people-from-kyiv

"In my opinion, radio is the most democratic means, the most democratic platform for organizing a horizontal discussion in society; it does not require the embellishments that television does. Some people argue that you can also be truthful on television. I agree, but to achieve a good picture, one must apply makeup—this alone reveals a lot about television. Radio, on the other hand, does not carry this burden. Paradoxically, although the audience does not see the people on radio, they can distinctly sense when someone is reading from a script or computer screen next to the microphone. Thus, radio by its very nature demands more sincerity and authenticity. Technically, it is also easier to create than television, which is another consideration. Moreover, it offers more opportunities for audience participation in programs; you just have to call, or sometimes you can simply write through a messenger, and your message will be read or reacted to on air."

"Well, radio, and I have seen this with my own eyes and heard this with my own ears when I was in those areas [the war zone], radio sometimes is the only available means of getting information when you are close to the front line or other areas devastated by war or by some other disaster. You cannot get television service there, the internet does not work, and telephone is really dangerous because you can aim your rockets according to the telephone signal. And then there’s radio, which reaches far and deep, and which people tend to listen to."

"Radio is a natural means of promoting democracy and offers the biggest possible means of communication among different people. It is very fast, and it does not usually impose ideas. It offers ideas to choose from."

"For me, either there is truth, or there is no truth. All these things about post-truth, fake news, and other stuff, is just a set of terms which is called upon to cover the lack of professionalism among us [journalists]. So, the biggest challenge today is not to invent other terms to justify our lack of quality, but to consistently work to improve the quality."

"I didn't consider possible service in the KGB as a way to protect someone. I probably understood that once I got into that system, I wouldn't be able to do it. And I'm not a strong enough person to go into a situation like that where I'm losing in advance. "Why not" was more about the fact that, yes, in the KGB system, like in every special service, there were areas not related to the fight against dissent. For example, intelligence. And I was thinking more about that. But it's good that doubts prevailed."

"In spring of 2013, three different people came to me within three days and said that they could not work in their media outlets any longer for various reasons — being pressurized and being told to do what they did not want to do. They asked, "What shall we do?" I said, "But of course, we should found our own radio." So we started for several reasons. First, it is cheap — it is so cheap to found a radio. We actually took out something like 300 to 400 hryvnias, which was, of course, a pittance — something like 40 to 50 dollars at that time. Everyone took from their pockets. We bought our first recorders, bought our first legal software — because we wanted to be irreproachable — and we started the radio."

"I do not see citizen journalism as a separate branch of journalism. I do not actually wish to juxtapose professional journalism and citizens. There is good journalism and bad journalism. Sometimes in the so-called citizen journalism, you find brilliant examples of journalism, and the same in the so-called professional journalism — you find a lot of trash."

"Ukraine is now the guarantor of security, in fact, for the whole of Europe. And this is true without exaggeration. Let's put it this way. All of Eastern Europe understands this absolutely clearly. There are different opinions further, but what concerns Eastern Europe, everyone agrees on this. And in fact, why is everyone trying so hard to help Ukrainians in every possible way? Because if it somehow happened that Ukraine would have fallen, they would be next. And I'm sorry, but the capabilities of these countries are in no way comparable to Ukraine. Everything would be much worse there."

"Unfortunately, the Russian Federation knows how to work with the information space. That is why any event — imagine a rocket that falls into the Kremlin — they will show it as a victory for Russia. They will claim that they’ve prevented the biggest catastrophe to mankind by having that rocket fall into the Kremlin, that this missile has actually demolished the building it was supposed to and has even helped them. It sounds like a joke, but indeed, Russian society is accepting of such stupidities."

"Thanks to the idiocy of the Russians, all their biggest geopolitical horror stories have become a reality. And Ukraine will become one of the most powerful states, and, let's say, they have already encountered Western weapons. And we all disposed of, let's say, jointly, all the remains of Soviet weapons from around the world. And they threw out the defense industrial complex of the Russian Federation for many years from the world arms trade. And, let's say, yes, they limited the activity of their defense industrial complex. They disposed of, in fact, the entire able-bodied part of their army. This, again, sets back their military ambitions for many years. Because simply all specialists, the majority no longer exist."

"Everyone is waiting for a certain moment when, let's say, the tower of the Kremlin, which advocates a unanimous war, figuratively speaking, leans against the wall and admits that it is not going well. It's a dead end."

