00:00Now, General, I don't think you've been to Russia in recent years, but you have been to Ukraine on more
00:05than one occasion.
00:06And you've told us about that in the past. I don't know when your last visit was.
00:09But what have you garnered from your most recent visits to Ukraine about how morale is holding up?
00:16Are there any cracks emerging in public support for President Zelensky, for example?
00:22That's a very good question, Tom, and one which I do continue to ask.
00:26I was last in Odessa in June last year.
00:32And before that, I'd been part of a convoy of 14 secondhand four by fours, which we'd taken out to
00:39Ukraine and sent those to the front line to help support the Ukrainian troops.
00:48And I did ask that question, are you prepared to give up territory in order to secure peace?
00:57And I was quite struck by how many people said they were not prepared to give up territory.
01:03And it isn't just about territory. It is about a way of life.
01:08And why should Zelensky, President Zelensky, basically betray 20 percent of his population, hand them over to a brutal regime,
01:20which has shown no humanity whatever?
01:24Why should he hand them over? And why should we in the West encourage him so to do?
01:31If the Ukrainian people felt that that is something that they ought to do in order to achieve the peace
01:36that they want, then that is a matter for them.
01:39It's not for me to tell them what to do.
01:41But I was struck by how many of them did tell me that they were prepared to see this through.
01:49And interesting, in Lviv, in Western Ukraine, where I was, the restaurants were full.
01:55People were having a good time.
01:58And I had a meeting with the deputy commander of the military base in Lviv.
02:03And I said, you know, it's quite surprising sitting here in Lviv as I am and enjoying the restaurants and
02:11the bars and so on.
02:12You know, is this not something that jars with what's going on the front line?
02:17And he said, on the contrary, we believe that people should be able to have time off from the front
02:24line and enjoy themselves and that life should go on.
02:28And I also say that what the Ukrainians are doing to support their wounded veterans is pretty state-of-the
02:37-art stuff.
02:38Very impressive.
02:39They are really a beacon to the rest of the world.
02:43They are under the thumb of Moscow.
02:47They are being brutally treated.
02:50And yet they are standing solidly for freedom and democracy.
02:55And we should be very proud of them for doing that and raise a glass to them today for their
03:04stoicism, their courage, their resilience.
03:08And then we should do everything we possibly can to help them.
03:11And I perhaps can remind your viewers that had it not been for the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Ukraine
03:18would already be under Russian occupation across the whole country.
03:23It was Boris Johnson who woke up the rest of the world, particularly U.S. President Joe Biden at the
03:28time.
03:29But also we had supplied anti-tank in-law weapons to Ukraine.
03:34And that was an initiative which enabled Ukrainians to take out all those Russian tanks parked outside Kiev.
03:43So we in the United Kingdom have played our part and continue to do so.
03:47But it now requires in 2026, we've had enough of this, we've had enough of Russian brutality, we've had enough
03:55of Russia posturing in this way and threatening the rest of the world.
04:00We need now to put every effort into helping the Ukrainians rid their country of every single Russian.
04:07Apparently, 325,000 Russians have died.
04:11Indeed, I heard on the radio this morning that Russian soldiers being forced to go into the front line, what
04:19was effectively regarded by them as a suicide mission, refused to do so and were shot by their own people.
04:28I mean, this is a disgusting regime.
04:30And furthermore, if Putin wins here, he has made it crystal clear.
04:35This is only the start.
04:36He intends to rebuild the Soviet Union.
04:39That is what he said in 2021.
04:41And he's doing it.
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