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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: US-Ukraine-Russia April 22
HEADLINE: Zelenskyy Thanks Partners for ‘Finally’ Providing the Weapons Ukraine Needs
TEASER: Ukrainian president grateful to U.S., others for supplying exactly the arms the country requires to fight against Russia’s new offensive
PUBLISHED AT: 4/22/22 & TIME)
BYLINE: Cindy Saine
CONTRIBUTOR: Tatiana Vorozhko, VOA Ukrainian Service
DATELINE:
VIDEOGRAPHER:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, MPage
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Ukrainian Service, MRT Pentagon, AFP, Reuters, AP
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT:
VID APPROVED BY:
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EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[Russia’s deputy military commander said Moscow's goal is to control Donbas and southern Ukraine, which would give Russia access the separatist Moldovan enclave of Transnistria and block Kyiv’s access to the Black Sea. But U.S. officials vow to help Ukraine defend itself, as VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.]]
((Video: Video of people hiding from a shelling, a building on fire: AFP V000_328R3R8
over to AFP V000_328R4UT, Ukraine’s PM visiting with Blinken at the State Dept: wide shot of the start of the meeting, over to Blinken SOT))
((NARRATOR))
As Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues in the city of Kharkiv, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to the State Department Friday. Blinken again expressed confidence that Ukraine will prevail in the war.
((Antony Blinken, Secretary of State))
"I think this is the first visit since the Russian aggression by a senior official of the Ukrainian government, further evidence that an independent, sovereign Ukraine is going to be around a lot longer than Vladimir Putin.”
((Video: more Ukrainian PM Schmyhal with Blinken video, over to recent B-roll and SOT of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy” Soundbite 4: AFP V000_328R7EQ -English VoiceOver needed please))
((NARRATOR))
Both Prime Minister Shmyhal and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. and other Western partners for “finally” providing the weapons Ukraine needs to fight back against Russia’s offensive in Donbas and southern Ukraine.
((Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President)) [[in Ukrainian, English VoiceOver needed]]
“And I am grateful to all our partners who finally heard us, who are providing us with exactly what we asked for. Because we know for sure that with these weapons, we will be able to save the lives of thousands of people."
((Video: MRT Pentagon: 14;15;29;05 MRT KIRBY entrance BROLL))
((NARRATOR))
At the Pentagon, press secretary John Kirby was asked whether Ukraine's forces, now that they're getting heavy weapons, would be able to beat back the invading Russians.
((Video: MRT Pentagon: Kirby SOT: 14;35;22;15 MRT KIRBY that is a question that only the ukrainian armed forces can answer))
((John Kirby, Pentagon Press Secretary))
“I think that's a question that only the Ukrainian armed forces can answer, not the United States military. What I can tell you is that we, in keeping with another 30 plus nations, are doing everything we can to give them the tools that they need to defend themselves and to push the Russians out. “
((Video: recent B-roll of Ukrainian forces))
((NARRATOR))
Some observers say the U.S. assessment of Ukraine’s ability to win has shifted over the past couple of weeks.
((Video: Anne Applebaum SOT: https://app.frame.io/player/45a0e46e-68ff-4717-bfec-c33544742cfa TC: 00:09:59 - 00:10:19))
((Anne Applebaum, Historian)) ((Mandatory Skype Video Courtesy))
"Until the last week or so, I think Americans still weren't wholly convinced that Ukraine could win. And there were some doubts about whether, you know, these heavy weapons were necessary and so on. As I said, it feels to me like there's been a shift in the last week, and the decisions to give much more serious weapons have now been made.”
((Video: AFP V000_328Q6ZP: animated tweet from EU Council President Charles Michel, over to B-roll of destruction in Mariupol))
((NARRATOR))
Ahead of Orthodox Easter this Sunday, European Council President Charles Michel said he strongly appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call Friday to allow humanitarian access to the besieged city of Mariupol, where civilians remain trapped.
Cindy Saine, VOA News
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateApril 22, 2022 22:33 EDT
BylineCindy Saine
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