"All I will comment on is that we’ve been killing Russians and we will keep killing Russians anywhere on the face of this world until the complete victory of Ukraine."

"Sometimes it’s necessary for me to be with my people to motivate them. I’m not taking excuses for why someone can’t do something. That’s why the task will always be accomplished."

"Russia must be brought to justice for its crimes. Every war criminal must be brought before a tribunal. All material and moral damages caused to Ukraine, including lost profits due to the war, must be compensated through the mechanism of reparations."

"So first of all, the fact itself is that we're engaging the military infrastructure and military targets in occupied Crimea and the occupier’s infrastructure. If we're going deeper into strikes against the air defense system, it's more complicated here. First of all, the air defense systems themselves are very costly equipment and it takes a lot of time to produce those and Russian flags those systems because all this inventory is currently engaged in fighting against Ukraine and also in protection of Moscow. They've taken away air defenses from everywhere else. That is why, naturally, when we engage in another and another air defense battalion of the Russian military, they need to think about where they can pull those systems from and where are they able to tolerate less defenses in other places."

"Regretfully I don't possess precise numbers of our casualties. But it is completely logical that all of our casualties - both killed in action and wounded in action - went up as we shifted to offensive operations if we compare those with the previous periods. But there is still this very interesting peculiarity that even though we're on the offensive, our numbers of casualties are still lower than on the enemy’s side who are in defense."

"Drones will never replace ground troops. It is only a way to support them. With the help of a drone you can inflict losses on the enemy. But until, like in medieval times, a soldier comes and plants a flag, nothing will change."

"We are not a consuming body, we are a collecting body. That is why everything we say oftentimes is very much different from what others say. We base our assessment on things that are real and some other people watch a lot of TV or just talk to other people and that’s how they build their assessments. The fact that we are geographically close to Russia — let’s put it this way: We have capabilities in the Russian Federation, quite powerful ones."

"What escalation are we talking about if absolutely all types of weapons are used; from submarines to strategic bombers? We need to change the logic: not everything is in the hands of the Russian Federation, and not everything is in the hands of other players on the world stage, something depends on us."

"They’ve [Russians] been trying to charge me with terrorism since 2016. But I want to begin by saying that the things they call ‘terrorism,’ we call liberation. And this began not because I went mad and started killing people in Moscow. It happened because they invaded our country back in 2014."

"Those who think they are tired of Ukraine abroad will have to court Russians when they come to occupy their own territories."

"In terms of their economy, Russia can afford this war without significant problems until 2025. In terms of their military equipment, they can manage until 2026 at most. Perhaps a bit sooner, as the pace of equipment recovery they're going through right now is not that high. So, we're looking at around 2025. In terms of human resources, it's clear that they have enough for a long time. But, regardless of what anyone might say, if we assess our human resources in aggregate, there's enough on our side too. Our country is not that small."

"Putin understands that in the eyes of world leaders, especially China, he is becoming an unstable ruler who is unable to ensure order in the elections in his country. He shows himself to be a weakling in the eyes of his people and the elites. Weakness is what he fears most. What is happening in Russia now is weakening the regime in general and Putin personally. We have to use this weakness and make it an additional weapon,"

"Hypothetically, there is a plan according to which all this happens. And I believe that this plan includes all the major critical infrastructure facilities and military infrastructure facilities of the Russian Federation. Now, Russian civilians finally see the real picture [of war]. They see burning oil depots, destroyed buildings in factories and plants, and so on. This is all beneficial."

"The only thing I can say is that Ukraine will be forever grateful for all the assistance that’s been provided to Ukraine. And the victory over the Russian Federation will be the same extent an American victory. It will be the same for Ukraine and America together. It will be our joint victory."

"In terms of creativity and flexibility, we still beat Russia. Putin's regime is no longer as powerful. But the enemy has not yet been defeated, and you can't just say that everything is absolutely bad for them. They are adapting. They have built more than one line of defence well. Yet our advancement goes on!"

"Like it or not, we’re approaching a landmark battle in the contemporary history of Ukraine. This is a fact, and everyone understands it. It’s a secret when it will start. But everyone understands we are getting closer to it."

"The Russians would be very happy to freeze everything how it is now. To have us recognize the territory they've taken as Russian. And they would celebrate their victory. It will never happen."

