in a civil manner. washington journal, live seven eastern saturday morning, on c-span or on c-span now our free mobile app. join the conversation with your phone calls facebook comments, , text messages, and tweets. >> c-span says unfiltered coverage of the u.s. response to the russian invasion of ukraine. bringing the latest from the president and other white house officials, the pentagon, and the state department as well as congress, we also have international perspectives from united nations and statements from foreign leaders. all from the c-span networks, the c-span now free mobile app and c-span.org/ukraine. our web resource page we can watch the latest videos on demand and follow tweets from journalist on the ground. go to c-span.org/ukraine. >> now ukraine's investor to the

u.s. talks about the way the country is preparing for the next russian offensive and was still needs from the u.s. and other allies to fight the russian invaders. this is 30 minutes. >> hello everybody and welcome to washington post live, my name is greg miller, i am an investigative reporter for the washington post and today we are joined by ambassador of -- oksana markarova she is here to talk to us about the increasing situation in ukraine, the rolled denies states in nato allies are playing or should be playing in this conflict and of course these -- the course of these terrible events going forward. thank you so much for going joint -- for joining us. >> thank you so much for having me. >> i want to remind everyone in the audience that we want to

hear from you on these programs, and asked that you can send question to us by tweeting at us live. let's get started with the news of the day. it was the confirmation that ukrainian missiles had struck the russian warship moscow, the flagship vessel for the russian fleet in the black seed that now has sunk and is at the bottom of the sea. what can you tell us about what happened with these events and what weapons were used and how ukraine achieved this? >> i can disclose -- there is not a lot i can disclose at this stage, i sure there'll will be a lot of information and the details about every aspect of this war, but just want to repeat whether -- what our

president says all the time. we will fight in the air, on the ground, in the sea, the russian fleet is a very important part of the russian offensive. it has made deadly attacks on our cities. we will be fighting everywhere and we will fight to do everything sometimes it is possible in order to defend our country in order to destroy the enemy increment. this is been a remarkable, very important increment for the russian armed forces. i am very glad it will not be able to shoot at our peaceful cities anymore -- people anymore. fleet were further away from the ukrainian coastline as a result

of the success of that strike. ambassador, these are extraordinary times. they are trying times. can i ask you to begin our conversation tonight by walking us through what your date is like, your day to day life as ambassador. who are you in communication with, who are you meeting with among u.s. officials. what is it like for you right now. amb. markarova: getting up is eight interesting question right now. sometimes waking up is difficult in kyiv. since the beginning of this attack, again i want to remind

you that russia attacked us, they illegally occupy crimea. we had a difficult time and lust more than 15,000 -- lost more than 50,000 people. our lives have changed forever. i am working around the clock. i wake up pretty early and that is how the day starts. sometimes my day does not end. it just 24/7 and it is not only

me, it is all the team here and all the diplomats around the world and every ukrainian. >> we showed a brief clip at the start of our program tonight where you were talking about the changing complexion of the war. the success that ukrainian forces had in defending the capital city kyiv. indications now are russia forces are turning their attention east to donbas. can you update us on that situation and tell us what to expect? how does this new direction from the russian military alter the complexion of the war and alter the requirements for your country and its forces. how might they fair defending a

different part of the country now? amb. markarova: if we go back to february 24, a lot of analysts predicted that it would be a short come up war for russia. -- victorious war for russia. obviously that did not happen. because of the great president that we have, because of the armed forces that defended our country. but also because of the ukrainian people. it is not just the armed forces. it is essentially everybody. the ordinary ukrainians who fight and who said no to the russian invasion. then we had the first months of very brutal shelling.

after we liberated the areas north of kyiv after the russians realize they cannot encircle kyiv. we were able to liberate those areas. unfortunately, it gives me special pain to talk about it. this is where my home is. i hear about the neighbors who were lost, about the schools where we went.

the operational strategy which military people collect, -- call it, on a daily basis to keep attacking ukraine. for more than 22 days without food and under constant the tax. -- attacks. if i start naming all the cities and villages that are under attack. what we see now from intelligence is that we see russians are regrouping and they are prepared for this new phase of the war.

