Okay, we are live with Alexander Mercuris in London, and we are happy to have Anna Duran once again, the incredible Professor Jeffrey Sachs.

Professor Sachs, how are you doing today?

Hey, great to be with you guys.

Thanks so much.

Great to have you on.

Let's get started, Alexander, Professor Sachs. A big shout out and hello to everyone that is watching us on all of our platforms.

A big thank you to our chat moderators. We have a lot to discuss. So Alexander, Professor Sacks, let's jump right into it.

Yes, indeed. And can I say, before we get into the events of today, which are enormously

important and their significance cannot be overstated, I'd like to take a quick walk back into

the past with Professor Sacks. And I'd explain why.

A couple of programs ago, I mentioned the fact that the new Ukrainian defense minister, Mr. Schmigal,

who was until a short time ago, the prime minister of Ukraine,

is now asking for $120 billion of assistance so that Ukraine can meet its military defense needs next year in

2026. He won $60 billion right away, and he's basically leaving it open how the other $60 billion

are going to be found.

And of course, that brought me back to the events of long ago in 1990,

when Professor Sachs was working with at that time young Russian economist,

Grigory Yavlinsky, and they were coming up with their grand bargain. And I said from memory that I

thought at that time, this is my memory of it, that they wanted $150 billion in total over, I said,

three years to support the Russian economy. And my point was that even allowing for the significant

changes in the value of money that have obviously taken place in the last 35 years, one can see

how the cost of Ukraine is going far beyond the cost of the stabilization of the Russian

...