My Journey To Ukraine and My Interview With Zelensky

Summary

Highlights

• Ben Shapiro's courageous trip to Ukraine showcases the importance of truth in journalism during conflict. 🌟
• President Zilinsky discusses the challenges Ukraine faces, including geopolitical tensions and war impacts. 🕊️
• Shapiro's interview touches on U.S. aid transparency and religious freedoms in Ukraine. 🏛️
• Insights into the Russian aggression and U.S. peace negotiations are explored in depth. 🌍
• A comprehensive view of Ukraine's struggles and triumphs amidst ongoing conflict is provided. 🔍

Key Takeaways

• Ben Shapiro embarks on a remarkable journey to Ukraine, interviewing President Zilinsky amid ongoing conflict. 🌍
• The trip underscores the value of factual journalism and uncovers the truth behind complex geopolitical situations. 📰
• Discussion highlights include the Russia-Ukraine war, peace proposals, and the journey itself. ✈️
• Shapiro addresses concerns over U.S. financial aid and alleged religious freedom restrictions in Ukraine. 💵
• The interview aims to provide clarity and insights into Ukraine's current political and social climate. 🌐

Overview

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Purpose of the Trip The chapter titled 'Introduction and Purpose of the Trip' discusses the reasoning behind visiting Ukraine, a nation under conflict. The speaker addresses the audience's queries about the risks associated with traveling to a war zone by emphasizing the importance of truth and factual reporting. This endeavor is positioned as crucial for keeping the audience informed, highlighting that the support from the community enables such journalism. There is also a call to action for supporting the platform to ensure continued reporting. The chapter ends with a hint of the ongoing conflict, mentioning a missile attack by Russia on Ukraine.
• 00:30 - 02:00: Recent Developments and Peace Proposal The chapter discusses a recent large-scale air attack involving drones, labeled as the most significant since 2022. A missile hit an apartment building in Kyiv, resulting in nine fatalities and 63 injuries, illustrating the ongoing conflict's severity. Concurrently, the Trump administration introduced a peace deal proposal for the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, negotiated in London. The proposal controversially expected Ukraine to concede to the Russian annexation of Crimea, a strategic region on the Black Sea.
• 02:00 - 03:30: Vladimir Putin's Stance The chapter discusses Vladimir Putin's control over eastern Ukraine since 2014 and the geopolitical implications of Ukraine's interest in joining NATO. The potential Ukraine-NATO membership would ensure a collective defense under Article 5, obligating other countries to defend Ukraine if attacked. The chapter also covers a proposed deal during Trump's administration, which aimed to block Ukraine's NATO membership and offered minimal security guarantees for Ukraine. This deal did not obligate the United States or the EU to defend Ukraine.
• 03:30 - 05:00: Interview with JD Vance and Impact of US Decisions The chapter discusses an interview with JD Vance focusing on the impact of U.S. decisions on the defense of Ukraine. There was a mention of a proposed peace deal that could have lifted sanctions on Russia and given them more advantages if Ukraine had accepted it. However, Russia did not accept any such deal. The proposal seemed like a negotiation within the U.S., Europe, and Ukraine without Russian involvement. Ukrainian President Zelensky rejected any legal handover of Crimea.
• 05:00 - 06:30: Discussion on Crimea and International Diplomacy The chapter revolves around the ongoing international diplomatic challenges pertaining to Crimea, a region of significant geopolitical controversy. It highlights how the recognition of Crimea as a part of Russia would constitute a crucial legal concession by Ukraine without reciprocal agreements from Russia. Ukrainian President Zelensky is against making such declarations. The chapter also mentions the acceptance by Zelensky of a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Trump, albeit without any preconditions, a gesture not reciprocated by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Amidst these discussions, hostilities continue, as evident from the ongoing missile attacks by Russia on Ukrainian cities like Kiev and Lviv, indicating the persistent tensions and conflict.
• 06:30 - 08:00: Historical Context of Ukraine The chapter discusses the current geopolitical tension surrounding the war in Ukraine. It highlights the positions of key leaders, with Zilinsky expressing a willingness to end the war, whereas Putin shows no inclination to do so. The chapter also touches upon the potential strategic considerations of the United States, referencing the Trump administration's stance that if an agreement isn't reached, the US may withdraw from negotiations and cease funding Ukraine. It quotes Vice President JD Vance to emphasize the seriousness of the US position.
• 08:00 - 09:30: Visit to Historical Sites in Ukraine The chapter discusses diplomatic efforts related to historical sites in Ukraine, highlighting a proposal made to both Russia and Ukraine. The speaker emphasizes the need for a decision, indicating that the U.S. has been deeply involved in diplomatic processes to understand the priorities of both Ukrainians and Russians. The fair proposal aims to address these concerns and move forward.
• 09:30 - 11:00: Interview with Religious Leaders The chapter titled 'Interview with Religious Leaders' discusses the geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Russia, and Ukraine. It highlights the current state of diplomatic negotiations, focusing on a deal proposed by the US. The US administration's pressure tactics are primarily focused on Ukraine, as emphasized by President Trump's social media post where he accuses Ukrainian President Vladimir Zilinsky of boasting about not legally recognizing Crimea's occupation. The chapter explores the broader implications of these interactions and how these political maneuvers might benefit Russia if the deal is not accepted.
• 11:00 - 12:30: Security and Military Situations The chapter discusses the complexities and controversies surrounding Crimea's political status, specifically the viewpoints during and after Obama's presidency. It highlights a statement criticizing President Trump's approach to peace negotiations with Russia and points out the historical military significance of the Crimean region due to its Russian submarine bases, alluding to the deep-seated tension tied to its annexation.
• 12:30 - 17:30: Interview with President Zelensky The chapter titled 'Interview with President Zelensky' focuses on the pressing situation of the ongoing war in Ukraine. In this transcript, a voice is critical of Ukraine's current position, suggesting that the war could continue for another three years without resolution, costing thousands of lives weekly. The discourse hints at a near-peace deal but criticizes Zelensky for not finalizing it, labeling him as someone without leverage to 'boast about.' Despite no connections to Russia, the speaker underscores a desire to save lives on both sides. Former President Trump expresses his views, implying that the conflict could have been avoided under different leadership and offers assistance in resolving this crisis.
