[0:00]Tonight, survivors of the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein will come face to face with Donald Trump when they attend his State of the Union address. It's part of
[0:09]a coordinated attempt to highlight how they believe the White House has mishandled the release of Epstein files. >> This is not going away. We will not stop
[0:20]until the truth is faced and justice is pursued. We'll look ahead to that crucial speech and assess Donald Trump's challenges at home and growing tensions abroad coming
[0:31]up. Plus, after four years of war, I hear the deep fatigue and defiance from a Ukrainian medic on the front line. If we were all to say, "This is not our
[0:42]war. This is not my war," I think Russia would be pushing through the rest of Europe at this point. And inside Russia, our team sees bomb shelters and barricades and survive a
[0:54]near miss from a kamicazi drone. >> We were scanning the area for drones and it came out of out of the blue. We've all jumped out and taking shelter behind this this building now as we try and
[1:05]figure out what's going on. >> So, who is winning this war and who will it ever end? We'll bring you our defense analyst assessment coming up on the
[1:16]world with me, YaKin. Good evening. In a few hours time, the
[1:28]US president will address the nation in his annual State of the Union speech. In the room will be more than a dozen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein who have been invited by Democratic members of
[1:39]Congress. They want to know why ambassadors and princes are being arrested here in the UK, but US authorities are failing to act. Just have a listen.
[1:48]Today, the world will see Donald Trump have to face these survivors right there in the House Gallery. An answer for why ambassadors and princes have been
[1:59]arrested in other countries. But here in America, not a single investigation has been announced into the pedophiles and the predators of Epstein's horrific sex
[2:10]trafficking ring. He must answer for why the Department of Justice has still refused to release 3 million remaining files and why they continue the massive
[2:21]cover up of a depraved Epstein class. Virginia helped build a road for survivors to walk toward truth, toward dignity, toward justice. And we are here
[2:32]today to carry her torch down that road. We are asking Congress, the public, and every institution with the power to act, to carry that torch with us. And that
[2:42]brings me to why we are here, not only to speak, but to demand action. If we truly believe survivors deserve more than sympathy, if we truly believe justice should not depend on status,
[2:52]then we must put it into law. That is why we are calling on Congress to advance Virginia's law. Virginia's law is about saying clearly
[3:03]that the rules that protected abusers and traffickers for decades will no longer stand. Is about closing the gaps that powerful people exploit. It is about strengthening accountability.
[3:13]Surviv survivors are not forced to fight alone for years against the machine built to wear them down. It is not vengeance. It is not protection. It is
[3:21]prevention. And it is justice. And to anyone who thinks this moment can be reduced to a headline or a media cycle or even a Super Bowl moment for
[3:32]political theater, let me be clear. The only thing more powerful than hate is love. And this is not going away. We will not stop until the truth is faced and
[3:43]justice is pursued for Virginia, for her survivor sisters, and for every victim and survivor around the world who deserves to know that their lives are worth more than someone else's
[3:54]reputation. >> That was Virginia Grey's uh brother there at that press conference which was held in the last hour or so. And of course, the State of the Union address
[4:05]by President Trump will be in about 4 hours time. will be speaking to my colleague Mark Stone uh later in the program and getting his uh thoughts on
[4:15]the press conference and uh the State of the Union address. >> Now, four years ago today, Vomi Zilinski sat in an underground bunker somewhere
[4:26]in Kiev making phone call after phone call to world leaders. Earlier that day, Russian tanks had crossed the border. Russian soldiers were raising their
[4:35]flags in his cities. cabinet. >> This office, this small room in the bunker on Vancouver Street, this is
[4:45]where I held my first conversations with world leaders at the start of the war. Here I spoke with President Biden and it was right here that I heard, Vladimir, there is a threat. You need to leave
[4:56]Ukraine urgently. We are ready to help with that. And here I replied that I need ammunition, not a ride. Such was the choice. The choice that
[5:08]millions of Ukrainians made back then. Our people did not raise a white flag. They defended the blue and yellow one. >> Vladimir Zalinski there. Well, today he
[5:20]showed images of that now empty underground complex for the first time. And he paid tribute to the heroes, civilians, and soldiers who defended cities, villages, and streets. ordinary
[5:31]people who he says formed living walls to stop the Russian tanks. Tens of thousands gave their lives to protect their country. But we know the sacrifice
[5:42]did not uh completely stop Moscow's advance and that hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers and civilians have been killed since February 2022.
[5:52]And the missile threat is almost every day. And you know, we're kind of afraid now there will be another missile threat. The lights will go out. It will
[6:01]be cold again. >> We'll report from the border city of Belgarod in a moment. But first, after four years of war, we'll begin with the voices of four Ukrainians from so-called
[6:13]hero cities where residents fought the Russians and won. It's the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and
[6:24]Tetiana is sheltering underground with her two children at their home just outside the city of Churnney. >> In the morning and at night, all the time, the planes were flying. The cellar
[6:35]was shaking. My daughter was sleeping and my son and I were on duty because there was a rumor that Russians were walking around the houses. We slept with an axe.