not only east, but also southeast. and putin is trying to recruit more people and tried to get more of the deadly weapons in order to try to create a victory. and try to occupy more of ukraine and killed more of our people. we are asking all of our friends and partners to provide us with everything they can as quickly as they can, so that this stage of the war which is going to be very difficult, it is already very difficult, that we will win, because we need to win. you see what happens to ukrainians in the territories where russians occupy. regardless of what we believe, regardless of the gender, age,

civilians are killed, raped, exterminated. it is a genocide. >> ambassador, at the start of your answer you touched on the personal connection that you have to some of the more horrific scenes that the world is what tensing -- went missing. -- which to sing. you said you had a picture of a broken heart. my home before i move to washington, d.c., it could have beat me -- could have been at me on those streets. can you talk as ambassador about

how these atrocities have altered the conversations you are having with the biden administration, but the u.s. congress come out with the u.s. government and its allies. -- with the u.s. congress, and with the u.s. government and its allies. amb. markarova: journalist in ukraine who were there doing their duty and showing the truth to the world. everybody who believes in democracy and who believes in free press has an opportunity to see that truth with their own eyes. i think it changed the perception. it is one thing to hear about it especially when russians are lying about everything.

they lied that there was some kind of referendum and the military personnel were not present during it. and they lied it wasn't them occupying the country. the same way they kept lined up for all of those years that they were not going to attack us. and the same way they keep lying now. that they are not killing civilians. the fact that our friends here in the united states also see it . it allows us to work better together, more efficient. we are very grateful for all of the support, especially in the area of bringing russia to justice.

we have 10 more countries that opened individual investigations. we also have a lot of support but test force created here in the u.s. i think showing the truth and seeing it for what it is allows all of the people to support not only ukraine, but the principles that the united nations was found and upcountry for to decide for itself what we want to do. also to bring into account

everybody who was responsible for this. from the administration to every commander, soldier, financial institution. everybody who was silent when these atrocities were committed. >> i can see the backdrop you chose for tonight that that is something you want to keep in front of the public and keep reminding them of what is happening and what has transpired in ukraine. if your government is going to call president putin a war criminal and i think you have called for him and other russian leaders to face a tribunal for war crimes. to what extent does that complicate any prospect of negotiating a piece here -- peac

e here. and how do you see this playing out? where and how would leaders be health accountable for such -- held accountable for such atrocities? amb. markarova: even though we had the right to crimea, we never planned any offensive. we worked day and night diplomatic solutions on how to restore our territorial integrity. we established a crimea platform so that we can discuss what would be a diplomatic solution to reestablish our territorial

integrity. we always try to negotiate. ukraine is a very peaceful people. we do not like to be at war with anyone. we prefer to discuss negotiations and find a solution. but of course, as we saw 90 years ago, the genocide that was done by russia when they denied us. and a lot of people died. we have to be armed. we have to be peaceful but able to defend ourselves.

our president said we are ready to negotiate. as soon as russia said they were ready to negotiate, we sent negotiators to try to negotiate to try to find a way to return to peace. to negotiate does not mean to surrender. after seeing the atrocities in bucha, and is harder to negotiate. it is russia who continued to double down. it took them on instead of focusing on negotiations.

at the same time, ukraine is still is ready to negotiate. but never ready to surrender. >> negotiation, we will stay on that topic a little bit longer. what concessions could ukraine be willing to make at this point ? losing any portion of ukraine's territory, is that except double -- acceptable under any circumstance going forward? can you make arguers understand what might be required here to achieve peace? amb. markarova: why do we have to think about concessions that

ukraine has to make. ukraine is a sovereign country. ukraine is within our recognized borders. something that is sacred to us and to the united nations charter. we did not invade anyone. it was rough that attacked ukraine. -- it was russia that attacked ukraine. the question is, what is the world ready to do in order to help us to defend ukraine. we should not even be discussing what concessions we are ready to make. all of us have to get to go there and discuss what it is we, all civilized nations, ready to do in order to restore world

order. at the beginning, 141 countries condemned russia's aggression. telling russia to stop any type of military operations they announced. russia has to do that. we see on the ground that this is not happening and that russia continues the war. the question is, is it ok for everyone else that in the 21st century, the independent people, democratic country like ukraine can be attacked by a very large neighbor and nuclear power and there will be no consequences.