• 17:30 - 21:30: US Aid and Financial Transparency Discussion This chapter discusses the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the necessary conditions for its resolution. It highlights former President Trump's frustration with the situation and emphasizes the necessity for Russia to engage in negotiations. The chapter questions why focus is often placed on Ukraine's actions when Russia's continuous aggression remains the core issue. It underscores the importance of Ukraine's stability in the face of escalation and encourages American public awareness of the significance of supporting Ukraine to prevent its collapse.
• 21:30 - 26:30: Military and Religious Freedom Issues The chapter discusses the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, highlighting the significant loss of life and wounded on both sides, as well as the current control of eastern Ukraine and Crimea by Russia. The narrative mentions the Trump administration's efforts to negotiate peace. The chapter emphasizes the importance of a visit to Ukraine to communicate directly with President Vladimir Zelensky and to address the concerns and questions of the American public regarding their interest and involvement in this distant conflict.
• 26:30 - 27:30: Part Two Preview and Closing Remarks The chapter provides a preview of Part Two and offers some closing remarks. It discusses the various factors related to the situation in Ukraine, including the allocation of tax dollars, the treatment of Christians in Ukraine, Russia's ambitions, and Ukraine's desire for independence. The narrative includes a personal account of traveling from Florida to Ukraine through Poland. The journey was challenging due to the ongoing war, involving a long flight to Poland and a car ride to Kyiv with security. The chapter notes that few people are entering Ukraine at this time and describes the country as beautiful, highlighting its role as the 'bread basket' of the continent.

My Journey To Ukraine and My Interview With Zelensky Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Well, folks, a big question I've been getting since we released the trailer for my interview with President Vladimir Zilinsky of Ukraine is why go to a nation under fire? Why take your crew and take that risk? And the answer is simple. Because the truth matters and facts matter. We want you to be smarter and know more things. That's what this show is for. You, our Daily Wire members, deserve the truth. This is the kind of journalism your support makes possible. This is the community that fights for your values. Join us right now at dailywire.com/subscribe. So last night, Vladimir Putin's Russia blanketed Ukraine with missiles and
• 00:30 - 01:00 drones in what was perhaps the largest scale air attack on the country since 2022. One missile apparently now struck an apartment building in Kev and killed nine people and wounded another 63. This of course is a war zone. A little bit earlier yesterday, the Trump administration rolled out its proposed outline for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. This was being negotiated in London. It's a peace deal under which Ukraine would have been forced to accept Russian annexation of Crimea. That's the very southern portion of Ukraine that is on the Black Sea as well as control of
• 01:00 - 01:30 eastern Ukraine. Russia is currently in control of large swaths of eastern Ukraine and has been since 2014. It would have removed NATO membership from the table for Ukraine. Ukraine obviously is interested in joining NATO because that would mean that an attack on a NATO member would allow for article 5 invocation, meaning other countries would have to come to Ukraine's defense. The deal would prevent Ukraine from becoming a NATO member. It would have provided little or nothing in the way of security guarantees for Ukraine. So, the proposed Trump deal did not obligate the United States to come to Ukraine's defense or even allow for the EU's
• 01:30 - 02:00 defense of Ukraine. Maybe they could have, maybe they couldn't, but that was unclear. And it also would have full-scale ended sanctions on Russia. So, clearly, this peace deal gave Russia a bunch of things that Russia was looking for if it had been accepted by Ukraine. Russia has not accepted a peace arrangement along any of these lines. We should be clear about this. Essentially, the proposal that was published was the United States, Europe, and maybe Ukraine kind of negotiating against themselves because there's no one else at the table right now. Now, Zalinsky rejected handing over Crimea legally because that
• 02:00 - 02:30 would be making a major legal concession without actually getting anything from Russia in return. If you preemptively say Crimea is now part of Russia, you've now said it and Zilinsky doesn't want to do that. He has accepted the Trump proposal for a 30-day ceasefire without any preconditions. That has been true for weeks. Vladimir Putin has not. Not for one second. Which is why last night the Russian missiles were falling on Kev. They're also falling on Lviv, which is in the western part of the country. It was a bad night in Ukraine. Now Putin again has at no point actually given any
• 02:30 - 03:00 sign that he truly wants the war to end. If you want the war to end, the question is, will Zilinsky accept an end to the war? And will Putin accept an end to the war? Zilinsky has said he will. Putin has given no sign whatsoever that he actually will. Instead, it seems like he's slow playing this thing. He seems to be biting his time waiting for the United States to pull out of negotiations and out of funding Ukraine entirely. And that's a bet that could pay off given the Trump administration's repeated statements that if no deal is accepted, the United States will simply walk away from the table. Here was Vice President JD Vance saying just that yesterday.