[6:46]Inside the cellar, it's cold and dark. The children are scared. I couldn't get out. There was such a panic. I didn't know what was going on. >> While her husband Sasha defends the city
[6:57]from Russian attackers, Tatiana and her children only emerge from their basement when it's safe enough to cook on a fire outside. A neighbor's home is hit by shelling and Shrapnel injures their dog.
[7:08]Tetiana's son drags it into the basement and tends to its injuries. Journey heave is just 90 miles from Kev and the siege left 70% of the city in
[7:17]ruins. Its defense played a crucial role in preventing Russian troops from seizing the capital and for this President Zilinski decreed that it be known as a hero city. When the Russians
[7:27]first attacked Churnney heave on the 24th of February 2022, Yuri was trapped. Previously a major in the army, he decided to come out of military retirement to defend his city.
[7:39]We held the enemy defending our city of Chernah. We joined the tank troops. On March the 5th, during the clearing of enemy forces, our group came under fire.
[7:51]My leg was torn off. One person was killed. Another was wounded. The guys saved me. >> Yuri's left leg was amputated, but he
[8:01]had to be smuggled out of the encircled city by boat so that he could get further treatment abroad. Since getting a prosthetic leg, he has performed in plays across Europe with other injured
[8:11]veterans. Sunumi, a city right on the border with Russia that has been battered and
[8:21]bruised over the last four years. It was named a hero city by President Zalinski after its citizens took up arms to defend it in the opening days of the invasion. Dimmitro was among those who
[8:33]took up arms to protect the city. People realized that they were responsible for their own lives, they started taking weapons, mostly hunting rifles. But the further we moved away from 24th of
[8:43]February, the more weapons appeared in people's hands that could, one way or another, help them defend themselves against the Russians. >> Their courage was not in vain. Just over a month later, Russian troops no longer
[8:54]occupied any towns or villages in the region. Sunumi City never fell into enemy hands. Now Dimmitri is deployed to a different kind of battlefield. The
[9:04]grinding combat and relentless danger that is the Donbas front line. >> It is easy to think that victory is close. But I do not believe that this will end in 2026. Every day I see how
[9:15]the front behaves, how intense the fighting is. They will do everything to capture the rest of Donbas. >> It's constantly in danger. There are
[9:26]frequent rocket strikes. Recently, many FPV drones have started flying here. There's often no electricity, no heating, no water. Life has changed dramatically, and the danger is
[9:38]constant. >> Oena is speaking just days after going out on a rescue mission that almost claimed her life. >> There is a request to evacuate two people who had been injured. One man was
[9:48]critically injured. He couldn't walk and he had a lot of blood. She is the only woman in her White Angel's unit, evacuating civilians from some of the most dangerous places in Ukraine.
[9:59]>> On this mission, a Russian drone exploded so close to her that the shock wave slammed the door of her armored vehicle shut, severing her thumb. >> I was very worried that we wouldn't be
[10:10]able to leave and reach the hospital in time, save my finger, and also save the man's leg. But thank God, we managed to get out. With little progress being made in talks
[10:20]between Ukraine and Russia, Sunumi's people say they are losing hope that they will see peace in the next year. Well, European leaders today reaffirm
[10:30]their pledge not to abandon Ukraine. The objectors remain, including Hungary, which maintains close ties with Moscow. European Commission President Ursula Vandereline and Foreign Secretary Vet
[10:40]Cooper joined the Ukrainian president to light lanterns in memory of fallen soldiers. as the foreign secretary spoke afterwards to our political editor Beth Riby. Russia's aggression is not going
[10:51]away. We've seen it now towards Ukraine and we've seen the scale of it towards Ukraine even though it is failing. And it's failing because Europe has
[11:01]supported uh Ukraine. It's because countries from across the world as part of the coalition will of the willing uh and with NATO have supported Ukraine as well. But there's no doubt that the
[11:12]threat to Ukraine's security is also a threat to Europe's security and that is a threat to the UK's security as well. Foreign secretary um Cooper there. Let's go straight to our international
[11:24]correspondent Alex Rossy who joins me live from Kiev. Alex, it's hard to believe, isn't it, that it's been 4 years uh since we saw Russian tanks uh
[11:34]rolling in uh to Ukraine in what was then being described as a special operation that Russia believed Vladimir Putin believed and was telling his
[11:43]people would last only a few days. >> Yeah, today has been another difficult day in a series of very difficult days
[11:54]for Ukraine, but it's been poignant. people here counting the cost, the destructiveness of this war, what it's done to the Ukrainian people, what it has done to Ukrainian society. I was in
[12:05]Maria on the day of the invasion. We woke up to the sound of thunderous explosions and and like many people, we thought that the war would be over very
[12:15]very quickly. In many ways, and people here see it as that, it's a miracle that Ukraine is still standing and still fighting. You're quite right. Vladimir Putin thought it would be a 10-day