"In Russian dreams, they have occupied all of Ukraine, and in our dreams, we have a victory parade … into Moscow."

"Classical positional ‘frontline’ warfare is gradually becoming a thing of the past. The 21st century creates new challenges both on the battlefield and in the rear area. Whoever is the first to accept these challenges and find a worthy response to them will win."

"Ukraine wants to be independent, and we will celebrate our national day with our partners and friends."

"Militarily, Russia will be defeated. It will cost us further losses of civilian and military lives, and we can only try to minimize the damages, but together with Norway and other allies I am not in doubt that Russia will be militarily defeated on Ukrainian territory."

"Demilitarization of Russia is well under way"

"I think that it is not only Russian diplomats in New York who need mental assistance but also those who posted today this text: 'Foreign Minister Lavrov: The goal of Russia's special military operation is to stop any war that could take place on Ukrainian territory or that could start from there.' Russian Embassy in London. Retweeted by the Russian Foreign Ministry. Let me remind the Russian diplomats that in London in case of need for mental help, you can dial NHS line 111. Thank you."

"We, not just Ukraine but everybody, must make an effort to help the Russian population to direct their country back on the road towards democracy, how to develop democratic institutions and how to develop a living, sustainable society."

"Russian troops block numerous attempts of the Ukrainian authorities to evacuate civilians."

"Russia bears full responsibility for the killing and injuring of innocent people, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and obstacles for the safe departure of Ukrainians and foreign citizens."

"If [Putin] wants to kill himself, he doesn’t need to use the nuclear arsenal. He has to do what the guy in Berlin did in a bunker in May 1945."

"I don't buy this version that they are so brainwashed that they don't understand what is happening. We don't live in the Soviet era when there was no internet or when citizens couldn't travel abroad or didn't have any means of getting information."

"There is no purgatory for war criminals. They go straight to hell, Ambassador ."

"I obviously wasn't happy with the job he did... First of all he reported a false call... what was said on the call was totally appropriate."

"Dad, I am sitting here today in the U.S. Capitol talking to our elected professionals. Talking to our elected professionals is proof that you made the right decision 40 years ago to leave the Soviet Union and come here to the United States of America in search of a better life for our family. Do not worry. I will be fine for telling the truth."

"[M]y simple act of appearing here today, just like the courage of my colleagues who have also truthfully testified before this committee, would not be tolerated in many places around the world. In Russia, my act of expressing concern to the chain of command in an official and private channel would have severe personal and professional repercussions, and offering public testimony involving the President would surely cost me my life. I am grateful to my father—for my father's brave act of hope 40 years ago and for the privilege of being an American citizen and public servant, where I can live free, free of fear for mine and my family's safety."

"We are not a country where a group of lieutenant colonels can get together and dictate what the policy of the United States is..."

"Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, who testified in the impeachment hearings, was sacked from his post on the National Security Council, in what presidential aides made very clear was revenge. For good measure, so was his twin brother, a lawyer at the NSC and a fellow Army officer. Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, was asked to resign, and when he refused, he was fired Friday night. , who had been tapped to be Pentagon comptroller but clashed with the White House over freezing military aid to Ukraine, will have her nomination withdrawn, according to the New York Post."

"He did exactly what we teach them to do from cradle to grave... He went and told his boss what he just heard."

"The uniform I wear... is that of a United States Army... The members of our all-volunteer force are made up of... people from all ethnicities, regions, socioeconomic backgrounds, who come together under a common oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. We do not serve any political party; we serve the Nation."

"I want to... recognize the courage of my colleagues who have appeared and are scheduled to appear before this committee. ...[T]he character attacks on these distinguished and honorable public servants is reprehensible. It is natural to disagree and engage in spirited debate, and this has been the custom of our country since the time of our Founding Fathers, but we are better than personal attacks."

"As a young man, I decided I wanted to spend my life serving this Nation that gave my family refuge from authoritarian oppression. For the last 20 years, it has been an honor to represent and protect this great country."

"[W]hen I reported my concerns on July 10th relating to Ambassador Sondland, and then July 25th relating to the President, I did so out of a sense of duty. I privately reported my concerns in official channels to the proper authority in the chain of command. My intent was to raise these concerns because they had significant national security implications for our country. I never thought that I would be sitting here testifying in front of this committee and the American public about my actions. When I reported my concerns, my only thought was to act properly and to carry out my duty."