• 03:00 - 03:30 Well, I'm going to echo something Secretary Rubio said, which is, look, uh, we've issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it's time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process. We've engaged in an extraordinary amount of diplomacy, of on the ground work. We've really tried to understand things from the perspective of both the Ukrainians and the Russians. What do Ukrainians care the most about? What do the Russians care the most about? And I think that we've put together a very fair proposal. Okay. Well, whether the
• 03:30 - 04:00 proposal is fair or not, if Russia refuses to accept the deal and then the United States walks away, Russia is the party that actually benefits from that. The Trump administration's pressure right now has been almost solely relegated to Ukraine at this point. That's just the reality. President Trump unleashed a post on Truth Social yesterday attacking Vladimir Zilinsky and blaming him for the continuation of the war. He stated, quote, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zilinski is boasting on the front page of the Wall Street Journal that Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea. There's nothing to talk about here. This
• 04:00 - 04:30 statement says President Trump is very harmful to the peace negotiations with Russia and that Crimea was lost years ago under the opaces of President Barack Hussein Obama and is not even a point of discussion. Nobody's asking Zilinsky to recognize Crimea as Russian territory. But if he wants Crimea, why didn't they fight for it 11 years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired? Well, if that's true, then nobody's asking for Zilinsky to actually recognize Crimea as Russian territory. What's the discussion that's happening? President Trump continues, "The area also houses for many years before the Obama handover major Russian submarine bases its inflammatory statements like
• 04:30 - 05:00 Zilinskis that make it so difficult to settle this war. He has nothing to boast about. The situation for Ukraine is dire. We can have peace or he can fight for another 3 years before losing the whole country. I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save on average 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week who are dying for no reason whatsoever." The statement made by Zilinski today will do nothing but prolong the killing field and nobody wants that. We're very close to a deal, but the man with no cards to play should now finally get it done. I look forward to being able to help Ukraine and Russia get out of this complete and total mess. Again, this is President Trump saying this that would have never started if I
• 05:00 - 05:30 were president." Now, listen, President Trump's frustration is clear and understandable. But let's be also clear about this. For this conflict to end, Russia has to come to the table. Why is the question what Ukraine is willing to do when the real question here is why Russian aggression has not stopped for a single moment for three years? The American people obviously we need to understand just why it is important for Ukraine not to collapse amidst the escalation of Russia's invasion. So with the Russia Ukraine war now in year
• 05:30 - 06:00 number three with tens of thousands of dead on each side and hundreds of thousands wounded probably 50,000 dead on the Ukrainian side maybe 200,000 dead on the Russian side with eastern Ukraine and Crimea currently in Russian hands and with the Trump administration obviously trying to end the war through negotiation. We felt that now is a vital time to actually travel to Ukraine to discuss this crisis with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zilinski. The American people have a lot of questions and they have a right to know why they should care about this conflict in a far away place and to have their questions answered on matters ranging from how
• 06:00 - 06:30 their tax dollars are being spent to the treatment of Christians in Ukraine from the nature of Russia's aspirations in Ukraine to the Ukrainian desire to remain free of Russian domination. So the trip into Ukraine wasn't exactly easy. It's of course a war zone. First we traveled some 12 hours from Florida to Kkow, that's Poland. And then we took a 10-hour car ride with security from Poland to Kev. The border crossing was pretty much deserted. Not a lot of people are trying to get into Ukraine at this point in time. The country itself, it's a beautiful country. The bread basket of the continent, Western Ukraine, which is what you drive through
• 06:30 - 07:00 to get to Kiev, is rolling farmland dotted with forest. My great great grandparents came originally from this general region, Belarus, Poland, Ukraine. I tried to see it through their eyes we were driving. what it must have been like 150 years ago before the carnage of the Ukrainian Haladomar, which is the Stalin created genocidal starvation campaign against Ukrainian farmers and their families and against those who opposed the evil of Soviet collectivization and what it was like before the Nazi invasion in 1941 and the mass slaughter of Jews with roving bands of SS mowing down tens of thousands of
• 07:00 - 07:30 Jews over open pits in Bobby shipping Jews via train to death camps all over Europe. Timothy Snyder, historian and author of a book called Bloodlands, Europe between Hitler and Stalin, writes, quote, "During the years that both Stalin and Hitler were in power, more people were killed in Ukraine than anywhere else in the Bloodlands or in Europe or in the world. For both Hitler and Stalin, Ukraine was more than a source of food. It was the place that would enable them to break the rules of traditional economics, rescue their countries from poverty and isolation, and remake the continent in their own image." If you know history, the voices
• 07:30 - 08:00 of all of our brothers blood cries out from the ground of Ukraine. And the history of Ukraine suffering doesn't stop with World War II. After the war, the Soviet Union again was in control of Ukraine. Its history was then steamrolled and homogenized to fit Soviet presumptions. After the Cold War, after the Soviet Union fell, Ukraine broke free. It became independent. It gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from the West. Didn't go well for Ukraine. Obviously torn between the attraction of joining the postsviet West and Russian pressure from the east. The country was governed
• 08:00 - 08:30 by a series of corruption ridden governments culminating in the victory of Victor Yanukovich whose pro-Russian swing led to the so-called Maidan revolution of 2014. Yanukovich was ousted. Vladimir Putin, dictator of Russia, seeing Ukraine slipping out of his grasp, then launched invasions of the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine as well as Crimea. Both of those were largely Russian-speaking areas that favored a closer relationship with Russia, but they didn't actually want to be fully ruled by Russia by the polling data available at the time. Instead, Putin brought in what were called little green men who he said were sort of
• 08:30 - 09:00 domestic insurgents. They were actually Russian soldiers to take over those areas. Citizens of those areas were brought under Russian control. And then came 2022. Sensing weakness from the Americanled North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the aftermath of Joe Biden's surrender of Afghanistan to the Taliban, Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the rest of Ukraine. When the war began, few expected Ukraine to survive. Indeed, the first Russian push into Ukraine came within 10 or 12 kilometers of Akiv, the capital city, which is located on both sides of the Niper River. Actually, Vladimir Zilinski
• 09:00 - 09:30 was made offers by the Europeans to flee the country, but Ukraine instead fought back. Their forces actually pushed the Russians back toward the east and toward the south. After three years of war, that is where the lines remain. Carnage continues in Khiv and Zaporosia. Bombs continue to fall. Drones continue to fly, particularly last night. The Russian government since 2014 in an effort to rousify Ukrainian children, has abducted tens of thousands of kids from eastern Ukraine and Crimea back into Russia. As the New York Times reported in 2023, quote, "Russian