the example that i like to make, which might not be a good one, but if someone is in the middle of the street and trying to kill a person, do you try to give up a leg to make peace? there is no choice bus -- for us. we will fight for every inch of territory and every person. it is my our president from the very beginning was ready to negotiate. for president zaleski --

zelenskyy, he is fighting for every ukrainian. >> let's pick up on something you just said. what is the world ready to do to defend its territory, its way of life? the biden administration announced a new package of many hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to ukraine. i would guess this is the very center of your professional focus right now. can you talk about what is in that package? is it enough? what are the biggest gaps between what you think ukraine needs and what it is getting from the united states and its allies. amb. markarova: great question. there are three priorities.

number one, military support. any weapons that we can get. we from the beginning set we do not ask for any boots on the ground. we have very devoted armed forces and if they are not getting tired. they are showing such a bravery under difficult circumstances. we have people signing up to be defenders. we need help with a continuous supply of all kind of equipment, fire and everything else. -- fighter power and everything else.

we need more because the enemy is so much bigger and so brutal. but we are very grateful for all of the support. i have to state the amount of support we have from the administration and from everyone in the united states is remarkable. the second is sanctions. this is very important. as important as the help with weapons on the battlefield. we believe that painful sanctions will be able to stop russia. there has been a lot of effort made by the united states, with

the embargo on oil and gas, financial institutions. providing effective sanctions, but there is still more we can do together. we can get to the russian banks through the sanctions. especially to the industry that contributes to the war machine must be sanctioned. there should be more for everyone who makes decisions to continue this war, to attack, and to allow all of these atrocities. the third is all other kinds of support. financial, humanitarian, energy support. any war is horrible, but we

already have more than 13 million ukrainians who had to flee from the war zone. they had to leave their houses, homes and loved ones. primarily women and children. but there are also a big portion, more than 8 million who are inside ukraine. it is a full-fledged war. russia is specifically targeting the -- not only houses, schools, hospitals, but also infrastructure, our companies. in order to sustain the effort, in order to continue fighting, we need also all kinds of support. i know it is a lot the best.

i know we would appreciate everyone for being such a true friend and such a strategic friend and ally to ukraine right now. it is also that the majority of people here and in europe that this fight is much bigger than just fighting for ukraine. if we do not stop this up to cryptic russian regime -- autocratic russian regime, then this will be one of the great wars that we swore in 1941, never again. >> ambassador, this has been a fascinating conversation. i want to thank you for spending time with us. helping us better understand this conflict and the challenges

that you face and that we all face going forward. thank you so much for being with us. amb. markarova: thank you very much. and again, thank you for being the agent of the right and the truth. without the trick being known to everyone, it would be very difficult -- without the truth be known to everyone, it would be very difficult to see what this war is. thank you. >> i heartily agree with you there. it reminds me of a slogan, democracy dies in darkness. i want to thank all of our viewers who have been with us today for this important program.

thank you very much. >> >> c-span's "washington journal." every day we take your calls on air. we discuss policy issues that impact you. coming up saturday morning we talk about the biden administration's effort to counteract inflation.

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who ain't -- who hang onto their every word looking to us to show them who we can in should be. that is why every day we try to be the kind of people, the kind of leaders that your children deserve, whether you agree with our politics or not. [applause] >> 245:00 p.m. eastern, white house historical association hosts a conference. first ladies, impact and influence, interpreting slavery and race at historic sites. exploring the american story. watch "american history tv," on c-span2. >> now, foreign policy and russian scholars talk about the invasion of -- russia's invasion of