Are ukrainians, he means that there are no ukrainians, believes serhiy plokhii, one of the most famous ukrainian historians, the bad director of the harvard Ukrainian Scientific Institute and the author of a number of books. In in an interview with my colleague iryna solomka, he explained how putins russia resembles hitlers germany, and how the russian invasion of ukraine is a war of imperial disintegration. As a historian, he believes in the victory of ukraine. Conversation with serhii plokhi, further. Sergey, was this fullscale invasion a surprise for you, for a historian . Id like to say no, but i cant say that, i mean, i think, like a lot of people, observers, uh, thought that actually this war is not profitable for russia, almost, almost, so speak, suicide, especially in relations with. The west, but in fact i committed perhaps the greatest sin for a historian, that is, i somehow did not give enough weight to history , and the history is that this war is a war of the collapse of the empire, and that the reaction of the former imperial states is not always. And cannot be measured by purely strategic issues, economic profit or economic interests. A big thing is connected here with ideologies, with emotional attachment to the idea of empire, and with actually historical habits of violence and as a way of forming empire and empire maintenance. Looking at historical parallels, would you call putin hitler . I can tell. To say that there are absolutely clear parallels in how putins russia behaves today, how hitlers germany behaved in the 1930s, on the one hand, this is a loss in the war, for russia this is how the end of the cold war is perceived, and then an attempt to use National Minorities in an attempt to rebuild the former, former empire or former great great. States, i see closeness and i. E. Putins russia and hitlers germany, in the idea that some peoples have the right to exist, some do not , that is, because when putin says that russians and ukrainians are one people, he does not mean that russians are really ukrainians, i mean that ukrainians do not exist, that they are actually russians. Well, history never repeats itself, history rhymes, this story, this story rhymes perfectly. Why do you think it is so important for putin to rewrite history and convince the world of his version of history . In fact, he does not even rewrite history, he returns to the patterns of the 19th century, the history of the 19th century, this is imperial history, er, a part of which was the idea of ukrainians as a part. Of the russian people yes, that is, this, this narrative was a little muffled in the soviet union, it was also part of the thinking of the russian opposition, because what putin does and what he says is absolutely reigned very clearly with what he wrote about, how he thought , as the Nobel Laureate oleksandr solzhenitsyn said, how can we equip russia, where ukraine is part of russia. And to the fact that kherson, melitopol and donbas should be russian, this is the end of the 90s, about what he wrote, that is, this tradition existed, come on. Soviet times it existed as a marginal one, but it, it has returned, and putin, putin is using it, one of those key russian narratives is that the ukrainians, the fascists, the nazis, we hear it in the un, and on such high platforms and just there in the media and everywhere, and even here, yes, in america sometimes it is relayed there, do you think thats why russians dont, how to explain to the world why russians dont have the right to call. Ukrainians fascists or nazis, on the one hand, due to the fact that the russian regime today, you asked questions about hitler and putin and so on, there are elements , where the same fascist, fascist models or fascist methodologies are actually used, is applied to a country that, unlike russia, has preserved. Cracy after the 90s, where there is a multilingual and multicultural community, where there is a political nation today, which in the form, in for which it does not exist in other countries, that is , the only way, the way to prove that this is just propaganda, is to talk about it, because we, to a certain extent, it is not only about ukraine, live post post. In the time after the truth of alternative factors, facts and so on and so forth, and for something obvious to the truth, sometimes it is very difficult to break the way to the big stage, to be heard, to be perceived, and a big stage is needed. World politicians are afraid of the collapse of russia, probably more than the victory of ukraine, and whether historians are afraid of this, as far as i understand, they are afraid collapse of russia. In russia, they hope for the collapse of russia in ukraine, and no one seriously talks about it outside the borders of ukraine and russia, who is right, who is wrong, i do not want to place here, that is, give out any awards or reprimands, but this is the collapse of russia, this is a russianukrainian narrative with different plus and minus signs, for today, especially where we are in this war, and this interview is from april 24, well, lets put it this way, the collapse of russia is not on the agenda, it is not means that it wont happen tomorrow, that too may happen, but it is not on the agenda, at least in political thinking, political planning in the west. Now there is a lot of talk about the fact that the war in ukraine is actually the first stage of the third world war, but you, as a historian, feel that it is approaching. In fact, no one planned the