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Ukrainecast

Q&A: Is the US's $61bn aid package enough?

Ukrainecast

BBC

News Commentary, News

4.71K Ratings

🗓️ 26 April 2024

⏱️ 25 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We answer your questions on the US aid package for Ukraine: when will it be felt on the frontline and will it have an impact on the war?

To help do this Victoria and Vitaly are joined by the former head of the US Army in Europe, General Ben Hodges, who also gives his assessment on whether Ukraine can win.

And, we hear from Steve Rosenberg in Moscow who shares some news about his friend Valentina, who used to work in a newspaper kiosk.

Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Arsenii Sokolov, Cordelia Hemming, Elliot Ryder and Miriam Quayyum. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480

You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast’s Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.

0:04.7

Hello, it's 793 days since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

0:10.1

In the last episode we asked for your ideas of people we should invite on to

0:14.6

Ukrainecast to answer your questions and Jane in North Yorkshire here in England got in

0:19.0

touch. Hello Ukraine cast in a recent episode you asked listeners to suggest people for

0:26.5

your podcast I'm very impressed with General Ben Hodges the former head of the

0:31.7

US Army in Europe.

0:33.6

Can you get him on?

0:35.1

Thank you.

0:36.2

Jane, your wish is our command.

0:39.2

Ben Hodges, welcome to Ukrainecast.

0:41.1

Well, thank you very much.

0:42.2

I'm very happy to be here. Tell us more about herself.

0:45.0

Well, I was commander, US Army Europe from 2014 through 2017 and then retired from the Army.

0:53.4

I stayed in Europe after I retired and now I serve as a senior mentor for NATO

0:59.2

Logistics and I do everything I can to help explain why Europe and NATO and Ukraine are so important to the United States as well as to the rest of us.

1:10.0

So I'm interested in helping Ukraine defeat Russia and explaining how we can do that.

1:17.8

And before you explain how Ukraine can do that, I think you are an optimist, is right would you describe yourself as one yes of

1:25.1

course I'm an optimist I've never seen anything worthwhile accomplished by a

1:30.1

room full of defeatist people.

1:32.9

And we know from history that war is a test of will

1:36.0

as much as it is a test of logistics.

...

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