Unidentified Narrator:
Six months of a war experts predicted would be over in days…
How does Ukraine keep pushing back against invading Russin forces?
Russia’s seizure of a Ukranian atomic power plant has all of Europe on edge.
Plus, going back to school during wartime…
Now… on The Inside Story: Flashpoint Ukraine
The Inside Story:
CAROLYN PRESUTTI, VOA Senior Washington Correspondent:
Hi. I’m Carolyn Presutti, VOA Senior Washington Correspondent. Nowhere has conventional wisdom been challenged more than in Ukraine.
When Russia began its attack on February 24, experts predicted Kyiv would fall within days.
Now, more than six months later, Ukraine says it is pushing back Russian forces in a series of defeats and retreats in Eastern Ukraine … the territory closest to Russia’s border.
More on Ukraine’s advances and U.S. support from VOA Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine:
CINDY SAINE, VOA Senior Diplomatic Correspondent:
Ukraine says its forces have retaken towns and villages around the strategic hub of Izyum as part of a major counteroffensive against Russia in the country’s east. Experts say they are stunned by Ukraine’s surprise gains and Russia’s rapid retreat.
Craig Albert, Augusta University Political Science Professor:
It seems to be just a complete failure of logistics, strategy, tactics from the Russian side. Everything is just falling apart. Their lines are collapsing, troops are leaving, running behind and leaving all their ammunition, leaving vehicles, leaving weapons. That's just astonishing to me that it's such a disorganized kind of retreat.
The past few days have taken a toll on Russian soldiers' morale, retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Peter Zwack, a former US Defense attaché to Russia, told VOA.
Retired Brig. Gen. Peter Zwack, Former US Defense Attaché to Russia:
But you see aspects of the Russians melting down in places, and that type of thing is infectious in a negative way. When the troops lose their will to fight, and that appears to be happening no matter what the orders are from above, things get really bad. And that's what we're hearing certainly around Kherson and up near Kharkiv.
Luke Coffey, Hudson Institute:
So, these advancements are huge. They come at a time when we're starting to have another debate in the West about providing more assistance and more military aid.
CINDY SAINE:
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv earlier in September promising another 2.8 billion dollars in American support to Ukraine and its neighbors.
Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State:
Mr. President, we know this is a pivotal moment, more than six months into Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, as your counteroffensive is now underway and proving effective. That is of course mostly a function of the incredible bravery, resilience of Ukrainians. We see that on the battlefield every day.
CINDY SAINE:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the bravery of Ukrainian troops and condemned Russia for striking back at civilian infrastructure and causing widespread blackouts in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions.
Luke Coffey, Hudson Institute:
And I think that Russia's targeting of the civilian infrastructure, of the electrical power plants and water plants, is a sign of desperation. When you know you're losing on the battlefield, this is what you do. No reasonable military commander would suggest that we should use $30 million worth of ballistic missiles to take Ukraine's electric grid off for a couple of hours, but this is exactly what we're seeing.
CINDY SAINE:
There has not been much official Russian reaction yet to the Ukrainian advances, but on Sunday, a military map presented by the Russian Defense Ministry showed that its forces have made a major withdrawal from the Kharkiv region.
Cindy Saine, VOA News, the State Department.
Ukraine’s advances are not limited to the Kharkiv region.
There is another front in the southern region of Kherson, which has a large concentration of Russian troops.
The goal is to re-take the port city of Mariupol and the city of Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces are in control of a nuclear power plant in the war’s crosshairs.
The U.N. is calling for a safe zone around the plant. Ukraine says the inspectors report does not go far enough. More from our Henry Ridgwell.
HENRY RIDGWELL, Reporting for VOA:
Inna Holikova is preparing for a nuclear disaster. She’s collecting medicines for herself and her 2-year-old son Oleksandr – to counter any radiation leak from the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
Inna Holikova, Resident of Zaporizhzhia City:
I came here to get the iodine potassium pills, so if there is a catastrophe, we will be able to take it and save our lives. I hope we won't need it.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
IAEA inspectors reported extensive damage to the plant, including to a building that houses fresh nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. The inspectors were forced to take cover from nearby shelling during their visit.
Rafael Grossi, IAEA Director General:
We are playing with fire and something very, very catastrophic could take place.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
The U.N.’s secretary-general called for a protection zone around the site.
António Guterres, U.N. Secretary-General:
That would include a commitment by Russian forces to withdraw all military personnel and equipment from that perimeter and a commitment by Ukrainian forces not to move into it.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
IAEA inspectors witnessed Russian military personnel and equipment at the site, including military trucks stationed in two turbine halls. Ukraine says Russia is shelling the area as part of a false flag operation.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President:
I believe that the world not only deserves, but also needs the representatives of the IAEA to force Russia to demilitarize the territory of the plant and return full control to Ukraine.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
Russia denied military equipment is stored there – and blamed Ukraine for the attacks.