[12:27]special military operation. The country would be brought to its knees. It would capitulate. Russian soldiers had even brought specially pressed parade uniforms because they thought that
[12:39]victory would be so easy. It hasn't happened like that at all. And of course, um, Russia still hasn't managed to secure any of its original military
[12:49]objectives. Now here today, of course, European leaders came in to show solidarity with Ukraine. The fight is going on on the battlefield, of course, but it's also one of industrial capacity
[13:00]and resolve. And the message to Vladimir Putin really is one of defiance. Europe will give emotional, material, and financial support to Ukraine until it
[13:11]achieves a just peace. The question of course for everybody here is though, when will this war end? The diplomacy rumbles on on the back in the backgrounds, but I think people here are
[13:21]not holding their breath that it will deliver any kind of peace in the near term. >> Yeah, Alex, you know, I I remember being there at the start of the war and
[13:31]talking in terms of it's a matter of when uh Russian uh military will take over Ukraine, not a matter of of if. And so it is, as you say, extraordinary that the Ukrainians are still standing. But
[13:42]it hasn't been an easy four years for Vottomy Zalinski who's led Ukraine through this with his European allies. There have been moments of, you know, tense exchanges where he's he's said to
[13:54]them, "I need more." You know, he's traveled around Europe and the United States with shopping lists demanding more from them and and four years on he's, you know, they've managed to to to
[14:05]stand still, but it it hasn't been easy. >> Yeah. I mean, I think the question for certainly people within the Ukrainian government is actually had they been
[14:15]given more material support at the beginning, would this war even be over, would it look very, very different? Remember, right at the beginning, all of the red lines from Western powers not wanting to be seen to be too
[14:27]provocative. Yes, they'd give uh defensive weapons, but they wouldn't give offensive weapons. Now, those red lines have clearly moved, but had Ukraine got more at the beginning, would
[14:37]it have been very different? And would there have been the massive loss of life we we've seen I talk about counting the cost. I mean look at it in figures.
[14:46]Yalda 600,000 uh Ukrainian soldiers killed um missing or injured. Now many of those soldiers of course have had lifechanging um
[14:58]injuries. I spoke to some of them at a gym in Kiev about their experiences and what they've lost. Early in the morning, the Russians
[15:10]launched an assault. Heavy shelling began. We started to pull back. There was gunfire. At one point, when I went into the house, something like a mortar or
[15:21]artillery round struck it. I felt a heavy blow to the back of my head. Everything went dark before my eyes. I saw flashes. And then, as it turned out,
[15:31]I lost consciousness. I don't know how long I was out. When I came round, I couldn't see properly. There was a thick haze. I was buried under some stones and
[15:41]bricks. >> I will say this, no war is worth it. It brings immense suffering, pain, tears, blood, pain inflicted on us by the
[15:53]Russians. No one wanted this war and we all want it to end. But Ukrainians will fight to the end. That is my personal view.
[16:04]Sport keeps the lads away from destructive things, alcohol, drugs, and the like. It doesn't allow them to dwell on what they'd rather not return to.
[16:14]>> First of all, as I'm also a veteran, it pains me to see what's happening in our country. It's heartbreaking that our lads return wounded with amputations. The most important thing is that they do
[16:26]not withdraw into themselves. And the suffering for civilians continues of course as well. I mean look behind me the city. There are some
[16:36]lights on. But there are rolling power cuts across Ukraine as Russia continues to attack energy infrastructure punishing the civilian population uh for
[16:47]resisting Moscow's aggression. And there's no end in sight. That hardship and terror continues. >> Alex, thank you so much for all of your
[16:57]reporting there. Looking now at how Russia has brought war to its own cities. Belgod is the closest to the fighting, sitting about 25 miles from Ukraine's border. Drone strikes and
[17:09]power cuts there have become the norm. While temporary fixtures like bomb shelters feel increasingly permanent. Our Moscow correspondent Iva Bennett traveled to Belgar where he and his team
[17:20]found themselves in the firing line. Here's his report. >> Belgarod is the closest Russian city to the war in Ukraine. And it shows this
[17:31]apartment block was hit by drones a few hours before we arrived. One flew into Ludm Miller's bedroom. >> It flew in through the window, hit the
[17:42]floor, exploded, and then flew into the other room. >> As another air raid siren sounded, she showed us inside. The room had been
[17:53]gutted because of the damage, and the explosion caused cracks in the walls. Ludm Miller and her husband Vladimir were in the next room when it happened.
[18:04]They know they're lucky to be alive. >> We are so tired you cannot even imagine. Lord, what did we do to deserve this? We
[18:16]lived in Ukraine. We were friends. And look at this. Now we're fighting each other. By invading Ukraine, Russia didn't just
[18:26]export war, it brought it home. There are bomb shelters on every corner. Many buildings are draped in anti- drone
[18:35]nets. And the threat is ever present, as we ourselves found out. We were on our way to the town of
[18:44]Shebca, 5 miles from the border, when suddenly our vehicle came under attack. It had just been hit by a drone.