First World War and did not deliberately approach it, no one planned the second world war. For putin, it was simply an attempt to repeat the electoral, electoral success that came, or in terms of popularity, the success that came from annexation of crimea, it was, it was planned as a military operation limited in time to two weeks. World wars happen, not by design, but they happen according to some logic, according to some logic of events, and just the beginning of the third world escalation of the war in ukraine, the russianukrainian war, into a world war, this is the biggest headache in washington, unlike inflaming russia, this is something that is being thought about in washington, in washington. Can, can it turn into a bigger war, can, will it necessarily turn, no, a lot will depend depends on the behavior of our allies, and it will depend on the behavior of russia as well, do you believe in the victory of ukraine, after all, in this war . I believe that as a historian, because to me its a very. A very tragic page in history, on the one hand, on the other hand, its a very recognizable page in history, its a story that started with the american revolution, its a story of the collapse of an empire, we we know how these stories end, the question of when, the question of price, these are the things that i dont know the answer to, but, but victory, survival and the existence of ukraine as an independent country. The state, well this, this is part of wider historical processes, i believe in this. It was an interview with the ukrainian historian serhiy plohii. Read the full version of the conversation on our website and watch. Page of voice of america in ukrainian on youtube. As long as there are wars, there are priests who serve alongside the soldiers on the battlefield. Since prechristian times, the roman legions accompanied priests to war. It is from latin that the name chaplain came from, as they call a military priest. The Chaplain Service is one of the oldest in the armed forces usa, founded in 1775. The modern ukrainian army, due to the soviet past, is only now building an official chaplaincy. Today , there are approximately 250 clergymen of various denominations in the zsu. Anna kostyuchenko and pavel sohodolskyi met in donbas, they met Yevhen Savchenko, chaplain, pastor of evangelical christian baptists, father of eight children, in donbas. The story about him further. This mobile bathhouse for the military has been rocking the donbass since the beginning of the year. Chaplain Yevhen Savchenko organized this project for me a great reward was when the boys bathed there, steamed, went out, he says, i felt like i was at home, another pastor, andriy zalishchuk, helps manage the bathhouse. One of the advantages of this mobile bath is that there are two cubic cubic baths here, there is a hose that can be connected to any pumping station. And refill these tanks again. Andriy has been serving in one of the Baptist Churches of kyiv for over 20 years. He went to the front for the first time in the summer of the 23rd and since then periodically goes to the soldiers on the front lines as a volunteer. If not for our army, if it werent for the armed forces, if it werent for the various types of troops that defend our country, fight for our independence, then these razed houses would not be somewhere in bakhmut or. Somewhere else, and it was the whole of ukraine, and in this way , the lord put it on my heart to come and help, to help the military, to be in a bathhouse on wheels for maybe five people at the same time, here you can not only wash, but also wash things i really liked the bathhouse, it was warm, i took a steam, ill probably come tomorrow, ill get a few more things. I will come again tomorrow. 50yearold Evgeny Savchenko became the pastor of the Evangelical Baptist Church in 1995 after graduating from the poltava theological seminary. Before the fullscale invasion of russia, he served as a pastor in the town of rubizhne, luhansk region, where he came from. Russia occupied this city on may 14, 22. However , this region has been the site of active hostilities since 2014. The war has come to us. To the house, and in the 14th year, when all the cities around us were occupied, and we were on the frontier, then my Service Began with helping refugees who were already suffering from the war. Eugene helps in the Ukrainian Military since 2017, from the middle of the 20th year, he began to unofficially perform the duties of a chaplain in one of the brigades, at the end of last year he signed a contract with. And when i meet with our warriors, soldiers, well, first of all, i, well, i love them as soldiers, as those who really give the most, and they, well, i dont know, words, they are needed, then they are, the sbu came to you, the service, the service of god of ukraine, the main duties of a military chaplain are spiritual conversations with military personnel and visits to the wounded. Thank you, god, for your mercy, i ask, lord, that you heal him, give him, lord, the strength to recover quickly. The Protestant Community in ukraine constantly helps the armed forces of ukraine, says pastor savchenko. For example, they organize dentists and volunteers for the military. Now we are in the territory of the church community, you see guys coming, that means they are getting help, the dentists have arrived. And always , Church Communities are very powerful and they, well, i dont know such communities here, which would not help our military. Officially