• 09:30 - 10:00 officials have made it clear their goal is to replace any childhood attachment to home with a love for Russia. Hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers and contractors have died." According to the BBC, around 50,000 Ukrainians have been killed, according to Zilinski's government as of February. The numbers are probably higher. President Trump's entry into office provided the possibility of something new. Pledging to end the war, the Trump administration insisted on negotiations and to that end put pressure on both Silinsky and Vladimir Putin to come to the table. After a fraud conversation with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office, Zilinski has
• 10:00 - 10:30 agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, Putin has agreed to nothing. The United States under special envoy Steve Woodoff continues to advocate for Ukrainian concessions, ranging again from recognition of Russian territorial annexation to abandonment of intent to join NATO. Putin, for his part, has mailed words of interest, but has shown little willingness to make any real concessions at all. That is where things stood as we traveled into Ukraine. We have to more of this in a moment. First, do you know what I hate? Big government. Do you know what else I hate? Being overcharged. Pure Talk, the cell phone
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• 12:30 - 13:00 Ukraine. Ukrainian forces at a material disadvantage in the early days of the war engaged in technological creativity to counter Russian advances. Russia then responded by building new drones with Chinese help as well as by importing drones from Iran. By the time we reached Kiev, the drone sirens had stopped. After a very short night in the center of Keev, we visited the site of the Babany massacre, which is just across the street from a television tower struck by a Russian missile. In the early days of the war, we visited a blown out building hit multiple times in a variety of Russian attacks. We visited a memorial to the victims of the
• 13:00 - 13:30 Hadamar. The city is beautiful, but it obviously feels pretty empty. Approximately 7 million Ukrainians have left the country during the war. That's out of a total population of 44 million or so in 2021. I attended a meeting of the all Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organizations with representatives of 15 different religious sects attending to discuss religious freedom and traditional values with Zilinski. A member of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was joined by a member of the Catholic Church, for example, to ask for a ministry of family to foster higher birth rates and support more kids in Ukraine. Other members of the council
• 13:30 - 14:00 asked President Silinsky about military deferment for members of the clergy. And then finally, it was time to sit down with President Zilinski. President Silinsky looked weary but upbeat. He is of course very camera friendly given his history as a TV star. We sat in the shadow of the St. Sophia Cathedral, the first foundations of which were laid in 1011, centuries before the stardom of Russia. Here then is part one of our interview with President Vladimir Zilinski in Kev, Ukraine at perhaps the most crucial moment for the negotiations yet in the ongoing Russian invasion of
• 14:00 - 14:30 [Music] Ukraine. President Sinsky, thank you so much for taking the time. I really appreciate it. Thanks so much. Thanks for coming down. So I want to start by asking you about the meeting that you had in the Oval Office with the president and the vice president. This is almost a couple of months ago. Obviously things went sideways. How do you feel that you could have handled things better with the president and vice president after this uh meeting? Our teams had a
• 14:30 - 15:00 lot of uh had plenty of meetings. Well, not enough of meetings to put an end to this war, but still there were positive meetings. There were meetings that were fruitful and our teams have agreed that everyone will support the complete ceasefire mode and that was a meeting in Saudi Arabia at the end. There was another meeting then was a meeting in France. Uh tomorrow by the way uh there will be a meeting in London. So as you
• 15:00 - 15:30 can see that what's important to us is the teams of Ukraine and the United States plus our European colleagues that is our team has started to to work uh together with the United States and I can see some positive things about this. I'm grateful to this to all the partners and I'm grateful to President Trump for this as well as to Kirmer and to the Emanuel Macron and to all the leaders who constantly support this very beginning. the the the complete
• 15:30 - 16:00 ceasefire. It's the beginning of the path towards the um stable and hopefully fair and just peace and that is why I think we do have a good meetings right now and I would say a good possibilities. Now the question is Russia and that is the only element in this construct that is not yet ready to put an end to this war and we high hope uh um on on the strengths of the United States on the strengths in terms of the
• 16:00 - 16:30 sanctions on the experience of United States and the influence that United States has on Russia. So for for the Russia to agree to put an end to this war it depends on them. As for our meeting in the oval office, I kept saying that we needed this meeting. We had to talk over a variety of elements. We had uh uh different meetings, fruitful and a more philosophic meetings I would say on different stages of our life and the meeting with President Trump's as well. So I think that the
• 16:30 - 17:00 meeting in the oval office it did not help Ukraine. It did not help to the United States and no one I think we should you know when Ukraine and United States are having the meeting. We should give light to people. We should demonstrate this path that I've already mentioned to you a path towards the end of this war. We count on the strategic partnership and we always uh respected the people of
• 17:00 - 17:30 United States and the choice of United States and the support coming from United States and that is why I think that we will have more fruitful meetings with President Trump. But you have to understand Ukraine that we are defending against the Russia's offense and we believe uh Russia is an enemy. We believe uh United States is a true and real friend. We know that United States has a position to serve as the mediator
• 17:30 - 18:00 in this conflict. That is the choice made by the United States. But we consider United States as a strong strategic partner with an influence and we would really like to have peace two strengths that would be uh used towards Russia so that the force would be um towards the Russia because they are the one who is the aggressor and that we would like really to have this common understanding that Russia is the aggressor not we and we really want the
• 18:00 - 18:30 United States not to search for the balance in this words. I understand what President Trump is willing to have. I highly respect the the the fact that he's searching for an approach. That's his approach. Somebody might have different approach, but you shouldn't be saying that Ukraine and Russia started this war. I believe that it's painful for our people to hear and this is why we respond in this way. We're talking about the dignity of our country. We
• 18:30 - 19:00 have demonstrated that we are ready to protect our dignity in any situation. I'm doing that as the president. We have clearly demonstrated that in the beginning of the war, it was the war. It is still remains the war. We have only one enemy, Russia and Putin. And that is why even if we're talking a diplomatic environment, everything that is related to the Ukraine's dignity, I will always defend it. This is my job. I'm the president. I'm the guaranter of the constitution of Ukraine. So, Mr. President, there there are a lot of questions in the United States about how
• 19:00 - 19:30 American funding is spent. So, we've spent nearly 200 or allocated nearly $200 billion to the defense of Ukraine. There are lots of questions about where the money is going to pensions, to war, profitering, to to corruption. How do you answer those questions? What kind of transparency can you provide to the American people to guarantee that their taxpayer dollars are being used in the best possible way to fight Russia to to defend Ukraine and and to ensure that if the United States wants would wouldn't ought be possible by the United States