[19:01]>> We don't know why, but our car had become a target. >> We were scanning the area for drones and it came out of out of the blue. We've all jumped out and taking shelter behind
[19:12]this this building now as we try and figure out what's going on. >> Kamicazi drones are laden with explosives. They're designed to detonate on impact. For some reason, this one
[19:23]didn't. It lay smoldering in the road before the military arrived to take it away. It was a terrifyingly close illustration
[19:35]of the everyday dangers. Like Moscow, Kiev denies targeting civilians. But like in Ukraine,
[19:44]civilians here have been killed, too. Don't worry. >> Liisa's mother died in a shelling two years ago when they were out shopping
[19:53]together. Liisa was just 8 months old. Her leg had to be amputated after being hit by shrapnel. >> I wish there was peace for children to
[20:06]live full lives. Our children know what vampire strikes are, what drones are, what FPV is. A child this age doesn't need to know this. They need to know what sledding is. Jumping around and
[20:17]playing. There should be a childhood, not this situation. >> At an official level, Belgarod has embraced its role as a frontline city,
[20:29]glorifying it even at this museum exhibition that honors the city's air defenses. But after four years of war, there is
[20:39]frustration here. Life keeps getting harder. Tatiana had been without heating and electricity for 5 days because of Ukrainian strikes on the local power
[20:50]grid. It's very hard because it's been going on for a long time and the missile threat is almost every day and you know
[21:01]we're kind of afraid now there will be another missile threat. The lights will go out. It will be cold again. >> And that's just it. No one knows when
[21:13]this will end. Peace talks keep hitting a brick wall, diplomacy can't find a way through. And even if there is a deal and
[21:23]Russia comes out on top, many here may wonder whether it's all been worth it. Iva Bennett, Sky News, Belgar.
[21:35]>> Well, we've got an update uh on Andrew Mountbatton Windsor. He was arrested as we've reported last Thursday on the 19th of February. He was released a short
[21:46]time later, but the search of his former Windsor home uh continued. Uh police have now said that the searches have concluded in connection with misconduct
[21:56]in public office investigation. They've said that the Tempame's Valley Police can confirm the searches in Berkshire in connection to its investigation into the offense of misconduct in public office
[22:08]have now concluded so that police investigation into Andrew Mountbatton Windsor. The police say they finished searches of his former Windsor home.
[22:20]You're watching the world with me, YaKim. Still to come, can either side claim to be winning this war after four years? We analyze the grinding gains and
[22:28]losses of a stalemate. Heat. Heat.
[23:55]Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. What's the best thing about being a Sky
[24:38]News presenter? >> We've done the work and the reading so you don't have to. Being a Sky News
[24:48]presenter. Hello and welcome Westminster, the heart of British politics. I'm so sorry about what happened to you. So, what on earth is going on? >> It's not true.
[24:59]>> Can I tell you what I think is really unusual? Mornings with Regin Frost. Let's crack on. Let's get started. >> What's the best thing about being a Sky
[25:08]News journalist? >> Who's funnier? >> Being a Sky News journalist.
[25:19]>> A special edition of the world with me. Yalda Hakeim. Pakistan has the right to respond. >> You like what? >> Historic day here today.
[25:29]Congratulations. This is a huge moment. But what happens now? >> The best thing about being a Sky News journalist, >> they call him the king of the jungle.
[25:47]Being a Sky News journalist, Yustra Albaga has this report and this is what's left of it. >> As a woman of color, how did the Harris campaign speak to you? >> People risk their lives to speak to us
[25:59]for this report. >> Mr. Zuma, Sky News. >> We're trying to see as much as we can. It's been said many times that Russian
[26:09]President Vladimir Putin wanted victory in Ukraine within days or weeks when he invaded. Four years on, not only is that aim shattered, but the war has crossed into Russia, too, as we saw from Iva
[26:21]Bennett's report in the border city of Belgar. Well, uh, we will speak to Iva live in a moment after our defense and security analyst, Michael Clark, maps out the battlefield.
[26:33]>> At the 4-year anniversary of the war, a lot of people are making statements about it and asking themselves, who's winning? And in particular, is Russia winning or losing the war in Ukraine? Well, there's a yes and no answer to
[26:44]that. So, let's look at some of the big issues and try and get some sense of it. Two or three big things to think about. The front line, the effect on world order, and the economy. Let's look at the front line first. If we think about
[26:55]what's happening on the ground, and this is the map that you're all very familiar with, you can see that the Russians have taken Luhansk and Donets, about 80% of it. So, they've got a lot of the Donbass plus the land bridge between the Donbass
[27:07]and Crimea. That was very important to them. So there they are and they've conducted offensives all the way along that front during 2025. Constant um relentless offensives. On the other
[27:19]hand, they still haven't taken the fortress cities. That 20% are the fortress cities they really want that Ukraine won't give up without a big fight. And the Ukrainians are attacking them, counterattacking all the way along
[27:30]the front. So Russian positions are all vulnerable to Ukrainian counterattacks. And in the last couple of months, there've been more of them. And they've been remarkably successful. What about the the world order? Some of the bigger
[27:40]questions. Well, the big strategic issue is NATO. NATO has begun to rearm 32 nations in NATO. They've taken this war extremely seriously. They may not be doing enough to help Ukraine, but
[27:51]they're certainly helping themselves by trying to defend more actively against Russia for the future. And in particular, Sweden and Finland joined the organization in 2023 and 2024.
