This week marks the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
For Wall Street Journal correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov, that means two years of stories of resilience and determination. He tells those stories in his new book “Our Enemies Will Vanish.”
Today, On Point: A Ukraine-born journalist on his country’s ‘battle for survival.’
Guest
Yaroslav Trofimov, chief foreign-affairs correspondent at the Wall Street Journal. Author of “Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine’s War of Independence.”
Also Featured
Sergiy Stakhovsky, former professional tennis player from Ukraine.
Transcript
Part I
DEBORAH BECKER: This is On Point. I’m Deborah Becker in for Meghna Chakrabarti. It was two years ago this week that marked the start of Russia’s war with Ukraine. That’s when the world began to see more of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He appeared outside the presidential headquarters in Ukraine shortly after Russia first attacked in February of 2022. In a 30-second selfie video posted on social media, Zelenskyy had a clear message.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: [Tape] (SPEAKING UKRAINIAN)
BECKER: He’s saying, “Our soldiers are here. The citizens are here. We’re all here. We will defend our independence. That’s how it will go. Glory to Ukraine.” A few days later in his State of the Union address, President Biden pledged U.S. support to Ukraine.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: [Tape] Six days ago, Russia’s Vladimir Putin sought to shake the very foundations of the free world, thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways. But he badly miscalculated. He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead, he met with a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined. He met the Ukrainian people.
BECKER: Is that wall of strength still strong? And how has Ukraine been able to hold its own these past two years? What was predicted to be just a short battle where Russian military power would quickly overtake its smaller neighbor is now a…
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