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It's crazy to see, you see clear skies ahead, but you know
that that airspace there is in Ukraine and there's war raging.
You know, Ukraine is at war with Russia.
EXPLOSION
You know, I think if somebody had said to me 25 years after leaving
the military that I'd be going into an active war zone in Europe
on a NATO border, you'd almost never believe it.
On the 24th of February 2022, Russia launched air strikes across Ukraine.
Followed by a full scale land invasion.
It was a massive escalation of an armed conflict
that has been going on since 2014.
And after seven million civilians fled the country,
it led to the biggest refugee crisis in Europe
since the Second World War.
BABY CRIES
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has become known
around the world as the face of this war.
He's been a uniting force for the people, refusing to leave even
when there were threats to his life.
I'm travelling into Ukraine to interview the president.
To be asked by President Zelenskyy
to come and meet him and talk to him
is obviously a real privilege.
But I suppose ultimately what I, what I really want is to find
out what he's, what he's like, kind of away from the,
away from the podium.
And also to see what it's really like inside Ukraine at the moment
and what the people, what the people are really actually going through.
I've served with the British military and spent a life
working in survival.
But now I will be learning from Ukrainians about what it takes
to survive in a war zone.
PHONE DINGS
Here we go, guys.
Bruce. So Bruce is one of our team who,
one of our security team who's gone into country beforehand.
He's been there a couple of days just to set things up and make sure
everything's ready for us.
But he wants to give me a little update, see what he says.
Hey, gang. So we just had information that's come in through our intel sources.
It's not a good picture, I'm afraid.
It appears that Kyiv might be struck by missiles in the next 24 hours,
so it's not looking particularly good.
Who's giving you that update?
How accurate do you think that sort of intel is? That comes
from a government source.
Pretty high up.
So, we hope it doesn't happen.
But, you know, better to be prepared for not.
OK. Thanks, Bruce. Well done. Stay safe.
OK. Take care, cheers, mate. Bye.
So, yeah, guys, I guess definitely changes the dynamic a little bit
if we've got the rocket attack going in today.
Which is definitely a little bit worrying.
Ukrainian airspace is currently closed.
So after flying into Poland, I'm making the 950km car
journey to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
I can't travel during curfew hours,
so tonight I will be staying in the city of Lviv.
But first, I need to cross the border.
OK, so approaching the border, the all-important letter
from the president's office saying we invite you to be here,
and then what's called a Faraday case, which is basically a sealed
case that blocked all mobile phone signals.
So, guys, phones should go in these and then that blocks
the signals so there's no trace of who's coming
in and out of the country, which is what they asked us to do.
So phones are in that.
OK, here we go.
Well, team, we're into Ukraine.
Well, whatever happens, guys, over the next three days, primarily,
stay safe, have each other's backs,
and we'll get in and done and out safely.
OK. Time to meet our translator at this gas station.
If everything's gone to plan.
Hi.
How are you doing? You OK?
Hi.
So soon into my journey
and already there are tank traps and sandbags, stark reminders
of the ongoing conflict.
The start of the war, it must have been scary.
And how have you been this last year?
Really? Yeah.
Has everybody lost friends?
Yeah. So hard.
Always.
So this is a clip that's just been posted on Twitter saying,
we understand that terrorists are preparing new strikes and as long
as they have missiles, they won't stop.
Our mutual assistance is one of the elements of protection
and of our great strength.
Yeah, I mean, he does these every night and they're incredible
and inspiring, and the nation needs it.
Russia has started a new tactic in the war.
Only last week, cities across the country were hit by missiles
and drones targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
It's triggering rolling blackouts and causing the heating system
to fail in people's homes.
Just as winter approaches.
Before meeting the president tomorrow, I want to see first-hand
the destructive impact the war has had on the country.
On my route to Kyiv,
I'll be stopping off in the area around the town of Irpin.
It became the front line of the fighting during the early
weeks of the conflict.
As Putin's invasion of Ukraine began, Russian paratroopers stormed
the strategic airport at Hostomel.
Which is only 15km from Kyiv.
In an attempt to seize the capital and remove
President Zelenskyy from power,
Russian forces attacked the surrounding towns
of Bucha and Irpin.
After a month of fierce fighting, the Russians were repelled
by the Ukrainian military and local volunteers.
But this came at a cost on both sides of the conflict.
Bad stuff has happened here.
All of these buildings and windows shot out.
Roofs gone.
Burnt out.
Broken down.
Welcome to Russian occupation.
Wow. Look at this.
Just so much destruction.
So crazy.
DOG BARKS
Just whole apartment blocks flattened.
Probably all of these buildings had people living in them.
It's like ground zero, wherever you look.
It's hard to imagine the impact all of this is having on the people
of Ukraine and how this country will rebuild itself once
the conflict is over.
I arrive in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, the final destination
on my journey to meet the president.
The war is still raging on the battlefront to the east
of the country.
Despite facing electricity blackouts and being under the constant threat
of missile attacks, life in the city somehow carries on.
For the residents, reminders of the war are hard to escape.
Wow. It's quite a symbol, isn't it?
Old Russian tanks burnt out.
Done.
Wow.
First up. Good job.
We're all alive.
The missiles that were predicted, Monday didn't come.
Tuesday didn't come.
And today's Wednesday, the last day they're expected to come.
So, not getting complacent, but we're here.
The whole plan is on.
And now Scotty, a few security things to go over.
Scotty. Right, guys, this is our operational briefing for today.
Over the last week, the intelligence has been growing and growing
to suggest that there are some attacks that are going
to be imminent - rockets, drones or maybe missiles.
Well, that's increased even more now.