• 19:30 - 20:00 of where those dollars are going? Let me start with the end of your question. As for the audit, the United States have to understand there's United States inspectors working. There's the inspectors of European countries because they've also allocated the money and we are also grateful to them. Just as to the United States, we highly respect the support and assistance coming from the people of United States as well as the people of Europe. That is why we have
• 20:00 - 20:30 told at once that we are ready to have any inspections from the very beginning of the war. the inspectors coming from uh the United States, Europe and our own inspectors, they're working. We have complete reporting counting absolutely transparent within the ministry of defense. There is access to all the figures starting from the very first year of the war. There's always and there's been always an access uh when we've seen in the very beginning of the war that Russia attempted to undermine
• 20:30 - 21:00 the support and assistance coming from the United States because United States uh was the main donor and they wanted to undermine this through fake news through other tools. That is why we told it once that we are open send the inspectors and they were inspectors. So as for the audit we're always ready to any audit. There's nothing to hide. We are absolutely open transparent and that is what happening. We there's all the reports available. The second aspect I never wanted to you know well I just I I
• 21:00 - 21:30 was grateful to all the US taxpayers. I understand that United States have different programs directions and that is also related to the um weapons support and to assist the assistance of other countries of the world. I want to be absolutely frank that's with regards to the audit. I have my own internal audit and I clearly understand how much assistance coming from which country at which moment was
• 21:30 - 22:00 provided to Ukraine. I'm not responding poy to like saying that uh United States have has transferred something around 200 billion. I'm responding to the facts. Uh the United States could be you know uh registering that could be voting and we are grateful to the bipartisan support in the Congress cuz uh we are grateful to this unity around the fight of Ukraine for the independence and your great uh assistance and the great
• 22:00 - 22:30 contribution of the United States in this in the defense of our people. But I have my own internal audit and my country is clearly documenting how many assistance was provided. Just for you to know we had 104 105 billion US dollars. Most of those money were in the form of weapons. Now that's first thing. All of those weapons came the money were paid
• 22:30 - 23:00 to the transportation of those weapons. Ukrainian companies were not allowed to transport this money. That's why we haven't received not in the public, not in the private sector the money for the transportation. There were different assistance programs, the training of Ukrainian soldiers abroad. There's many things I'm documenting. I'm registering what I what we have. I understand there could be different calculations, different assistance programs or uh aid programs, but this is like an audit
• 23:00 - 23:30 really. You are verifying what was the output so to say and we kind of verify what was the input. We verify this cuz we need to you know keep the phase in our relations to with the key strategic partner. It's very important. It's not that we're arguing that United States have said that we're giving you 200 and Ukraine is saying no it's 100. No, it's not an arguing. It's not a dispute, but it's important that both countries and the taxpayers, they should know where
• 23:30 - 24:00 their money are. So that's it. And I kept saying all the time, it's not that I'm not, you know, properly responding to 200, 300, 400. No, no, no. I'm responding to what was the input, so to say. How many money came to Ukraine? Now, in terms of the use of those money, primarily that was for the weapons. they were used on the battlefield and the audit that I've mentioned clearly documented that whether this weapon was used on the battlefield or in accordance
• 24:00 - 24:30 to some of the information been posted on the media primarily there were the Russian narratives that some of the weapons were sent elsewhere or there was some corruption related to this weapons something was sell no all the order that took place not a single time has found any fact of sales of US weapons to somewhere abroad. So there were no no information like that in any of the audit. Then secondly they the funding they they
• 24:30 - 25:00 support the different social programs that was a different uh social programs but the salary that we pay to our soldiers the pensions that we pay to our pensioners and we have 11.5 million pensioners. So the salaries and the pensions these are only paid from the Ukrainian budget. This only by the Ukrainian money not because we didn't need the um kind of financial support uh or the or the support to the people.
• 25:00 - 25:30 There were differing aspects infrastructural aspects etc. We needed all of that and we are grateful to all that. But uh the United States have to know that they were not feeding our pensioners and our soldiers with regards to the salary or the compensation. Surely you've provided the most important aspect that is the weapons the weapons we needed to defend. Now those things are very important. Now there special programs or separate programs uh
• 25:30 - 26:00 and we have the clear figures behind those. when the United States were paying money for the development of a certain direction in the technological um kind of development like a new drones and there were direct funding either in the private sector that was constructing the drones like that what the United States have received well the exchange of information the United States without the war would never have received the knowledge I'm not saying that war is
• 26:00 - 26:30 good that's that's that's horrible But whenever we're saying what the United States have received for example when there were some programs uh when the United States have funded the weapons and they were transferring the patriots to us and we are grateful to the United States first of all for this they know that all the air defense systems that we had different shells there is artillery shells even 155 uh shells could be different the himer etc
• 26:30 - 27:00 all the crane have been using. Ukraine provided the reports to the United States and and Ukraine has improved many of the elements and specifications by um our engineers by our people on the ground. They've improved the specifications of the weapons. The United States have received a true report of based on the largest um land operation land war in many years.
• 27:00 - 27:30 So now United States know where to invest the money, where not to invest the money. I know those conclusions but this is not public information but United States have received this knowledge, this data and this knowledge could not be acquired without the live uh operations then United States have provided money to the development of different drones. Surely it's all about our special forces um recon intelligence security service of Ukraine foreign int
• 27:30 - 28:00 these are the separate money they are part of those 105 billion so this is where the scientists were working the recon the intelligence the military engineers were working now what the United States have received when the United States have paid for those developments the United States have received complete and open information on the drones this is the new weapon that was not available to the United States to Europe and surely we didn't have it. Now thei the United States have received all this experience all this
• 28:00 - 28:30 and developments. Now I'm I'm not willing to say that it's a cheap price for all of those developments. We are grateful to every single scent paid by the United States. But this is the fair price so to say the the the the knowledge the experience you know that the whole world is based on the knowledge and I believe that this is what the United States have received. Then how are medics uh being operating on the battlefield? Everyone knows about this.
