This interview with journalist Vitaliy Portnikov covers key issues regarding the present situation in Ukraine. The discussion starts with whether US military support could stop—President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges Ukraine to prepare for this possibility. Portnikov notes that current US aid is not as significant as before, and prolonged conflicts in the Middle East could exhaust US weapon stockpiles. This, he believes, is a realistic outcome.
The conversation touches on the potential for ceasefires with Russia. Portnikov argues Russia is currently uninterested in genuine peace initiatives and uses ceasefires merely as tools to achieve its aims.
The interview pays extensive attention to Ukraine’s relations with Western allies. There is debate about security guarantees and the US stance; the possibility of a US exit from NATO is raised. Portnikov considers this highly unlikely due to American institutional legal constraints.
The global energy crisis resulting from war in Iran and the surge in oil prices is analyzed, with parallels drawn to the oil shocks of the 1970s, though Portnikov notes the modern world’s complexities.
Domestically, Ukraine’s parliamentary crisis is discussed: the inability to pass key laws, loss of external funding, and voter responsibility for political choices. Portnikov stresses the need for national unity and is critical of Ukraine’s political culture since 2019.
The conversation concludes with the subject of social polarization, the murder of a military official, and the demoralization of the armed forces. The interview calls on society to view Ukraine’s defenders not as expendable but to remember the true cost of war for the nation.