[28:02]Sweden have been neutral since 1812, Finland since 1945. And in joining the alliance, they add a tremendous strategic element to NATO because look
[28:12]at St. Petersburg, Russia's second city. It is in a very very vulnerable position surrounded by NATO nations and the Cola Peninsula. the Cola Peninsula where Russia keeps its northern fleet, lots of
[28:23]its nuclear forces, lots of its nuclear testing grounds, that's in a strategically difficult place now because of the accession of Sweden and Finland into NATO. So NATO is a great
[28:34]deal stronger and larger uh than it was in 2022 thanks to Putin's aggression. However, one enormous prospect for Putin
[28:44]is that this war may be creating a real split in the Atlantic. A fissure between the United States, not Canada, but the United States and Europe. Now, Putin didn't create this fissure. President
[28:55]Trump has created it. But Putin can use it, and he can use the Ukrainian war to create a bigger fissure than has ever existed in NATO before. And if he does that, he hasn't yet, but if he does,
[29:06]then he will have achieved a strategic advantage which no other Russian or Soviet leader has ever been able to achieve since the end of the Second World War. And then finally, let's look at the economy. Let's look at the
[29:17]Russian economy. That's really straining at the moment. There are many ways of looking at the the Russian economy. This is just one of them. But look at this. This is the inflation rate. So there in the blue is the way inflation has gone
[29:28]since 2022 in the Western countries. And there in the red is the way Russian inflation has gone in that time. So it tells its own story. And that's only one indicy. There are others of course in
[29:39]terms of Russian interest rates, the falling income from oil and gas sales, the way that the Russian economy has been just bent out of shape by this war, the lack of investment in anything other
[29:49]than war production. All of that shows the Russian economy is coming under some real strain and it will probably feel that strain during the year. >> That's Professor Michael Clark. Let's go
[30:00]straight to our Moscow correspondent, Iva Bennett. And Iva, over the course of the last four years, frankly, we've heard a lot uh from Vladimir Putin, false flag operations, his intelligence
[30:11]agencies have made certain accusations against Ukraine, against their Western allies. And and even today on this 4th anniversary, Vladimir Putin um his
[30:20]intelligence agencies accused the United Kingdom and and France of pro trying to provide nuclear weapons to Ukraine. Yeah, that's right. Quite an
[30:32]extraordinary allegation. He claimed, as he say, that both Britain and France are secretly trying to supply Ukraine with the material or technology to make a nuclear weapon or even a dirty bomb.
[30:43]Now, he wasn't the first to make this allegation today. It first came from Russia's foreign intelligence service this morning. It didn't provide any evidence to back up that that accusation, and over the course of the
[30:54]day, Britain and Ukraine dismissed it. Uh the British government said there was no truth in it. But that didn't stop Vladimir Putin from repeating it this afternoon in a speech he gave to the
[31:05]FSB, Russia's security service. Again, no evidence was provided to back up the claim. Have a listen to what he said. >> Having failed to inflict a strategic
[31:16]defeat on Russia on the battlefield, the enemy is relying on individual and mass terrorism. This includes shelling cities, sabotaging infrastructure, and assassination attempts on government and
[31:28]military officials. Just another example, the blast yesterday at the Savioski train station. >> Now, in that speech, uh Vladimir Putin
[31:39]didn't mention specifically the 4-year anniversary. And no wonder because this isn't uh something he wants to draw attention to. It wasn't supposed to last this long, of course, but I think it's
[31:48]no coincidence that he chose today to make this claim about a dirty bomb and the UK perhaps trying to provide a nuclear weapon. I think it's partly to try and distract from the fact that
[31:59]things haven't gone to plan, but also partly to try and help justify the war, which the Kremlin continues to frame as a defensive war against NATO aggression.
[32:10]>> Yeah. And we've continued to hear from those Russians who are questioning this war about, you know, what does this mean? Why are we actually continuing this this war, the confusion around it?
[32:20]And of course, we saw your report there that that this war has also come to to Russia. You were in Belgar. Just tell us a little bit more about reporting from there. you know. Yeah. I think the thing that
[32:31]really struck me uh after going to Belgrad was just how open everyone was there and how tired everyone was about the when it comes to living under this
[32:42]this the current situation living through the war. I mean normally Russians are very guarded when it comes to speaking about the war especially to foreign media. That's what we experience here in Moscow because any kind of
[32:53]criticism of it or perceived criticism can land you in prison. But that's not what we found in Belgrad. Everyone was very happy to speak to us because, as I say, I think they've just had enough. Whether they were for or against the
[33:05]war, they just want it to end. Now, thankfully for us, our experience of the dangers um was a one-off. We had this lucky escape. But for the people in that
[33:15]region, and for everyone in many parts in Ukraine, of course, um this is something they experience every single day. And not everyone does have a lucky escape. So, like in Ukraine, I think
[33:25]many Russians just want the whole thing to end. They've had enough. They are exhausted. But at the moment, there is still still no sign that the war is going to end anytime soon because there's no sign that Vladimir Putin is
[33:37]going to stop until he gets what he wants. And that is of course something he can sell as a victory. >> Yeah, I just looking at that footage again of the kamicazi drone and the team
[33:47]uh rushing away. Thank you so much for all of your reporting. This is the world with me, Yaldahhim. Next up on the program, the banker who gave up Wall Street to save lives on
[33:58]Ukraine's front line. My conversation with Victoria Honchuk. Heat. Heat.
