Summary
Overview
Alistair Campbell reports from Kyiv on the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, providing ground-level insights into Ukrainian resilience, corruption concerns, EU accession challenges, and the changing role of American leadership. He traveled with EU Commissioner Marta Kos, meeting with government officials, civil society leaders, and citizens, while observing President Zelensky's memorial ceremony at the Maidan. The discussion reveals Ukraine's determination to defeat Putin, frustration with being praised for resilience rather than receiving concrete support, and Europe's emerging leadership role as US influence wanes.
Journey to Kyiv and First Impressions
Campbell describes his journey to Kyiv via Poland and overnight train, arriving to a packed schedule of meetings from 5am to 10pm. He observes the jarring contrast between normal street life and sudden reminders of war damage, including cratered buildings where children died. The scale of Russian attacks on infrastructure becomes clear, with energy plants destroyed leaving 350,000 without power in freezing conditions, as Putin uses cold as a weapon.
- Campbell traveled through Poland on a sleeper train, arriving in Kyiv at 5am for intensive meetings with government, diplomacy, and civil society leaders
- First meeting started at 5am, last finished after 10pm, demonstrating the intense work rate required
- Energy plant bombed nearby deprived 350,000 people of power in freezing cold, with Putin using cold as a murder weapon
- Media interest has waned after four years, making it harder to get coverage of ongoing attacks
" All they want to do is kill Zelensky. He is the number one target of the entire Russian machine. "
" You're walking around the place and it's fine and people are just getting around their business and then suddenly someone will point out to you the top of a building that you just walked by that has been completely cratered and they'll tell you that some kids got killed there. "
Zelensky's Security and Leadership Under Pressure
Campbell describes being extremely close to President Zelensky at the Maidan memorial ceremony, noting the extraordinary security arrangements and visible stress on his face. The level of protection reflects the constant assassination threat, with Zelensky living under intense security for four years. Despite criticism from some quarters about corruption and pace of reform, Campbell found no one suggesting an alternative leader would be better, though civil society activists push for faster anti-corruption measures.
- Zelensky appeared visibly stressed at close range during the Maidan ceremony, bearing the weight of four years under maximum security
- The security level is phenomenal and paranoid due to constant Russian assassination attempts using advanced drones
- Poll shows Zelensky is the most respected leader in the world (in US polling), while Trump ranks 16th
- No one Campbell met suggested an alternative leader would be better than Zelensky, despite some criticisms
" When you see him close up, you just you feel the pressure and the stress. When you see the level of security surrounding him, it is you just think, well, living like that. But you've had times in your life when you've had security doing it for like a few days can be make you feel stressed. Doing it like for four years with a level of security that is so phenomenal. "
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