Vladimir Putin, Russian President:
We're shooting at ourselves, are we? It is utter nonsense. There is no other way to describe it.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
The six nuclear reactors at the site are well protected – but not indestructible.
Paul Norman, Professor of Nuclear Physics at University of Birmingham:
They have very thick, concrete containments that are meters thick of concrete, and then inside of that, inside of each building, you have a reactor with a pressure vessel that is almost a foot thick of steel.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
The main grid power lines to the site are damaged. Its cooling systems are currently powered by a backup line from the plant’s generator itself. Diesel generators are a last resort.
Oleh Korikov, Ukrainian Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate:
To bring such an amount of diesel to the station through the frontline is very difficult at the moment.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
A total loss of power would force a shutdown of the reactor cooling systems.
Paul Norman, Professor of Nuclear Physics at University of Birmingham:
In that case the reactors’ fuel can overheat, and you are potentially then going into a meltdown-type scenario.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
Ukraine’s government says it is exploring whether the plant can be shut down. Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News, London.
CAROLYN PRESUTTI:
Russia’s Defense Ministry acknowledges the retreating from areas around Kharkiv --- saying they are regrouping forces in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region in order to achieve its goal to “liberate” those territories controlled by Russian-backed separatists.
But the battlefield losses are exposing some cracks in the Kremlin. Dozens of municipal deputies from councils in Moscow and St. Petersburg signed a petition calling for President Vladimir Putin to resign over what Russia’s propaganda machine still calls a quote “special military operation.”
VOA’s Polygraph team looks at what is projected to the Russian people in this fact check:
Unidentified Narrator:
On August 30, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Russia's six-month-old war against Ukraine as proceeding right on track.
The special military operation continues. It continues methodically in accordance with the existing plans. All goals will be achieved.
That is misleading.
Russia failed to capture Kyiv as it planned, has suffered massive losses, and is running short of tanks troops and high-end munitions.
Captured Russian documents show that the Kremlin aimed to conquer Ukraine in 15 days.
Russian troops intended to seize Kyiv in three or four days then remove President Volodymyr Zelensky. That never happened.
When Ukraine fought back with Western tank killing weapons, Russia had to pull out from around Kyiv.
Estimates of Russian losses vary but are all high.
In June British intelligence estimated 20,000 Russian troops had died. The Pentagon estimates up to 80,000 have been killed and wounded.
Now the Kremlin is recruiting convicted criminals promising them generous payments and amnesty if they survive.
According to the US Defense Department, Russia has lost almost 1000 tanks, nearly a third of its inventory.
Russia was forced to dust off old t 62. Tanks developed in the 1950s.
Russia is running low on precision guided weapons under Western sanctions and will have a hard time replacing them.
CAROLYN PRESUTTI:
Beyond the fighting on the battlefield, the war has placed a stranglehold on Ukraine's economy, which the World Bank says will shrink by an estimated 45-percent this year.
The bleak outlook has businesses searching for ways to maintain and survive. VOA’s Lesia Bakalets has the story.
LESIA BAKALETS, VOA Correspondent:
In Ukraine, the war is taking place not only on the frontlines, but also in the economic sphere, where businesses are fighting to survive.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, the non-profit group “Spend with Ukraine” was created to promote Ukrainian goods and services around the world.
Yaroslav Azhnyuk, Spend with Ukraine:
We focus on companies that create goods and services for individual consumers. So, you won’t find any agricultural companies on our website, or metal equipment producers. But you will find companies that make electronic devices or vehicles.
LESIA BAKALETS:
Andy Hunder, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine says local businesses have demonstrated they can survive, even during a war.
Andy Hunder, American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine:
Ukrainians have demonstrated resilience – and the world has noticed. The banking system operates. Internet operates in war-stricken Kyiv better than in some peaceful European cities; mobile connection works, elevator companies work…
LESIA BAKALETS:
At the moment, over 190 Ukrainian companies are represented on the non-profit’s website.
There are tech companies like Clean My Mac
In the ‘Education’ category, there are apps by Ukrainian developers that help with learning foreign languages.
Preply is one of the most popular.
Dmytro Voloshyn, Preply.com:
We are talking about hundreds of thousands of students that use our platform to learn a foreign language.
LESIA BAKALETS, VOA Correspondent:
Another globally known company is Reespeacher; its focus is synthesized sound.
Alex Serdiuk, Reespeacher:
We’ve created technology that allows a person to speak with a different person’s voice, a totally different voice. In The Mandalorian, we did Luke Skywalker’s voice.
LESIA BAKALETS, VOA Correspondent:
Company representatives say ‘Spend with Ukraine” is bringing them new clients.