[34:41]Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.
[35:27]Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.
[36:12]Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.
[37:10]The best thing about being a Sky News journalist and take you behind the scenes here for election night live. They have gone up
[37:20]and up. Big Sky News journalist Ed Conway. Sky News. Is anyone going to talk to us? Mortgage rates did go up very sharply during your time in office. Here it is.
[37:30]>> First off, just the scale of what we're looking at. >> Our data shows it's been happening. Question is why it hasn't been stopped. Next on the world, how the war in
[37:42]Ukraine took one woman from Wall Street to the front line. When Russia invaded, Victoria Honuruk left New York and returned to Ukraine, becoming a medic, treating not just her countrymen, but
[37:53]wounded Russians, too. I spoke to her earlier and began by asking why she decided to risk everything. >> Four years ago, I wasn't in Ukraine. I was in the United States. Um, I was just
[38:03]starting a very promising career in investment banking and Wall Street and living the American dream. Everything was quite good in my life. Um, but then
[38:14]Russia attacked my country. My mom, my dad, my sister, they all joined the resistance as soon as they could. So, they said, "We're not we're not going to go anywhere. We're not going to evacuate. we're going to stay at home
[38:24]and we're going to fight for our home, our town. And that was very admirable. That inspired me a lot. And after a couple of months helping from far away,
[38:34]I said, "Well, I cannot also stand back. I cannot watch um Russia, the biggest country in the world, right, attacking my country. um going against everything
[38:45]that I believed in, everything that I grew up with, my culture, my language, um just anything that made me me, you know. Um so for me, war started when I
[38:56]realized that everything that I knew before today before 24th of uh February 2022 is not going to be the same way. So for me it was a very easy decision that
[39:07]look back. A lot of people think it was a difficult decision to leave a good career, good life, and go back to Ukraine and go to the front lines. But looking back for my um integrity, I
[39:19]think that is the easiest decision ever made is to go back to Ukraine. >> Did your parents or did anyone from your family say, "Listen, just stay in the United States. This is not your war. You're there. You're safe. Let us do
[39:30]what we need to do, but you don't have to come back." >> A lots of people said that. My mom included. Uh, a lot of my friends from the US um were not very supportive and
[39:41]what I was doing because they've witnessed me, you know, jumping the hoops getting into the career that I had and they thought it was a really bad decision to give it up and for something they didn't quite understand. But, you
[39:52]know, if we were all to say this is not our war, this is not my war, I think Russia would be pushing through the rest of Europe at this point. And then you say you got the support of your sister,
[40:04]you went back and then how did you join the battalion that you did and and then how did you end up as a medic on the front lines not just treating Ukrainians
[40:14]but also treating Russian prisoners of war as well? Well, the first as soon as I came back to Ukraine, the first I went to the front line was actually with um a
[40:24]English volunteer Eddie Eddie Dorsed who um unfortunately lost his um arm and leg a couple of months ago in Pocaroska. You might have heard about him, but he was
[40:34]the first one who took me to Bahmood at that point with a humanitarian run. And I met people there that were part of a battalion that I later joined. I had a couple of days of training and then the
[40:45]next day I was on the way to Zapia region. >> I mean that's incredibly dangerous to >> to not have any previous training or experience. A few days and then to be
[40:55]out there on the front lines of of Zaparisia. >> Yeah. I was afraid of blood and needles before full scale invasion. But at that point I just realized this is something
[41:06]that needs to be done and it's something you know the people don't throughout the history and people I think a lot of um people here in the UK can relate to that.
[41:16]>> And then uh tell me you know you're as I said you're treating not just um Ukrainians you've treated thousands of people
[41:26]the Russian prisoners of war. What was going through your mind when you were doing that? >> Again it's something that we have to do right. I don't get to choose what I have to work with. And as Ukraine, you know,
[41:38]we following the Geneva Convention, we have to treat prisoners of war, um, Russians and I just treat as part of my job. There's nothing special, but you get to speak with them and understand
[41:50]where they're coming from and understand that Russia is not going to stop where what they're doing right now. They are ready to go further and they are preparing for something bigger. I've spent the last four years traveling in
[42:02]and out of Ukraine, covering the the conflict across the country. Just tell me what it's like for you though to see a country that you clearly love very much is part of who you are. To see it
[42:14]in the state that it's in I there's it's it's mixed, isn't it? From my perspective as an outsider going there, on the one hand you see normaly and people continuing their life and then on
[42:25]the other hand you hear the air raid sirens and then you know that you know Russia has launched a series of of air strikes on people in Kiev or elsewhere. >> Well it's difficult definitely difficult
[42:37]to witness that. Um but I also am very proud of Ukrainians because if you look back at 2022 this is because not everyone evacuated.
