In this “Face the Nation” show moderated by Margaret Brennan:
- Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba
- Ret. Lieutenant General Ben Hodgesformer commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe
- Senator Chris CoonsDemocrat from Delaware
- David BeasleyExecutive Director of the World Food Program
- Sister Norma Pimentelexecutive director of the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley
Click here for full transcripts of “Face the Nation.”
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m Margaret Brennan in Washington.
And this festive weekend in Face the Nation: Russia responds to Ukrainians sinking a key battleship with a powerful missile bombardment in the west, while President Zelensky says the situation in Mariupol is as serious as possible, simply inhuman. We will speak with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, and we will receive an analysis of the former commander of the US Army in Europe, retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges.
In addition, Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons will be here to talk about his fight to get more global aid for COVID included in a distress bill that is stalled in Congress.
And what impact will the war have on Ukraine’s global food supply? We’ll talk to the head of the UN World Food Program, David Beasley, and take a look at a new leap in the rate of inflation here in the US. Will food and gas prices rise further?
Everything is ahead of Face the Nation.
Good morning and welcome to Face the Nation.
On a day when we are honoring the holy holidays of Easter, Easter, and Ramadan, this morning it is difficult to face the bleak news. During the night, there were mass shootings at a mall in Columbia, South Carolina, and at a party in East Allegheny, part of Pittsburgh.
In Jerusalem, there were more clashes at the sacred site of Haram al-Sharif on the Temple Mount between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters. In North Korea, images released by the state news agency show Kim Jong-un celebrating what appears to be the successful test of a tactical guided weapon.
At the first open-air Mass since the pandemic began, Pope Francis said the world was marking a Passover and urged peace.
We start, as always, with the news, but we hope you stay with us for the second half hour, when we focus on some of the efforts that are being made to help those around the world.
Our Chris Livesay says he is the first, reporting from Kyiv: Chris.
CHRIS LIVESAY: Good morning.
When Vladimir Putin re-focuses his ground war on the east, the Russian president reminds us that he can still hit Ukraine wherever he wants by air. Russia has stepped up missile attacks here in the capital and continues to hit major cities on the front lines.
(Start VT)
CHRIS LIVESAY (voiceover): The Kyiv region is now a cemetery. The bodies of more than 900 civilians have been found in and around the capital, according to police.
The killings continue in Kharkiv, near the Russian border, where overnight bombings in a residential area killed seven people, including a seven-month-old boy, according to local Ukrainian authorities.
But nowhere is misery more total than Mariupol. Thousands have died in weeks of airstrikes, artillery and even famine. Russia has now claimed victory. If true, we may never know the full scale of horror.
But Chernihiv in northern Ukraine offers a vision. It was also surrounded by Russian forces, without food, water and electricity for weeks, until the Ukrainian forces, dramatically outnumbered in arms, pushed them back, in a remarkable case, shooting down this bomber. It crashed into this house, killing a man inside, but surprisingly, no more, its payload did not detonate on impact and landed on Nikolai’s door.
(NIKOLAI SPEAKS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHRIS LIVESAY: “We heard the sirens of the airstrikes,” he says. “I was sitting and praying when all of a sudden there was a big boom and flames.”
The two pilots were expelled. One survived, not just any. Here he poses with Vladimir Putin and his ally Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, where he carried out airstrikes.
Shortly after his capture, Russia withdrew its forces from Chernivtsi, and what was supposed to be a small speed bump on the road to Kyiv became a major setback for Russia, though not without cost. devastating for Ukraine.
(VT final)
CHRIS LIVESAY: Chernihiv offers an unprecedented look at the war. Never before, not even in Syria, had battle events been so closely documented, thanks to cell phone imaging, geolocation tools, and an incredibly tech-savvy local: Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Chris Livesay, thank you.
Let us now turn to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba.
Minister, welcome back to the program.
The governor of Mariupol says the city has been wiped off the face of the earth. How long can Ukrainian forces withstand Russian control of this city?
DMYTRO KULEBA (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine): The situation in Mariupol is militarily serious and heartbreaking.
The city no longer exists. The remnants of the Ukrainian army and a large group of civilians are basically surrounded by Russian forces. They continue their struggle, but it seems that because of the way the Russian army is behaving in Mariupol, they have decided to destroy the city at any cost.
MARGARET BRENNAN: President Zelenskyy said that the elimination of military forces in this city will mean the end of all negotiations with Russia.
Have you been instructed to stop contacting Russian diplomats?
FOREIGN MINISTER DMYTRO KULEBA: Well, we haven’t really had any contact with Russian diplomats in recent weeks at the level of foreign ministries.
The only level of contact is the negotiating team made up of representatives of various institutions and members of Parliament. They can continue their expert-level consultations, but there are no high-level conversations.