• 28:30 - 29:00 There's medical points or medical stations close to the battlefield where the military surgeries have been taking place. There's medical assistance of different sort that has been provided. Now all this knowledge, all this experience were transferred to our partners. They've seen that they could make conclusions of the support to the people. The United States together with the Europeans have provided the support to the people and I can give you the conclusions. You can compare the number of uh uh killed and
• 29:00 - 29:30 number of casualties. Now I'm now comparing the Russian army with the Ukrainian army. But look at the portion of uh uh the wounded in action and the killed in action. We have the portion of the wound in action the lowest. If we have one to 10 that is one killed you have 10 wounded in action. Now in case of Russians in case of 10 casualties there will be five wounded in action or five killed in action or six by four. So
• 29:30 - 30:00 we're saying that's a different level of medical support and that knowledge was also provided to our partners. Now what exactly United States have received as well and this is the most important thing that I have not mentioned yet. Let's be frank, the people in the world, they believe that we are living um kind of fence against the Russia's invasion to the civilized world, including the NATO member nations and we are kind of a living shield. We are defending this. So
• 30:00 - 30:30 if Putin will come to the NATO member countries or when he will do that I don't believe that I know everything in advance but let's just imagine because everyone see who they have case with. So uh Putin might uh go to the European countries. Now in this case uh there would be a need to defend uh the European nations or to leave the NATO. I'm not saying whether uh the United
• 30:30 - 31:00 States should be doing that or not. That's the choice made by the people of United States and other allies. But this is a question that will definitely be on the agenda. So as long as Russians are not in any single NATO member nation, your families are not facing with this question. So there will be a major question for your families either to send your child to the war or not to the other country to some foreign
• 31:00 - 31:30 country. So that that's the kind of question. Now the cost of United States not searching and and and the families are not um searching for an answer to this complicated question of whether to send their son or daughter whether they will return home um like son and alive or wounded. Nobody knows the cost of that question whether United States is the um kind of the the
• 31:30 - 32:00 most uh the richest economy in the world whether this is the biggest amount paid for what's being provided. I'm not saying that's a small amount. I'm I'm saying that this is the fair. This is fair. It it's fair that United States assisted supported Ukraine and Ukraine uh gave away a lot and in return for that support and assistance and of course the the the most precious thing we have is the life of our people. So I
• 32:00 - 32:30 want to get to Russia's intentions in a moment and the possibilities of a ceasefire but Americans have questions about things that are happening here. So there have been a lot of accusations that there's been a crackdown on religious freedom in Ukraine particularly with regard to the Russian Orthodox Church. I just watched you perform a meeting with the all church meeting with members of a wide variety of faiths. Maybe you can respond to the accusations that there's a restriction on religious freedom with regard to Russian Orthodox in Ukraine. Well, first of all, I'm very happy that
• 32:30 - 33:00 that you're here uh and that you had a chance to to to take a look and uh really we have a meeting like that uh a couple of times per year and I truly uh visit some of the churchial sites and during the Easter there's the eastern meetings and pas and we have a meeting with all of our religious institutions and I believe that what Ukraine has and that is the largest um council of
• 33:00 - 33:30 churches, the largest in Europe. All of our churches are united, different religious um and everyone is united. So we are considering the question there is the problem in military champions, the mobilization of pastors or not or priests. There's different questions. We help one another. We believe that the religious actors if they're on the front line it could be only through their will voluntarily and they should be
• 33:30 - 34:00 supporting military. if those uh religious sectors if they're willing to do that. We are kind of considering every single question. We do not believe that these are the major challenges cuz we are having a meetings and if you have a regular meetings if you have a regular dialogue then all the big challenges they kind of remain but only small ones and in many cases we solve those challenges but they're not catastrophic. they're not tragic for the country and for the
• 34:00 - 34:30 religious unity that we have in Ukraine and we are openly doing that. Now they advocate what you've heard um like abroad they have one single voice different faith but single voice nobody's pressing anyone so today uh uh went to pre to to prepare to he went to Rome
• 34:30 - 35:00 and there's all those ceremonies is uh around the pope Francis so went there went to Rome he needs that that's correct and I'm also planning uh together with my wife uh to to have a visit we'll have several meetings around the same dates um now as for the pressure there's no pressure and you will never hear about anything about the pressure because we don't have we don't
• 35:00 - 35:30 have any additional dialogues with our religious institutions or religious just leaders. There's no shadow practices. We're absolutely open, transparent. There could be cameras or no cameras. We're absolutely open. Everyone can tell you there's no pressure. Um that's non-existent. And uh every holidays we are together. We have people from different religions and we're always inviting everyone. That's important. As for the uh Moscow church, look, the
• 35:30 - 36:00 question is not about the Moscow church. The question is that in case of Russia, Moscow is just another agency of the KGB. Everyone knows that uh Russia's special services are in control of the churches. Well, this is how they have that's their choice and their people either support that or not. Well, that's their choice. That's their right. And we've never raised this question before the war and during the war, but that's a fact that their special services are in
• 36:00 - 36:30 control of the P church. The problem was that their special forces was in control of the churches in Ukraine. That's not the truth that the that the church should be equal and the Moscow could not be in control of our church. their KGB, their intelligence could not be in control or could not be managing uh the Ukrainian church. Well, they shouldn't be here. So, the the legislative changes
• 36:30 - 37:00 in Ukraine are related to the fact that there could be no connection in between of the Moscow and the church. Nobody closed anything or anyone. But it could it can't be the case that Russia's KJB is in control of the church in Ukraine. Everyone is against this legal ties. So it's not only about the ties at level of intelligence. There was a legal connection, legal ties for many years, but that shouldn't be the case. We
• 37:00 - 37:30 shouldn't be having disputes or controversies around whose church is older than than the others. And Ukraine is not willing shouldn't be speaking about this. Look, we're sitting here close to the Sophia Cathedral. Sophia is older than uh their Russia's capital city and any churches they have this building is older than that. That's the answer. We shouldn't be have any disputes. We have scientific evidences. We're just saying that our church should
• 37:30 - 38:00 be free from any authorities. It's free for the people. So, one of the other questions that's been asked is about military mobilization. So, you know, obviously you're in the middle of a war. At the same time, there have been reports online that people are being picked up off the streets and in places in eastern Ukraine and recruited into into services. H how do you respond to to accusations and and videos like that? Look, every single case is scrutinized
• 38:00 - 38:30 by the land forces, by the ministry of defense. They are the one responsible for the mobilization. And uh it could have a different attitude towards mobilization. But we have this mobilization from the beginning of the war. It's in accordance to the legislation, accordance to the martial law period. So the country is in a war. We that is why we do have mobilization. We want the war to end. We want everything to end. We want to have a fair peace calmness and there would be
• 38:30 - 39:00 nothing. Not the mobilization, not the martial law. But as long as the war, as long we have the law, there is the mobilization. That is why um there were different aspects like someone suggested money, someone took money for for for going or not going to the army. There there's different approaches or there are different cases but we shouldn't be saying that this is the major face uh or the the main thing that describes
• 39:00 - 39:30 Ukraine today. No, Ukraine has 800,000 right now or 600,000 people who volunteered uh to to go to the army. That was the law on mobilization, but the people were volunteering to go and defend Ukraine. Definitely there is a well there's different people and I think there's different people in in every country and the law enforcement personnel should be
• 39:30 - 40:00 making sure that everything would be transparent. There would be no coercion or something. There are some kind of disadvantages. That's a fact. We shouldn't be hiding that like a corruption. But if we have any anti-corruption bodies, there is the security service of Ukraine is if we are fighting with this on everyday basis, uh well of course you can hide it um like everything as in case of Russia or some European countries but Ukraine clearly shows that it is fighting on a constant
• 40:00 - 40:30 basis against aspects like that. But the those are kind of singular cases. This is this is not massive. That's more important and that should be reducing on a daily basis. We're doing that. As we mentioned, we left Keev on Tuesday night. On Wednesday night, Kev was hit with one of the biggest missile barges of the war. We've been checking in on many of the people we met in Ukraine to ensure that they are safe. We'll bring you any updates. That was part one of our interview with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zilinsky on Tuesday afternoon.