the chaplaincy of the armed forces of ukraine was approved in november 2021, when the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on service in the military chaplaincy, which equated chaplains with military personnel, as in nato countries. Chaplain service and in general, some light appears in the eyes, i understand that it is temporary, but. If it is at least for a few days, i can help this person. I believe that i lived this day for a reason. Chaplaincy, pastor savchenko says, is a special choice. Who doesnt want to become a chaplain it really means sacrificing your family and your comfortable circle life there means going out and being with the brigade all the time, its both physical and psychological stress, its not being at home, its sharing life with the military, and unfortunately, not all priests can, well. Can go this way. Evgeny savchenko has eight children. The eldest son, as a volunteer, helps the chaplain at one of the armed forces brigades. Andriy zalishchuk is not ready to leave the congregation in kyiv, but plans to continue meeting the spiritual needs of soldiers on a volunteer basis. Anna kostyuchenko, pavel sukhodolskyi for voice of america from donetsk region. From quiet to atlantic ocean. Ukrainian actress hanna bubnova set out on such an ambitious bicycle trip. And the writer oleksandr koroliuk. The trip has a charitable goal of raising 50,000 for the purchase of drones for the armed forces of ukraine. How will they get there and collect funds, how long do they plan to travel . They told Khrystyna Shevchenko about this on the day of the start. The westernmost point is los angeles county, santa monica pier. Then only the pacific ocean. This is the start of a road trip through all of america, the east coast. Ukrainian actress hanna bobnova and writer. Today we begin a great journey from los angeles to new york, it is almost 5,000 km, and hopefully in three months we will be standing the same way by the atlantic ocean, looking at another ocean and rejoicing that we have made this great journey. Oleksandr korolyuk is a ukrainian writer and, as he calls himself, a noble vagabond. He walked the routes from mexico to canada twice, on which he wore out. A pair of shoes, and also covered 400 km, traveling from the extreme north to the extreme south points in new zealand. From the north of new zealand i made it to the south, from keiprieng to dlaw. Since 2015, he lived in los angeles, where he worked as a lawyers assistant, and two years ago he decided to give up all his material possessions, sold his car, closed his credit accounts and left only things that can fit in a 50 kg backpack. But at the time of a striking change in his life. War broke out in his country. It was very difficult for me mentally, i did not understand how i could travel the world, post positive content and there to smile at a time when people are dying in ukraine, but my brother, he is a soldier of the krakin unit and he told me that sashko, everyone is in their place and think about how you can combine your travels with the help of ukraine. On his first journey on foot from mexico to canada, sashko collected 7,000 in donations. And this is the first fire. This is how we will live for the next few months, i just feel so full now that im ready for it, its a really cool time, and adventure is really air for me, i consider it the best reward for me freedom, so hanna graduated from the New York Film Academy and moved to los angeles, where she acts in films and commercials. She was the face of the nike eurovider solomon company, starred with tom cruise in the best shooter, with brad pitt and margorobi in babylon. Hanna says that she goes on a big trip, taking the minimum. All her travel gear, clothes, underwear and camping gear fit into her rover, the hardest part for her was getting physically ready. I trained for a month before this, to get used to the saddle, because it was the hardest for me, because im in pretty good physical shape. But everything has its moments when you ride a bike, elbows have to get used to it, legs have to get used to it, legs dont, but the saddle takes getting used to, and now im going to cry, anna goes to Santa Monica Beach to perform a happy ritual, wet the wheels in the waters of the pacific ocean. In every place they will pass through, hanna and sashko will arrange. Meetings with ukrainians, when asked what they are most worried about during the trip, sashko answered the mountains of colorado and the inhabitants of some states that are not friendly towards ukraine. I see a growing wave of negativity towards ukraine, especially in the republican states. I dont know what it is now, but even last year i faced a negative attitude when i said i was from ukraine, in montana i got into a car and two men, they were driving, when they asked where i was from, i said more from ukraine, they would take out weapons from under the seat and say, look, we have weapons, but your country does not. The goal of anna and sasha is to collect uah 2 million for drones for the brigade that defends kharkiv, their pro. And on thats the end of it, thank you for watching voice of america in ukrainian, see you tomorrow, good luck, take care, papa there are discounts represented by coco may discounts on estefin 15 in pharmacies plantain bam and ochad. Exclusively on the air of our channel, congratulations. Friends, politclub is on the air on the espresso tv channel. The most relevant topics of the week russias war against ukraine, the