[42:47]is because people have decided to send up to Russia and protect their land. That is the only reason why we still have something left out of Ukraine, right? And a big portion because for
[42:57]four years Russia's not been able to take any, you know, large cities um not any bigger parts that they have since 20 since 2014. So for me, I'm very proud of
[43:07]my generation as well cuz a lot of young people like I'm 25, my sister is 30 and we have a lot of people that are younger than us that have joined the army having no prior experience. So we have this
[43:18]whole civilian army type people who have never had any prior education in military or the army. They don't know the theories. They don't know how to fight by the books. But they were able
[43:29]to come up with incredible strategy to resist the biggest like what they thought the second best army in the world for four years. I'm very very proud of Ukraine. I'm very proud of my
[43:40]generation who able to um show the great nation we are >> and we've also seen the advancement in technology. I mean it's turned into a a
[43:51]conflict where people are almost learning about warfare through through drones for example. multiple generations now of of drone warfare. >> One thing they're not going to learn is
[44:01]how to adapt, how to adapt fast, and this is what Ukraine is doing. Ukraine has done decentralization of research and development where not private sectors, not like big prime primes, big
[44:12]companies are um changing the way warfare is doing, but the militaries themselves. So essentially every company or platoon that uses technology, they have their own research and development
[44:21]group that is changing things on the front line, sometimes by hours. Before I let you go, um there is one of the reasons you're here today, of course, is
[44:31]marking four years, but also there's a portrait of you that's been done by British war artist Max Dennis uh Pender. Um tell me about that portrait. Um and I
[44:42]I believe there's two. >> Yeah, there's multiple portraits. Um but essentially, so Eddie, um the person I mentioned in the beginning, uh his classmate Max, uh he told me, "Oh, my
[44:52]classmate is coming to paint people on the front line." And I said, "Okay." He said, "But maybe he can paint you or your sister." And I said, "Okay." So he come he came well 3 years ago almost in
[45:03]2023 uh to paint us uh and you see some of the paintings uh on the screen and I thought it was crazy but um with time he
[45:13]showed me some pieces because he's also uh filming while painting and asking people about their stories and how they come to being where they are, how they feel about the war. And I thought, wow,
[45:24]that's actually very very powerful because it's combining um art, right, painting, but also with histories of people and you put like a face on the war. So I think that's very powerful. It's going to be premiere of the
[45:35]documentary tonight and the period war museum. So I'm very excited about that. >> Victoria, thank you so much for joining us here on the program. >> Thank you for having me. >> That was the account of one young
[45:46]Ukrainian medic. Well, today the United Nations Secretary General described the war as a stain on the world's collective conscience. The UN estimates that 15,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine
[45:57]since the war began and that 3,200 children were killed or hurt. We've been hearing from three teenagers about what it's like to grow up in a war zone.
[46:08]>> My name is Veronica. I am 16 years old. >> My name is Lisa. I am 18. My name is Katina. I am 14.
[46:24]I was 10 and couldn't imagine what war really meant. Within days, Ukrainian tanks were driving down our street. I'd never seen
[46:33]them before. On March 4th, my birthday, we had to leave the city because Shanah was under constant attack from Russian bombers. I lived under Russian
[46:44]occupation for 2 years in my hometown of Malipol. The first month under occupation was especially hard. I hate how we've got used to war. How I've grown used to explosions and air raid
[46:55]alerts that can last for 10 hours. It's become the background of life. A new reality in which we tried to make plans for the future. We left to survive. Our
[47:05]neighbors were killed by a shell. We started our lives in Kiev from scratch. We arrived with nothing. In Kev, I still have to hide from
[47:15]Russians in bomb shelters during their attacks. I've grown used to the explosions. I cried and kept repeating that I just wanted the war to end. That is still my
[47:25]greatest wish. I just want to go home. Some of the voices there from Ukraine
[47:35]marking four years of this ongoing bloody and brutal conflict. Well, let's return now to Washington where more than a dozen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have been invited by Democratic members
[47:46]of Congress to President Trump's State of the Union address. Have a listen. Today, the world will see Donald Trump have to face these survivors right there
[47:57]in the House gallery and answer for why ambassadors and princes have been arrested in other countries. But here in America, not a single investigation has
[48:08]been announced into the pedophiles and the predators of Epstein's horrific sex trafficking ring. He must answer for why the Department of Justice has still
[48:18]refused to release 3 million remaining files and why they continue the massive cover up of a depraved Epstein class. Virginia helped build a road for
[48:29]survivors to walk toward truth, toward dignity, toward justice. And we are here today to carry her torch down that road. We are asking Congress, the public, and
[48:40]every institution with the power to act, to carry that torch with us. And that brings me to why we are here, not only to speak, but to demand action. If we truly believe survivors deserve more
[48:51]than sympathy, if we truly believe justice should not depend on status, then we must put it into law. That is why we are calling on Congress to advance Virginia's law.