• 40:30 - 41:00 Part two will continue on tomorrow's show. We have some more on this in a moment. First, according to a recent SIP recruiter survey, 76% of employers plan to expand their headcount for 2025. That's a lot of time spent hiring. So, if you're the owner of a growing business the way I am here at the Daily Wire, it's essential to find a platform that provides an efficient format that allows you to connect with several pre-screened interested applicants all at once to streamline that recruitment process. Luckily, Zip Recruiter does just that. So, if you are one of those employers who is ramping up hiring this year, do not miss out on this advice. Add Zip Recruiter's latest feature, Zip
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• 41:30 - 42:00 ziprecruiter.com/dailywire right now to try Zip Intro for free. Again, at ziprecruiter.com/dailywire. Zip Intro. Post jobs today. Talk to qualified candidates tomorrow. Also, you know, most kids vitamins out there are basically just candy with a vitamin label on them. They're loaded with a couple of teaspoons of sugar, artificial ingredients kids really don't need. This is where Haya comes in. They've created this amazing chewable vitamin that kids actually love. The best part, zero sugar, but still totally delicious. Even the pickiest eaters would approve. What really impresses me is their ingredient list. They've packed in 12 organic
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• 43:00 - 43:30 eliminate the use of so-called disperate impact liability. Disperate impact liability is the idea that you can simply discern whether a branch of government or a company, for example, is racist based on the pure numbers of blacks versus whites who get a particular benefit. That if there's a disperate impact of a law or a policy, it must be that the law or the policy is racist. That of course is absurd. There are plenty of reasons for disparities in outcome that don't have to do with discrimination. And so the White House, President Trump signed an executive
• 43:30 - 44:00 order restoring equality of opportunity and meritocracy. That's the goal of it. The executive order says, "A bedrock principle of the United States that all citizens are treated equally under the law. This principle guarantees equality of opportunity, not equal outcomes. It promises that people are treated as individuals, not components of a particular race or group. It encourages meritocracy and a color-blind society, not race or sex-based favoritism. Adherence to this principle is essential to creating opportunity, encouraging achievement, and sustaining the American dream. A pernicious movement endangers this foundational principle, seeking to transform America's promise of equal
• 44:00 - 44:30 opportunity into a divisive pursuit of results. Pre-ordained by irrelevant, immutable characteristics, regardless of individual strengths, efforts, or achievement. A key tool of this movement is disperate impact liability, which holds that a near insurmountable presumption of unlawful discrimination exists, where there are any differences in outcomes in certain circumstances among different races, sexes, or similar groups, even if there is no facially discriminatory policy or practice or discriminatory intent involved. And even if everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed, this is a great great move by the Trump administration. Should have
• 44:30 - 45:00 been done long ago by Republicans going all the way back to Richard Nixon. Good for President Trump on that score. Again, one of the benefits of the Trump presidency, taking seriously DEI and destroying it. Really, really important stuff. Meanwhile, the White House seems to be backing off some of its trade war with China. Again, the signals are really quite mixed. Sometimes they seem like they're saying they're going to back off some of the tariffs unilaterally. Sometimes they say they're going to be negotiating something with China. Again, I'm very much in favor of a trade war with China as long as it is well thought out, as long as all the
• 45:00 - 45:30 preconditions are there. President Trump yesterday said the goal is to have a fair deal with China. Can you clarify, Mr. President, on China? We are going to have a fair deal with China. It's going to be fair. Are you talking to them actively now? Uh actively. Everything's active. Everybody wants to be a part of what we're doing. Uh they know that they can't get away with it any longer, but they're still going to do fine. Again, the White House is considering slashing the China tariffs in order to deescalate the trade war, according to
• 45:30 - 46:00 the Wall Street Journal. President Trump hasn't made a final determination. One administration official said Trump wouldn't act unilaterally. He'd need to see some action from Beijing to lower tariffs. But this seems to be something the Trump administration is trying to back off of considering the market impacts as well as the polling impacts. According to Pew, President Trump is down to 40% in the approval ratings. According to a Harvard youth poll, his numbers have dropped precipitously with young people. Just under a third of young people currently approve of his job performance. A large part of that is tied to economic uncertainty. White
• 46:00 - 46:30 House spokesman Kush Desai said President Trump has been clear China needs to make a deal with the United States. When decisions on tariffs are made, they will come directly from the president. Anything else is pure speculation. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson did tell reporters Trump has not offered to take down US tariffs on China on a unilateral basis. So it may take longer than expected. However, here was Scott Besson laying out the idea that we do need trade partners. On this point, I wish to be clear. America first does not mean America
• 46:30 - 47:00 alone. To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners. Far from stepping back, America First seeks to expand US leadership in international institutions like the IMF and the World Bank. By embracing a stronger leadership role, America First seeks to restore fairness
• 47:00 - 47:30 to the international economic system. Again, there is a very simple rule when it comes to the Trump administration's policy. Listen to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant and stop listening to other members of the administration. Bessent knows what he's talking about. That is not true of trade adviser Peter Navaro. It's not true of some other members of the administration. Bessant does have a good solid view as to what the Trump administration is attempting to do and he understands markets well enough to understand the best ways to achieve all of that. Every time Bessant speaks, the market spikes and there is a reason for that. Presumably, it was
• 47:30 - 48:00 Bessant and his team who helped convince President Trump not to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell or threatened to fire him. That was roing markets according to the Washington Post. President Trump's abrupt shift in rhetoric on Tuesday toward drum pal reflected the private lobbying of some of his senior adviserss who had urged the president to back off his incendiary attacks on the central bank and that is a good thing. Again, one of the things that's hilarious and amazing about what's going on economically speaking is that so much of it is just self-inflicted. If President Trump just stops doing some of these things, the economy goes back to something like
• 48:00 - 48:30 normal. And and if you're going to make major moves, you really do have to prep the ground for those major moves. Meanwhile, by the way, Great Britain is saying that they're not going to alter their standards or rush a US trade deal. So, the one of the problems here for President Trump is many of the people he's negotiating with are not actually on board with his trade war. And so, they're kind of eager to watch the United States twist in the wind a little bit here. According to Rachel Reeves, the British Chancellor of the Excheer, she said that Britain will not rush into a trade deal with the United States or change its food or car safety standards.
