00:00The European Union is offering to pay Ukraine to repair a damaged pipeline which was meant to carry crude oil
00:05to Hungary
00:06in an attempt to persuade the government of Budapest to lift its veto on an aid package.
00:11Tensions have been ratcheted up between the neighbours over the pipeline with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban
00:17raising the issue to block a vital 90 billion euro loan to Kiev as well as a fresh round of
00:22sanctions against Russia.
00:25Well this is our expert is available to go to Ukraine and things are happening as we speak indeed to
00:36make sure that we can
00:38that all the necessary work is done in terms of reparation in terms of restoration of the pipeline so that
00:45oil supplies are eventually resumed.
00:50The Shrushpa pipeline to give it its actual name and this is all part of our spotlight interview.
01:02Vladimir Zelensky on a series of European visits.
01:04We welcome to our studio Irina Mudra who is Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
01:08Thank you so much for coming to CSEF Runs24.
01:11Thank you for having me.
01:13We appreciate your time.
01:15How vital is this 90 billion euro loan from the EU for Ukraine?
01:20It is vital.
01:21It is the source for survival.
01:25It is the source for continuation of our defence.
01:30It is not an issue only of Ukraine.
01:34It is an issue of Europe.
01:37About the security of Europe.
01:40In terms of what that means of course going forward is creating that buffer against Russia clearly.
01:46Your existential fight as a country to survive is very much tied up with that.
01:49I am wondering sort of what the sense is where you are right now about the issues going on in
01:55Iran with perhaps the attention being drawn by the Iran war.
01:59Is this what President Zelensky is trying to do with this series of visits to try to keep Ukraine in
02:04the headlines to keep the attention there?
02:06President Zelensky has dozens of visits during the months.
02:14So he visits every second week and he travels a lot.
02:19He speaks to European leaders, not only to Europeans.
02:23So he does this almost every second week.
02:28Of course today when the attention is distracted to Iran and to what's going on in Venezuela, Iran, it is
02:38important to keep attention on Ukraine as well.
02:41Because as you rightly said, Ukraine today is a buffer, shield for Europe.
02:49And we are protecting not only Ukraine but the whole Europe.
02:52So when you hear Keir Starmer in London alongside Vladimir Zelensky saying that it is really important not to let
03:01Ukraine be forgotten in the current context.
03:04That must give you some reassurance.
03:07Yes, yes, of course.
03:09We expect that in the end of all this fight we will get just and lasting peace.
03:18And for this we have to have justice served to our people and to our country.
03:26And of course the means for reconstruction and the means for strengthening our production capacities.
03:33That whole issue about reconstruction, about production capacities is a massive project going forward.
03:40And of course reconstruction, whilst you're still being bombed by Russia, is an incredibly difficult thing to do, isn't it?
03:46Well, yes, our energy infrastructure has been attacked almost every second night and severely attacks ongoing.
03:56But we have to keep our life in Ukraine.
04:01We have to keep our economy.
04:03So we have to reconstruct rebuild our infrastructure system.
04:07We are doing this.
04:08Of course we are not, I mean, protected that next day or next night.
04:14It won't be struggled again.
04:16But we have to continue this.
04:19I remind everybody that whilst you're here in a political role, you're also someone who lives in Ukraine, who is
04:27subject to the same kind of threats.
04:29Every night you hear the same sirens, you have the same kind of threat to your life, don't you?
04:32Yep.
04:33Yep.
04:33Not only me, my son, seven-year-old son, my family, all my family lives in Ukraine.
04:39So we are in this nightmare every day.
04:43But we continue to, we don't have fatigue.
04:45We continue our resilience, we continue our struggle and our defence of our country.
04:53People talk about Ukrainians being strong, but you've got no choice.
04:56You have to be strong, don't you?
04:58We are.
04:58We are strong.
04:59But we are thankful to European allies that continue this support and that continue, that we feel strong and we
05:09continue to be strong.
05:10Can I ask about the kind of change round in events recently with Donald Trump, with the US asking for
05:16help with drones?
05:17Because it was a year ago that Donald Trump said that Volodymyr Zelensky didn't have the cards.
05:23That famous speech February the 28th last year at the White House, where they were very angry and very disrespectful
05:29to Volodymyr Zelensky.
05:30But it seems now that Ukraine does have the cards in terms of technology to fight drones.
05:34That must be a very satisfying moment for you.
05:40This is politics, right?
05:42And they behave like politics.
05:45But indeed, Ukraine today is one of the most powerful countries with regards to the production of drones and military
05:55things.
05:56So we have a very good expertise.
06:00We have all the drones being tested on the battlefield.
06:04So we do know how to produce these drones.
06:08What do we need?
06:09We need financial financing for increasing this production.
06:15Do you think, do you hope that this technology that you can provide to the United States and its allies
06:20to stop Iran's drones during this war in the Middle East,
06:24that will be some kind of leverage for you to get more help, well, to get the United States to
06:30start helping Ukraine again?
06:32Well, we are ready to share these technologies.
06:34We are ready to provide our assistance to the US if it's needed.
06:40So we are open with that.
06:42And my president is very keen to continue this cooperation.
06:46It is remarkable that Ukrainians putting their minds together in this time of need have been able to create such
06:53a simple and it seems cost effective way of fighting these drones.
06:58How has that happened?
06:59Clearly it's a necessity, isn't it? You had to do it.
07:02Yes.
07:02We are put in this situation that we didn't have any other way out.
07:07So we have good production capacities.
07:11We have good brains to do this.
07:14We have people to do this.
07:17And of course, if we are providing more financial aid, we will be able to produce more and more.
07:28Can I ask you about the pipeline, the Druzhba pipeline?
07:30It's clear that there is this sticking point about the 90 billion euro aid package from the EU.
07:35Viktor Orbán, in his role as Vladimir Putin's closest friend in Europe, has been continually trying to block aid towards
07:43Ukraine.
07:44And this perhaps, it seems part of his kind of rationale in some way, shape or form.
07:49Has Ukraine been delaying repairing this oil pipe?
07:52What's your story? Tell us.
07:54Well, again, it's more of politics, right?
08:02We try to find the settlement.
08:05We try to find the solution for that.
08:07And we are in cooperation with European Union, with European Commission, with Ursula von der Leyen.
08:15So I do believe that our leaders will manage to find the solution.
08:22Irina, thank you very much for joining us.
08:24We're out of time, but I wish we could go on for a long, because there's so much more to
08:27talk about.
08:28Good luck with the continued fight that is on your hands every day, every night, of course, for you, your
08:34family, for the whole of Ukraine,
08:35in trying to keep your country together in the face of all the odds against you.
08:39Thank you for coming to see us here in France 24. We really appreciate it.
08:42Irina Mudra, who is the Deputy Head of Office of the President of Ukraine.
08:46A pleasure to meet you, and thank you for coming to join us. Thank you very much indeed.
08:50We take a very short break. After that, more news. Stay with us.
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