A Ukrainian national clothing brand Etnodim has noticed a similar effect.
Andriy Cherukha, Etnodim:
With the start of the war, after Spend with Ukraine was created, we were among the first brands to be represented there. Our web traffic has risen dramatically, we got new customers.
LESIA BAKALETS, VOA Correspondent:
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy wore one of the vyshyvankas made by Etnodim. Since then, demand has grown so much the company can’t make them fast enough.
Hunder says U.S. companies should prepare to invest in Ukrainian businesses.
Andy Hunder, American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine:
We say – look what Ukrainians are doing, what resilience they are demonstrating during a war! Just imagine what doing business with Ukrainians would be like when the war is over!”
LESIA BAKALETS, VOA Correspondent:
Spend with Ukraine hopes to join with more international partners to promote Ukrainian goods around the world. For Lesia Bakalets in Washington, Anna Rice, VOA News.
CAROLYN PRESUTTI:
One constant for businesses and governments --- there is little they can do when it comes to immediate sources of fuel.
Russia has already cut its gas pipeline to Germany as western allies accuse Russia’s president of weaponizing energy --- going so far as to destroy some of its own gas supplies --- endangering the environment.
We go back to our Henry Ridgwell.
HENRY RIDGWELL, Reporting for VOA:
Close to the Finnish border, Russia is burning off huge amounts of gas. Although flaring is common in the industry, Russia has been destroying an estimated 10 million dollars’ worth of gas every day for two months as Europe suffers from shortages. Experts describe it as an environmental disaster.
Esa Vakkilainen, LUT University Energy Systems Professor:
Due to the war in Ukraine, there is very little information about what is actually happening there. So we can only speculate that right now there is some technical difficulties.”
HENRY RIDGWELL:
The location is Portovaya in Russia — the site of the compressor station for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline that runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany. Russia’s state-owned Gazprom has not commented on the flare.
European gas prices have soared to around ten times their average price over the past decade. Germany declared a gas crisis in June — and warned that consumers and businesses must cut back. Consumption has fallen by around 20 per cent.
In a stark speech, French President Emmanuel Macron warned of "the end of abundance."
Emmanuel Macron, French President:
Our freedom — the system of freedom which we are used to living in — has a cost.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
Russia supplied the European Union with 40 per cent of its gas last year. As the Kremlin turns off the taps, Europe is scrambling to find alternative sources. Imports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG — including from the United States — have helped fill gas storage sites to 80 per cent capacity, two months ahead of the EU target. That has calmed markets.
Tom O’Donnell, Energy Analyst:
Storage by itself isn’t enough for the winter. With all the pipelines cut off – which is what we have to expect from Russia, that all their pipelines will be cut off. (Even with) all the LNG we can take, that storage is going to last two-and-a-half months in heating season. And then, you know, Europe’s stuck.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
Europe is trying to wean itself off Putin’s gas. But analysts say it will take at least two years.
Tom O’Donnell, Energy Analyst:
In the meantime, he has leverage and he will use it all he can before he totally loses the business. The dependence of Europe on Russian delivered gas by pipeline is much greater than let’s say the importance of that money for Putin because he makes so much more money from oil.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
Across Europe, new LNG terminals are under construction; old coal and nuclear power plants are being fired up again; there is big investment in renewable power. But short-term, it may not be enough — and governments are warning of a difficult winter ahead.
Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News, London.
CAROLYN PRESUTTI:
Just like in most countries in the northern hemisphere, September means back to school for students in Ukraine.
And months of war means discovering creative ways to continue the learning process for millions of schoolchildren. More from Lesia Bakalets:
LESIA BAKALETS, VOA Correspondent:
Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science says Russian forces have shelled or bombed some 2,300 educational institutions since the war began. 286 have been destroyed. But that hasn’t stopped school from starting this year.
Olena Savina, Fourth Grader:
I’m starting my fourth year.
Nine-year-old Olena Savina is a Kyiv native. She loves music and English lessons and likes to paint. She also knows when it’s time to hide in a bomb shelter.
Olena Savina, Fourth Grader:
When I hear the siren…
LESIA BAKALETS:
Olena’s mother, Yulia Savina, says her daughter really wanted to be in the classroom. So they found a school with a safe shelter.
Yulia Savina, Olena’s Mother:
Our school is small, just two classes. The bomb shelter has recently been renovated —
it’s large with very thick walls. It was just repainted for the children. Plumbing fixtures and bathroom accessories have all been redone.
LESIA BAKALETS:
Olena also has a special emergency backpack. Ukrainian police recommend all children carry one.
Yulia Savina, Olena’s Mother:
There’s a jacket, water, some snacks — her grandma gave her extra if she wants to share with friends. There’s also a special badge. I haven’t signed it yet. We need to put the parents’ names and phone number.