• 48:30 - 49:00 She said she wanted to reduce trade barriers between Britain and other countries, but they're not going to rush to it, which again is because they now believe that they have President Trump a little bit over a barrel in terms of this trade war because the economy has been roing thanks to the trade war. Okay. Meanwhile, today marks Yom Hashawa, which is Holocaust Remembrance Day. And Holocaust Remembrance Day was commemorated at Yale by throwing water bottles at Jews. So things were going really well over at Yale last night. The
• 49:00 - 49:30 Yale anti-Israel encampments are back. The Tentifada is back. They set up in response to a visit by Israeli National Security Minister Itar Bengavir, who is one of the furthest right ministers in the Israeli government. Around 200 people calling for the university cutting of financial ties with Israel, erected tents in Bicki Plaza on the anniversary of the first encampment, according to the Jerusalem Post. And uh and there they set up checkpoints for Jews on the evening of Holocaust Remembrance Day, which starts at night
• 49:30 - 50:00 in Israel. Just wonderful, wonderful people. By the way, I'm glad they're doing this because this is an excellent excuse for the Trump administration's Office of Civil Rights, led by Harmy Dylan to crack down on Yale and maybe start taxing its endowment or removing its federal funding. Because if Yale refuses to do anything about, you know, like actually setting up checkpoints for Jews at the university, that is a violation of the Civil Rights Act in the same way it would be if whites set up a cordin to prevent black students from getting to certain parts of the campus. Here are these Yale protesters blocking Jews.
• 50:00 - 50:30 We will not stop. We will not go. We will not our campus. We can only go. He can only go around. We will honor all our mortars. We will honor all our marters. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. Free Palestine. [Applause] Free Palestine. I mean, I will say
• 50:30 - 51:00 they're good at chanting like robots. So, that's that's exciting stuff. By the way, worth noting here, they are all masked. For those who can't see the footage, they are all masked using like N95s because they're some of the most pathetic people alive. All these people would be immediately tossed off the top of buildings in the Gaza Strip if kamas had his way standing there and blocking Jews from getting to parts of campus on Holocaust. You know, good. I mean, I guess good for them. They've got the the courage of of saying the thing out loud. By the way, where do you think those chants are coming from? We are mourning
• 51:00 - 51:30 all our martyrs. Who are there? Have you ever heard that sort of language from the left typically? Like if you're at a normal comm idiot rally, do they use the term martyrs or is that language that is coming directly from fans and allies of kamas? There's only one group on planet earth who talks like that, who who speaks about martyrs in English like that. Okay? And that would be radical Islamists. Most people do not speak like that, particularly not in the United States of America. And there's more footage of protesters blocking Jews and tossing water bottles
• 51:30 - 52:00 at Jews and all the rest of it. This is my space, too. I want to walk through my space. Jewish students saying they just want to walk through this part of campus and they're saying no. Get out. Honestly, this is good news that I hope they continue to do this and I hope that Yale gets absolutely clocked by the Trump Justice Department. I think that'd be a an excellent and proper way to respond to the trash administration
• 52:00 - 52:30 over at Yale. So, I asked my friends and sponsors over at Perplexity just how big is Yale's endowment and also how much federal taxpayer money does Yale receive? According to Perplexity, Yale University's endowment stood at $41.4 4 billion as of June 30th, 2024, making it the second largest university endowment in the United States, only behind Harvard. They have plenty of money. So, if they start losing taxpayer money, well, they can just deal with it because you know what? Violation of the Civil Rights Act, not okay. Actually, illegal.
• 52:30 - 53:00 As far as federal funding, in fiscal year 2024, Yale received, wait for it, $898.7 million in federal funding. Federal funding to Yale is significant, but it's actually not the leader. Pennsylvania, UPUPEN received $1.8 billion. Columbia University 1.3 billion. Harvard University 686.5 million in the same period. So yeah, they're vulnerable and they should be held to account in the same way that Harvard is being held to account. I'm sure the Trump administration is very eager to put its actions on Harvard in
• 53:00 - 53:30 practice with Yale as well. We get to more on this in a moment. First, anywhere worth going is worth going in a pair of awesome boots. Find your perfect pair with Tokovas. The first time I put my Tokovas boots on, it was like they were already broken in, which makes sense because every single pair goes through over 200 meticulous steps of handcrafting. I used to think Western boots were just for cowboys. But since these folks started back in Texas in 2015, they've been changing that story. Whether you're a lifelong rancher or just looking for your first pair of western boots, Tokovas makes it feel easy. I mean, look at me. Do I look like a cowboy to you? But I still wear Tokovas. You can wear them from sun up to sun down. They're built tough enough
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• 54:00 - 54:30 point your toes west. That's 10% off right now at tcovas.com/shapiro. Okay, folks. Coming up, we're going to jump into the vaunted mailbag. Butt. In order to watch, you have to be a member. If you're not a member, become a member. Use code Shapiro at checkout for two months free on all annual plans. Click that link in the description and join us. [Music]
• 54:30 - 55:00 [Music]