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00:00IT WILL BE A SPRING WAR, IT WILL BE ON THE GROUND IN MUD. HOW DO YOU FORESEE THE TANKS WILL BE UTILIZED? > > GOOD MORNING, TOM, AND THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME. WE HAVE SAID ALONG TIME AGO THAT WITH THE COURAGE AND DETERMINATION OF THE CRANIAL ARMED FORCES AND WITH THE HELP OF THE MILITARY ASSISTANCE WE RECEIVED FROM OUR ALLIES WE ARE ABLE TO STABILIZE THE FRONT AND WE ARE NOW GETTING READY FOR OUR COUNTEROFFENSIVE WHICH WE HOPE WILL BEGIN SOON. BECAUSE OUR MILITARY OBJECTIVE REMAINS THE COMPLETE DE OCCUPATION OF UKRAINIAN TERRITORIES AND RESTORING PEACE IN UKRAINE AS WELL AS EUROPE. THE TANKS WHICH WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE TANK COALITION WILL BE INSTRUMENTAL IN HELPING THE UKRAINIAN ARMY BREAKTHROUGH THE DEFENSE LINES OF THE ENEMY IN THE TEMPORARY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES THAT WE ARE SEEING THE FIRST TANKS ARE ALREADY ON THEIR WAY. AND WE HOPE THE TANK COALITION WILL CONTINUE STEPPING UP THEIR EFFORTS. TOM: TO MOVE OUT ANOTHER YEAR IN THIS TERRIBLE WAR, CAN THOSE TANKS DRIVE TO CRIMEA? DO YOU PERCEIVE A LINKAGE OF WHAT KYIV ONCE ON CRIMEA WITH WANT THE ALLIES WANT ON CRIMEA? YURIY: I THINK KYIV AND THE ALLIES ARE ALIGNED WHEN IT COMES TO THE SITUATION WITH CRIMEA. EVERYBODY RECOGNIZES CRIMEA IS AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED TERRITORY OF UKRAINE WHICH IS BEEN ILLEGALLY ANNEXED IN 2014. WHEN IT COMES TO THE FORMAT IN WHICH CRIMEA WILL BE RETURNED TO UKRAINE, OUR MILITARY WILL TAKE THAT DECISION WHEN IT COMES AND MOST PROBABLY IT WILL BE A MIXTURE OF DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS AS WELL AS MILITARY. JONATHAN: I APPRECIATE YOUR INSIGHT ON HOW CLOSE WE ARE TO THE WEST PROVIDING JETS TO UKRAINE. DO YOU THINK WE ARE APPROACHING THAT MOMENT? YURIY: WE ARE PUSHING FOR THE FIGHTER JETS ON A DAILY BASIS. OUR MINISTER OF DEFENSE, OUR PRESIDENT, EVERYTHING FROM THE MILITARY LEADERSHIP. WE UNDERSTAND THESE ARE SOPHISTICATED PLATFORMS THAT REQUIRE THE TRAINING OF PILOTS AND CREWS AND REQUIRE LOGISTICS. IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN OVERNIGHT BUT WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO FACILITATE THIS PROCESS BECAUSE FIGHTER JETS ARE THE LAST REMAINING HURDLE AND THEY WILL BE INSTRUMENTAL TO HELPING UKRAINE ACHIEVE VICTORY WHICH WE HOPE WILL BE THIS YEAR. JONATHAN: HOW LONG DO YOU THINK THAT WILL TAKE TO TRAIN PILOTS AND MAKE THAT KIND OF THING OPERATIONAL? YURIY: WE ARE IN A DIFFERENT SITUATION. ORDINARILY TRAINING PILOTS TAKES ABOUT A YEAR IF NOT MORE. WE ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE WE ALREADY HAVE PILOTS THAT HAVE BATTLEFIELD EXPERIENCE AND OUR PILOTS ARE READY TO BE TRAINED. IN THREE TO SIX MONTHS THEY WILL BE READY TO FLY. TOM: IT IS SIMPLE. YOU NEED MATERIAL. AS I ASKED MARIA TADEO AN HOUR AGO, TELL ME ABOUT THE MANPOWER