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Transcript/ScriptWashington Week Ahead (TV)
HEADLINE: Top US Officials Visit War-Torn Ukraine
TEASER: US secretaries of state and defense to visit Ukraine’s president
PUBLISHED AT: 4/24/2022 5:50p
BYLINE: Arash Arabasadi
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: AP/ REUTERS/ ABC “THIS WEEK”/ RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY/ VATICAN MEDIA/ CHANNEL ONE RUSSIA
PRODUCER: Arash Arabasadi
SCRIPT EDITORS: sv; caw
NOTE: PART GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP/ REUTERS/ ABC “THIS WEEK”/ RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY/ VATICAN MEDIA/ CHANNEL ONE RUSSIA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __
TRT: 3:06
VID APPROVED BY: MPage
TYPE:
UPDATE: ))
((INTRO – UPDATE INTRO WHEN VISIT HAPPENS))
[[U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are set to visit Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing war on that country. Continued Russian attacks come against the backdrop of Easter Sunday in Orthodox Christianity. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more. (( FOR WEB: This story has images of war, which some may find disturbing. ]]
((NARRATOR))
Orthodox Christians attend Easter services in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. A day typically filled with joy is instead somber with unrelenting attacks from Russia.
((NARRATOR))
The country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Sunday had announced the visit to Kyiv by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and gave a preview of what was to be discussed.
[RADIO TRACK: Zelenskyy spoke Sunday at a news conference carried by AP.]
((Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President ((MAN, UKRAINIAN))))
“We will be discussing the list of the weapons we need, and the time frame for delivery. Let me stress once again throughout this past week – signals, steps, terms, numbers – I’m talking about weapons supplied by the United States; everything has improved. And we are grateful. And we are awaiting it very eagerly.”
((NARRATOR))
President Zelenskyy again called for U.S. President Joe Biden to visit his embattled nation when the security situation improves.
[RADIO TRACK: Speaking Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Ukrainian Parliamentarian Yevheniia Kavchuk laid out what her country hopes to see from these meetings.]
((mandatory cg ABC “THIS WEEK”))
((Yevheniia Kavchuk, Member of Ukrainian Parliament))
“America is clearly the leader of the free world, and of course we expect three main things with our close ally and close partner, which is the United States: it’s heavy weapons, its sanctions on Russia, and of course, financial aid.”
((NARRATOR))
Kavchuk added that heavy, offensive weapons would help liberate besieged Ukrainian cities like Mariupol. There, residents lay to rest their relatives and neighbors. With no money for funerals, they carry bodies by hand and bury them in courtyards.
((mandatory cg RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY))
((NARRATOR))
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday released video of an unspecified missile launch while a representative described what he called successful strikes from high-precision ground-based missiles.
((NARRATOR))
Russia continues calling its war a “special military operation” and denies targeting civilians. Drone footage from the city of Chernihiv tells a different story with residential buildings destroyed. Cleanup efforts there have been under way since Russian soldiers left the city earlier this month.
The believed initial purpose of the Kremlin’s invasion – the capture of Ukraine’s capital – seems stuck in the mud.
[RADIO TRACK: Sunday, on ABC’s “This Week,” Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, explains why.]
((mandatory cg ABC “THIS WEEK”))
((Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, Fmr. U.S. Ambassador to NATO))
“Kyiv is beyond their ((Russian)) means. They simply can’t seize Kyiv. They can’t replace the Zelenskyy government. I think they’re still looking for opportunities to figure out what their goals are. They’re sort of making it up as they go along. Putin is trying to assess what might be possible. He’s looking for opportunities, and he’ll grab the first good one available. Right now, there don’t seem to be many good opportunities for Vladimir Putin.”
((mandatory cg VATICAN MEDIA))
((NARRATOR))
Sunday, from a balcony in Vatican City, Pope Francis again called for peace in Ukraine, lamenting war on these, the holiest days for Christians.
((mandatory cg CHANNEL ONE RUSSIA))
((NARRATOR))
While in the safety of Moscow’s Savior Cathedral, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended Mass. The Russian Orthodox Church conducted the service. Its head, Patriarch Kirill, has strongly backed the invasion of Ukraine.
But in Kyiv, it was a different scene, as worshippers at Saint Michael’s Golden Domed Monastery prayed for an end to war with some worshippers claiming to have heard air raid sirens at the end of Mass.
((Arash Arabasadi, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline) Washington D.C.
Embargo DateApril 24, 2022 18:33 EDT
Byline((Arash Arabasadi, VOA News))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
