Yakov Kedmi, political figure (Israel): As to what's already been discussed, unlike the impression about special units in the army which the majority of people have, especially the US Navy SEALs, they're mainly intelligence units. They mainly do not what's shown in the movies but reconnaissance to carry our operations by the navy in someone else's territory, waters, approaches to its shores. So, they were created not really for training.
- They're preparing for war.
- An army is an army. It's a completely new level of presence of the US Navy in the Black Sea. Such things have never happened before. There were those guys who sailed to the Black Sea on ships. But it hasn't been like this and so close. I think that they treat it very seriously. They just don't talk about it.
But the main thing is what's going on in Ukraine and what's happened there. At first, the results of the elections are unexpectedly very optimistic. It's clear to everyone what the Ukrainian people think about what's going on there. They absolutely negatively treat all that brainwashing which has been taking place for over the past five years. In the past five years, it's been just intensified. It began in 1991 and even earlier. Despite all this, over half of the population of Ukraine said that they don't want to have the relations with Russia which you've led us to. They don't want to have such relations with Russia, Russian people, and the Russian authorities. It's absolutely clear. This gives many more reasons for optimism because we got a different impression. Fortunately, the Ukrainian people and ethnic groups demonstrated a higher level of their maturity, sustainability, and common sense.
As to the elections, everything's clear. The elections were falsified in the most arrogant manner. Poroshenko wouldn't have gotten even 10% without falsifications, let alone his illegal tricks when they so arrogantly openly bribed voters and used the administrative resource. But what is interesting about this situation? I have one remark about Odessa. Whom did they liberate Odessa from?
- Romanians?
- Where is that lady whom they want to introduce from?
- That's what we're talking about. It was in Zelensky's plans.
Vadim Tryukhan, political analyst, Ukraine: Over 70 years have passed. What does it have to do with it? She is the most successful anti-corruption prosecutor in Europe. That's what we should talk about. She's a former but the most successful one. Sorry for interrupting.
- The problem isn't that many years have passed but what it means for Odessa and Ukraine as a whole. Actually, what does the entire election campaign show? Zelensky's employees are more professional. Poroshenko couldn't find any serious people even for this. This is likely to lead to the fact that they'll elect Zelensky the president. Americans abstained from participating in it a little bit. The fact that their protégé, whom they wanted to preserve, failed so disgracefully shows that they can't work and don't understand the country they work in. Because of the poor state of the political system, there's no other real alternative except for Zelensky. So, they'll choose Zelensky. Do they really care? They don't understand much in any case. They don't understand what Ukraine and Zelensky are like.
As to Zelensky, nobody knows who he is. Nobody knows what he wants. He doesn't know himself yet. Nobody knows how he'll run the country, how capable he will be, to what extent he'll be allowed to run the country because he's a completely random person. Nobody can say for sure. It's too naive and stupid to believe their slogans and what they say before the elections in even more democratic countries. De Gaulle is the best example of it. Compare the slogans with which he came to power with what he did after he came to power. The French people swallowed it up, any people would swallow it up, in our country and even more so in Ukraine. It isn't clear at all what he'll do and who is behind him.
But the fact that the elections were falsified is absolutely clear. And Russia has a problem. It should react to the elections according to either the way they were held and their results. The second option is called political foresight. Firstly, Russia doesn't have an absolute foresight especially with respect to Ukraine. The results are obvious. Secondly, this is a policy of double standards. It's either you're in favor of democratic elections and you should treat the results on the basis of your political interests. But the elections were falsified. They're unfair. The people who came to power, the authorities that come to power as a result of falsified and bribed elections aren't legitimate. If Russia wants to make the same mistake again, you're welcome, you still have something to lose. But this is the essence of it.
As to what will happen in Ukraine, the situation is much more unclear now because the entire existing power system will change now. It won't collapse, it'll change. I don't know whether it's the form but not the essence that will change. Nobody knows it. And in this situation, if Russia behaves like Donetsk residents who say that they're just neighbors and they don't care what's going on there, then it'll be Russia to blame.
I don't know a lot of presidents, heads of state, especially in the West, who think about their people and what they can improve for their people and state before they go to bed. I'd be happy to learn about them. But I don't know them so far. Does Macron or Trump think about it? Or did Merkel think about it? Or that lady who's to resign soon, the British prime minister did?
I meant that the situation in Ukraine is unclear to me. It's uncertain but it's clear. But it's uncertain, it's impossible to say for certain. And for better understanding, the situation in Ukraine is uncertain: all of the plans and hopes of all those who came to power collapsed; the same is true to those in Europe who led them to power. The situation with them is the same: it's uncertain. It's unclear what will happen to Europe, what Europe will be like in half a year, a year, or two. Nobody knows it. It's even worse in the US. So, it isn't only a problem in Ukraine. It's a problem in Europe. It's a problem in the US.
That's why I say that they can't determine what's going on. But Russia is in a different position. Russia is required to do it.