OF YOUR DEFENSE MINISTRY. DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH SOLDIERS? IT ALWAYS COMES DOWN TO INFANTRY, DOESN ' T IT? THE STATE OF THE UKRAINIAN INFANTRY. YURIY: INDEED. OUR ARMED FORCES, WE HAVE SUFFICIENT RESERVES. THE REASON WE ARE IN A BETTER POSITION THAN OUR ENEMY, WHOSE MILITARY CAPABILITY HAS BEEN DEGRADED UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES SIGNIFICANTLY IS BECAUSE WE ARE NOT USING OUR SOLDIERS AS CANNON FODDER, WE ARE NOT USING THEM IN MEATGRINDER TACTICS. WE ARE FIGHTING A SMART WAR. WE TAKE SMART DECISIONS AND THIS ALLOWS US TO TRAIN A SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF TROOPS AND WHERE NECESSARY WE MOBILIZE MORE PEOPLE. FOR NOW WE ARE READY FOR ANY DEVELOPMENT AND WE ARE READY TO CONTINUE THE DE OCCUPATION OF UKRAINIAN TERRITORIES. JONATHAN: -- TOM: GIVE US AN UPDATE ON THE BLACK SEA. DISCUSS THE STATE OF THE BLACK SEA AS YOU ENTER YOUR TWO OF THIS WAR. YURIY: AS YOU KNOW THE BLACK SEA , THERE IS THE RUSSIAN BLACK SEA FLEET IN CRIMEA. RUSSIA CONTINUES TO CONTROL WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BLACK SEA. WE WILL CONTINUE BUILDING UP OUR MILITARY CAPABILITY AND THIS IS WHY WE ARE ASKING FOR LONG-RANGE MISSILES BECAUSE THEY WILL BE HELPFUL IN TERMS OF HELPING US ACHIEVE OUR OBJECTIVES DEEPER INTO ENEMY TERRITORY AND MAKING SURE THE BLACK SEA IS SAFE AS WELL AS THINGS LIKE GREAT DEAL AND THE SUPPLY OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS FROM UKRAINIAN TERRITORY, WHICH WAS OFF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOR A LONG TIME. JONATHAN: UNITED STATES HAS COMMITTED TENS OF BILLIONS DOLLARS TO SUPPORT UKRAINE AND THE WAR EFFORT IN YOUR COUNTRY. THERE IS SOME CONCERN ABOUT THE MISAPPROPRIATION OF SOME OF THOSE FUNDS. HOW ARE YOU ALLAYING SOME OF THOSE CONCERNS? YURIY: WE ARE IMPLEMENTING THE PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS, WHICH ARE OF BETO STANDARDS. THESE ARE THE SAME -- OF NATO STANDARDS. THESE ARE THE SAME SYSTEM USED BY EVERY MEMBER COUNTRY. THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE IS OPEN AND ALWAYS WELCOMES OUR COUNTERPARTS FROM DIFFERENT ALLIED COUNTRIES TO MINISTER AND SEE IT FOR THEMSELVES. EVERYTHING WE RECEIVED GO STRAIGHT TO THE BATTLEFIELD AND IS USED EFFICIENTLY BY OUR ARMY. WHEN IT COMES TO TRANSPARENCY, WE ARE OPEN, WE ARE INTRODUCING NEW STANDARDS, NEW NAVAL STANDARDS, PROCUREMENT MECHANISMS, AND WE CAN GUARANTEE OUR ALLIES THAT NOTHING IS MISAPPROPRIATED AND EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE USED ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

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‘Ukraine is Fighting a Smarter War’: Top Military Adviser Sak

Yuriy Sak, advisor to Ukraine's defense minister, joined "Bloomberg Surveillance" on Feb. 24th, marking one year of Russia’s war in Ukraine. (Source: Bloomberg)

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