war in the middle east, the crisis on the border between ukraine and poland, topics causing resonance in our society. Drone attack on kyiv and other cities of ukraine, drone attacks on moscow and other russian cities. Analysis of the processes that change the country as well. Help make sense of the present and predict the future for the world, a second Trump Presidency will be terrible. A project for those who care and think. Political club. Every sunday at 20 10 at espresso. Events, events that are happening right now and affect our lives, of course, the news feed reports about them, but it is not enough to know what is happening, it is necessary to understand. Antin borkovsky and invited experts soberly evaluate events, analyze them, modeling our future. Every saturday at 13 10 with a repeat at 22 00. Studio zahid with Anton Borkovsky at espresso. The verdict with serhiy rudenko, from now on in a new twohour format, even more analytics, even more important topics, even more top guests, foreign experts, inclusion from abroad, about ukraine, the world, the front, society, and also feedback, you can express your opinion on the bad day with a phone survey, turn on and tune in, verdict with Serhii Rudenko, every weekday from 20 to 22 on. Today in the verdict with Serhii Rudenko program. It was bright. Ukrainian intelligence is satisfied with the results of the drone strike on the ryazan refinery. How serious a danger is the total destruction of russian oil refining for putin . Telegram as a threat to national security. The platform created by the russians has a significant. Influence on the Information Space of ukraine, as evidenced by the blocking of ukrainian intelligence chatbots and how to secure state communications. Month important events. In may, the fiveyear term of zelenskyis presidency will expire and new legislation on mobilization will come into force. How will it affect society and democracy in ukraine. Glory to ukraine, this is the verdict program, my name is serhiy rudenko, i congratulate everyone and wish everyone good health. For the next two hours, we will talk about ukraine, the world, the war, and our victory. Gur destroys the russian refinery, telegram as a threat to national security, what other challenges will ukraine face in the next month, about this is all we say for the next hour. The guests of todays studio will be sbu general viktor yagunda. Doctor of Political SciencesMaksym Rozumny and my journalist colleague roman tsimbalyuk. The second part of our program will feature political experts Vitaliy Kulyk and viktor boberenko. However, before starting our big conversation, i suggest watching a video of an attempted assault by russians in the area of chasovoy yar. The russian btr82 clearly blew up on a mine. The video was made public by the fighters of archery drones in the warehouse 92nd separate curtains. Brigades of the armed forces of ukraine, lets see. Glory to the armed forces of ukraine. Friends, we work live on the tv channel, as well as on our youtube and facebook platforms. For those who are now watching us live there. Please subscribe to our pages and take part in our survey. Today we ask you the following do you see a threat to democracy in ukraine . Yes, no, everything is quite simple on youtube, if you have your own opinion about this, please leave it in the comments below this video, if youre watching us on tv, pick up your smartphone or phone and vote. If you see a threat to democracy in ukraine, 0800 211381, no 0800 211382, all calls to these numbers are free, vote, at the end of the program we will sum up the results of this vote. We are in touch. Our first guest is Maksym Rozumny, political expert, doctor of Political Sciences. Mr. Maxim, i congratulate you, thank you for being with us today. Good evening. So, mr. Maksym, the month of may has begun, a rather difficult month for the ukrainian state and for ukrainian politics, obviously, because it is also for ukrainian society, because on may 4 the law on eligibility and ineligibility in the armed forces of ukraine enters into force. On may 18, the law on mobilization comes into force, the order of mobilization in ukraine is changing, strengthening, and may 20 is the 5th anniversary of the inauguration of president zelensky, how will all these three events affect and whether they will affect ukrainian society, given that quite the steps taken regarding mobilization were resonant. Regarding termination of Consular Service ukrainians who are conscripted, and we have seen this strong reaction from those people who are abroad, and obviously we will also see a strong reaction from part of the ukrainian society, which will line up to the tsc in order to update their data or pass military medical commission, so these events are obviously very me. Mutually resonant and politically significant, but it seems to me that the peak of publicity, well , for example, around those new mobilization measures, we have mostly already passed, and the culmination was this statement and decision, statement minister kuleba and the decision of the ministry of Foreign Affairs to stop the Consular Service of men of conscription age, i will explain. My opinion, there is a lot of evidence, well, in any case, it is written about in social networks, that ukrainian men, when the authorities actually switched from words to action, er, massed to the territorial recruitment centers, and it turned out that these centers are not ready to receive such a large number of applicants,