After Bucha, it was especially difficult to keep talking to the Russians. But, as my president said, Mariupol can be a red line.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff said last month that Russian soldiers were being told that the war would end on May 9th.
What exactly do you expect in the coming weeks?
FOREIGN MINISTER DMYTRO KULEBA: Intensification of heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine, in the Donbass, large-scale offensive by Russia in that part of Ukraine, and also desperate attempts by Russian forces, as I said, and ending with Mariupol at any price.
These are my expectations. And, of course, missile attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities appear to be continuing.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Last week, President Zelenskyy posted pictures of a Ukrainian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin, his name, Viktor Medvedchuk, saying he had been captured by Ukrainian forces. You had been involved in a plot to take over your government.
What does Ukraine intend to do with it? Did American intelligence help in this capture?
FOREIGN MINISTER DMYTRO KULEBA: Well, he is a citizen of Ukraine, so he will enjoy all procedural rights, because we are a country of law.
And then its future will be decided within the framework, on the one hand, of the judicial process and, on the other, of the political process. We do not rule out any political choice. But, as I said, we are a country of law. And, first of all, he will face responsibility for the crimes he committed against Ukraine.
MARGARET BRENNAN: What exactly was he involved in here? How many contacts did you have with Russia? And what does political solution mean?
FOREIGN MINISTER DMYTRO KULEBA: Well, he was very close to President Putin.
In fact, Vladimir Putin is said to be the godfather of one of Mr. Medvedchuk’s daughters, I think. I think that fact speaks, the fact speaks for itself.
When I mentioned political-political solutions, you know that President Putin’s spokesman, Mr. Peskov said Russia has no interest in exchanging Mr. Medvedchuk. But we will see how the situation evolves.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The White House says President Biden will not visit Ukraine. Many other world leaders have done just that.
Is it important for you to see a high-ranking American official coming? Is it important for Americans to reopen the embassy in Ukraine?
Foreign Minister DMYTRO KULEBA: Since the start of Russia’s new wave of aggression against Ukraine, President Biden has shown real leadership in helping to provide assistance to Ukraine, in mobilizing the international community to support Ukraine .
So, of course, we would love to see it in our country, and it would be an important message of support for us. And, of course, a personal meeting between two presidents could also pave the way for new supplies and US weapons – US weapons in Ukraine and also for policy discussions – a possible political solution. of this conflict.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we’ll see if any officials are sent.
I want to ask you about a report that came out this week. Forty-five different countries that are part of the OSCE, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, had this investigation into war crimes. And it was – he blamed mainly Russia. It was a catalog of horrors.
But he also blamed Ukraine for failing to report to the Red Cross once Ukrainian forces identified Russian soldiers using facial recognition technology. And according to this report, it appears that Ukraine is sending the images to the families of the dead.
Is that correct?
FOREIGN MINISTER DMYTRO KULEBA: Well, the Ukrainian government is not carrying out any such activity.
But, as mentioned in the report aired before I appeared on your show, when you discover 900 bodies of murdered, tortured civilians, when you know that thousands were raped, of course, there is anger and the desire of the people of carry them. responsible for this.
And we, as a government, are working legally to hold those responsible for these crimes accountable.
MARGARET BRENNAN: He also said that Ukraine has not allowed the Red Cross to visit prisoners of war.
Will Ukraine commit itself to doing so and investigate the war crimes of its own nationals if it finds out that some of them have been committed?
FOREIGN MINISTER DMYTRO KULEBA: Well, I have good reason to complain about the way the Red Cross has conducted its operations in Ukraine since the start of the war and the visit of the Red Cross President to Moscow and the way it was managed. .
But I do not, because we have a good working relationship with the Red Cross and we resolve all issues at the level of work with a spirit of cooperation.
MARGARET BRENNAN: All right, Minister of Foreign Affairs, thank you for joining us today.
Let us now turn to Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, the former Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army in Europe. And he joins us from Frankfurt, Germany.
Good morning to you.
LT. GEN. BEN HODGES (RET.) (Former US Army Commander in Europe): Good morning, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You just heard the Minister of Foreign Affairs describe what was happening, especially in the port city of Mariupol, in the southeast. Many are hoping that President Putin will intensify this assault until May 9, which is a key holiday.
What are you waiting to see?
LT. GEN. BEN HODGES: Well, first of all, I, of course, agree with everything that Minister Kuleba has just heard and what is happening in Mariupol, the incredible courage and resilience of the civilians there, so as of the soldiers who have been fighting.
But I do believe that the pressure on the General Staff to finally hand over Mariupol before May 9 is immense; May 9, of course, is the annual celebration in Russia of the end of World War II, or what they call the Great Patriotic War. It’s a big parade in the Red Square every year.
So, obviously, they have to have something to parade, to show how …
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