is this a case of him getting advice from them,
02:28like he maybe has in the past, or is it more about coordination?
02:31Yeah, so let's unwrap it.
02:32Two questions in there.
02:33The significance of it is, is it about getting advice?
02:36Yes, it is.
02:36He's seeking advice.
02:37The Europeans have been in what's called this coalition of the willing.
02:40They have bent over backwards, literally coming to show Zelensky that they have his back,
02:45that they are there to support him, that they will, quote, proverbially stand with him as long as it takes.
02:50But is it a nothing burger in geopolitical terms?
02:53Meaning, does it really mean anything?
02:54He will be on the phone.
02:56Yeah, he's meeting with Carney, the prime minister.
02:58They will be in a video call with leaders from France and Germany and Italy and the UK.
03:05Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, also he put up on social media that he will be joining that call as well.
03:11And yeah, it will be lending moral support.
03:14It will be once again trying to perhaps sort of tag team effort among the European allies of Ukraine
03:19to give Zelensky sort of, you know, best practice tips on how to deal with Donald Trump,
03:24who, as we know, is not always very easy to deal with, and Zelensky has seen firsthand what happens
03:30when you rub Donald Trump the wrong way, very publicly and very humiliatingly.
03:34So they're going to try to avoid that.
03:36But like I said, going back to the very essence of your question, the significance of it,
03:40the significance is that, yes, symbolically it shows the Europeans are really scrambling to have a say,
03:46to show they support Ukraine.
03:47Will it make any difference when they meet with Trump?
03:49Not really.
03:51So it will be interesting.
03:52Trump has said, you know, ahead of his meeting with Zelensky, you know, let's see what he's got, basically,
03:58because unless I approve it, he's got nothing.
04:01So this goes back.
04:02It's an echo of that comment Trump had made to Zelensky in that meeting back in February,
04:06the chewing down when he basically said, you have no cards.
04:12And Zelensky really tried to hold his own, but it was a very tough meeting.
04:15So going into this, Trump is still playing one side against the other
04:19and really putting the pressure on Zelensky to show that he has something to offer that Trump can accept.
04:25Doug Herbert, thank you so much for your analysis.
04:27And we'll be unpacking that meeting tomorrow, of course.
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