LESIA BAKALETS:
Since July, all educational institutions have undergone safety audits. Only schools with updated bomb shelters can have students in class.
And the number of children in school depends on the size of the school’s shelter.
Denys Monastyrskyi, Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs:
We have confirmed that 41% of schools in the country are ready and have proper shelters. Teachers have the means to keep the children who will attend school in person safe.
LESIA BAKALETS:
This school in Irpin, just outside of Kyiv, has 2,000 students, but the bomb shelter can only hold 300.
Ivan Ptashnyk, Irpin School Headmaster:
We are currently figuring out how exactly we are going to work. The majority of kids — the oldest — will study online. For now, we are trying in-person and hybrid education for younger children. Maybe we will have two shifts, maybe three…
LESIA BAKALETS:
Kyiv native Oksana Kostiushko says her younger son is going with a hybrid schedule.
Oksana Kostiushko, Mother of Two:
My youngest will have a week in person, followed by a week of online education.
LESIA BAKALETS:
It’s a tough choice. According to a survey by the educational ombudsman Sergei Gorbachev, over 60% of parents still living in Ukraine have picked online learning for their children.
20% more are still debating what’s best for their kids. For Lesia Bakalets in Washington, Anna Rice, VOA News.
CAROLYN PRESUTTI:
Before we go, a few minutes to remember Britain’s Queen Elizabeth the Second and the profound impact she made on our world during her remarkable 70—year reign. From London, Here’s VOA’s Europe Correspondent Henry Ridgwell.
HENRY RIDGWELL, Reporting for VOA:
She was the only monarch many of the British alive today have ever known, a symbol of her nation, its empire and its Commonwealth. She personified British strength and character long before she even knew she would be queen.
Queen Elizabeth II:
I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and to the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
At 25, Elizabeth ascended to the throne after the death of her father George the sixth, nearly five years after she had married the Greek born Prince Philip.
She saw a thorough transformation of society and technology during her reign of more than seven decades, a time in which she warned about the dangers of throwing away ageless ideals while embracing the advantages of new inventions.
She sent out her first tweet in 2014. There are few records she did not break: she was the world’s longest-reigning monarch.
Richard Fitzwilliams, Author and Royal Analyst:
As head of the Commonwealth, the queen has links with the past. Sometimes it's a past that's difficult to come to terms with because you think of empire, you think of colonial exploitation for example. But so far as the queen is concerned, you think of her dedication to the organization.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
She represented Britain in friendships with those who held in common the British values of freedom, equality and democracy. With dignity, she faced those who did not.
Being seen with her was a means of gaining the appearance of prestige.
The queen was not immune to criticism in her own country. The left targeted her as a symbol of an institution out of place in a postmodern, neo-liberal and democratic world and a burden on the British taxpayer.
The death of the popular Princess Diana was an opportunity for her critics who accused her of being coldly slow to react.
Queen Elizabeth II:
What I say to you now, as your queen and as a grandmother, I say from my heart. First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
The marriage of her grandson Prince William to Kate Middleton brought youthful glamour to the ancient institution.
When Prince Harry married American actor Meghan Markle, Elizabeth was at the head of a family that appeared to moving with the times – popular, diverse and global.
But there were painful times ahead. Her second son Prince Andrew was investigated for links to a convicted child sex offender.
Harry and Meghan fell out with the royal family amid accusations of racism.
The passing of Elizabeth’s husband Prince Philip in 2021 left an enduring image: a queen mourning alone – as the coronavirus pandemic swept across her nation.
In September she appointed the f5th prime minister of her reign – her last major public engagement.
Queen Elizabeth remains a giant in the history of one of the planet's great nations, a bridge between Britain's colonial past and its future as a global player in a world vastly different from the one she was born in.
Visiting Germany in 2015, she spoke of the vast changes she had witnessed.
Queen Elizabeth II:
In our lives Mr. President, we have seen the worst but also the best of our continent. We have witnessed how quickly things can change for the better, but we know that we must work hard to maintain the benefits of the post-war world.
HENRY RIDGWELL:
Britain's royal tradition - of which Elizabeth was a steward - is now in the hands of her heirs. The Britain they inherit is a drastically different one in terms of demographics, culture and economics.
In a globalized, pluralistic world, their job of projecting an image of greatness is no less complicated. Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News, London.
CAROLYN PRESUTTI:
Seven decades on the throne --- and she tweeted! Well, that’s all for now.
Stay up to date on what’s going on in Ukraine at VOANews-dot-com.
Follow VOA News on Instagram and Facebook and check out previous episodes on VOA Plus.
And you can follow me on Twitter at CarolynVOA…
For all of those behind the scenes who brought you this show, I’m Carolyn Presutti.
See you next week for The Inside Story.
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