[49:03]Virginia's law is about saying clearly that the rules that protected abusers and traffickers for decades will no longer stand. It is about closing the gaps that powerful people exploit. It is
[49:14]about strengthening accountability. Surviv survivors are not forced to fight alone for years against the machine built to wear them down. It is not vengeance. It is not protection. It is
[49:24]prevention. And it is justice. And to anyone who thinks this moment can be reduced to a headline or a media cycle or even a Super Bowl moment for
[49:34]political theater, let me be clear. The only thing more powerful than hate is love. And this is not going away. We will not stop until the truth is faced
[49:46]and justice is pursued for Virginia, for her survivor sisters, and for every victim and survivor around the world who deserves to know that their lives are worth more than someone else's
[49:56]reputation. >> Let's go straight to our James Matthews who joins me live from Capitol Hill. And um James Virginia's brother um ending
[50:08]that press conference that we were just playing there and his her sister-in-law was there as well alongside some of the other survivors. In many ways, this is all part of the
[50:18]ongoing conversation that we've had about their call for accountability for for justice. >> It absolutely is Yalda. You know, I've
[50:28]been at a few of these news conferences. Um they are held on Capitol Hill every two or three weeks. They have been recently. Always very powerful, always
[50:39]impactful survivors speaking from the heart. And we heard it there, didn't we? Um they will be present inside the chamber when Donald Trump gives his
[50:49]state of the union. It will be fascinating to see how that chamber is populated. more than 40 Democrats saying that they will boycott it, go to
[50:59]alternative events, but representatives, Congress people, they can bring guests with them. And a number in that room, uh, they were presenting the guests that
[51:09]they will bring, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. And they spoke about how Donald Trump will look out and see their faces. they're talking about
[51:19]tonight as a night they said of strength, an indication, a manifestation of the fact that they aren't going away until they get the justice and
[51:29]accountability they feel that they need. So very powerful sentiments expressed in the past. Uh but what a night of political theater we have ahead. The
[51:40]night of the state of the union, Donald Trump's biggest television audience when he sits the country down tells Americans where he has brought them and where he
[51:49]is taking them. The speech expected to be an hour and more. He has said himself it will be a long speech. speaking on
[51:59]the economy. He'll touch on that on border, the immigration crackdown, economic performance, which he will talk up. But, you know, just in terms of the
[52:10]choreography, the cast, it will be fascinating. The men's ice hockey team, they've been invited. In the front row typically are the justices from the Supreme Court of Of course. Last year,
[52:21]Donald Trump was shaking their hands, patting them on the back, saying thank you to the Chief Justice Roberts. I wonder what the interaction, what the
[52:31]dynamic will be tonight given that they torpedoed his signature policy just a few days ago on tariffs. >> James, thank you so much uh for bringing us up to date then. So, what else is
[52:41]President Trump likely to cover in a speech that's likely to be a test run of the message Republicans will sell to voters ahead of November's midterm elections? Let's go straight to our Mark Stone. And Mark, just listening there to
[52:53]James talk about the fact that this is a chance for the US president to to tell the American people where he's brought them and where he's likely to take them.
[53:04]>> Yeah. And if you're a um a US politics geek like me or James, uh then this is this is kind of like um uh it's the big night. It's the night that uh that we want to look for all the different
[53:15]moments. It's a rare night where, and this is kind of inside baseball, but it's important, the cameras for one night only, are facing both ways. So, you get to see the reaction of the
[53:26]audience as well as the reaction as well as the sort of head-on shot of the president. Um, it's, you know, there have been so many moments over the years I've been looking back. Gerald Ford
[53:36]famously said, "I must say to you, the American people, that the state of the union is not good." Uh it was the night where Bill Clinton in in 1996 said the
[53:45]era of big government is over and George W. Bush in 2002 it was the the moment where he made that memorable speech saying states like these constitute an
[53:56]axis of evil. What will Donald Trump uh say today? Uh it was 2020 I think where famously Nancy Pelosi ripped up his speech. She was sitting directly behind
[54:07]him and she ripped up the speech. Look, beyond the stuff that James uh has been talking about, I think kind of the elephant in the room today. I mean, you haven't we we haven't mentioned it much on on our output over the course of the
[54:18]day. Iran, what is going on there? The biggest military buildup uh for 23 years. American military in the region. Trump is threatening to carry out a strike. Will he announce something
[54:30]tonight? There is speculation he might. Although this afternoon at a briefing at the White House, he he suggested to reporters that all the Iranians need to do is say, "We will never build a nuclear weapon." That is bizarre because
[54:42]the Iranians have been saying that all along. Believe them or not, they have been saying it. So Iran, a big focus. What will he say there? And then of course Ukraine. I was looking back at his speech last year and he said on
[54:53]Ukraine uh that it was close to being solved. Well, we are a year on, it's no closer. >> Yeah, absolutely. He famously said, "I'll end that war in 24 hours during the campaign." I've got a minute left,
[55:04]Mark. But of course, he also wants to reassure Americans on the cost of living and and where he is with that. Look, I I think the speech will either
[55:15]be the one he wants to give or it'll be the one that his advisers want him to give. It'll either be him following the auto quue or it'll be him freewheeling. If he follows the auto quue, it'll be a
[55:26]dull speech. It will not be the Trump that we all uh that made him so popular, the populist leader, but it'll be the one that talks about affordability, the thing Americans care about. If he
[55:35]freewheels, it'll be, you know, the Trump we're all used to. He'll be insulting people in the audience, the Supreme Court justices, all the rest of it. That'll be the one to bring the popcorn out for. >> Yeah, absolutely. I believe we'll
[55:47]probably see a bit of that. Mark, thank you so much. And there'll be live coverage of Trump's State of the Union here on Sky News at 2 a.m. That's all from me and the team. We'll have Anna
[55:58]next with the rap. Good night.