In the next 12 hours, we're looking at an imminent attack.
So a heightened level of awareness is essential.
Today, we take all of our equipment.
That's our PPE, OK? Our helmets in the vehicle, our vests, of course...
..in the vehicle so we can react to any strike. Stays in the vehicle
and make sure everyone's got their trauma kit, their first aid
kit, their trauma packed in their rucksacks.
The biggest thing is situational awareness.
This is a war zone.
Stay switched on. Stay alert.
Happy. Ready to go.
Let's do it, team, let's do it.
OK, let's go.
It's weird being in a city where missile strikes are sort
of meant to be imminent.
Not like in the next week, like today.
We just need to get through the next couple of hours.
Definitely apprehensive.
I've been lucky to interview some amazing people over the years
from the sitting US President to Prime Minister of India.
But I think this is different.
You're in an active war zone.
You're with someone who's probably the most hunted man on the planet
by the most fearsome regime on the planet.
And even when we were planning this, the government guy said, Bear,
we just we live day to day.
We really want to do this, but no guarantees.
We reached the checkpoint
which guards the presidential district.
Here we go.
SOLDIER SPEAKS
Yeah. OK.
OK, let's, let's hold the filming for a second.
To get to see Zelenskyy, we must clear multiple security checks.
The president is the ultimate high profile target for assassination,
so is protected by a large military presence.
What is that? What does he carry?
Anti-drone.
I suppose you know you're super vulnerable, aren't you?
Drone, come in.
Let's hope we don't get that.
We're going to go on a walk around the city so the president
can show me how the people are coping during this conflict.
But I also want to find out how it is affecting him.
THEY SHOUT RESPONSE
Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasn't always the leader of a nation at war.
His life started out very differently.
Working as a comedy actor on television, Zelenskyy even appeared
in a series where he played a schoolteacher who suddenly
becomes the president.
In 2019, he decided to run to become the real president of Ukraine.
And he won by a landslide victory.
Hi, sir. You're welcome, Bear.
Thank you. Pleasure to meet you.
Nice to meet you. Privilege to be here.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
You've been so busy this morning, haven't you? Yeah.
Not only this.
Yeah. Every day. Every day.
Very busy, yes. But anyway. Yeah. All of us busy,
but we have to find time.
Of course. Of course. Well, thank you.
Well, I think the plan was we're going to take a little walk?
We can walk. I love to walk.
Yeah. Yes, because such guests as you,
I can have possibility to walk.
Very good. Because I know you've had, we got the warning that there
were imminent missile strikes potentially into Kyiv the last few days.
So... It can be today, it can be tomorrow,
it can be, you know, our neighbours, if we can use such word
for these persons, anyway,
so it can be any day, any day they want and we are ready.
First of all, people are ready.
That is the main thing.
And you live day to day?
We live for the future, not day to day, for the future.
We really believe in our victory. Yeah.
And that's why we live. Where shall we go?
Shall we go this way? Yes, we can.
Yeah. OK.
How many days you, you're here or already here?
We've had a long drive.
Long drive. Yeah, yeah.
And we arrived in Kyiv last night.
Yeah. So two days in country.
So what were you like when you were growing up as a little kid?
I think like all the kids, maybe with a little bit more power
and speed because I was always running not to waste time.
Yeah. So you're always moving.
Always moving, yeah.
Is that your, is that your character still like...? I think, yes.
Yeah. I think yes.
And what was, what was your dream as a kid?
Did you have a dream, a job?
I think each morning I had another dream.
But you didn't want to be an actor as a kid?
No. No. No. Really? No, no.
So, Olena, did you meet her when you were young?
Yes, when we've been 17.
We love each other.
I think my wife, I think, is my best friend.
I read that she was she was nervous about when you decided
to run for president. Yeah.
She was like, "Really?"
Yes. She didn't want, like,
she understood that our family will not have the same life
like it was before. Mm.
Do you get to see your family a little bit or is it impossible?
Sometimes. I have, for example, four, six hours to be with them...
That's so little. It's so hard for you.
It's very hard for my son. Mm.
Because you know, this age.
Ah... So how old is he now? He's nine.
Nine. So it's tough for him, yeah.
It's really tough situation because he needs father.
Yeah. And now he doesn't have enough...
..enough warm moments. Yeah.
What do you say to him?
How do you explain the situation?
He's in the soldier form.
Really? He loves it. Really?
Oh, yes.
It's all... He's ready.
..all, he's always ready.
This war also changed our people and changed our children.
Yeah. They are not childrens. They are adults.
Kids all through the country,
I guess they have had to grow up so fast.
Yes. And our children.
He has grown up very fast.
Really.
My son, he, you know, said to me that I'm strong, I'm OK.
Do your job.
Yes. But at this moment, you see, you know,
with a...
HE SPEAKS UKRAINIAN
And you see with the eyes of your son.
And you understand that he's a child. Mm.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah. We go. We go.
Across the country, Ukrainians have had to adapt to a new way
of living since the conflict began.
Businesses try to stay open when there is no electricity.
Even operations are being done under torchlight.
GROANING
People refuse to give up despite losing so many loved ones.
Whilst I was in Kyiv, I wanted to find out how its citizens
could be so resilient during these uncertain times.
So I arranged to meet local resident Elina Polyakova.
Hi, Elina. Hi. Nice to meet you. How are you doing?
That's OK. Nice to see you.
So warm hands. Yeah, good, good.
You're surviving...
..sub-zero Kyiv?
You're OK? Yes.
Elina works in the city as a journalist covering the war.
Even though they're meant to be missiles coming at any minute,
it also feels like, you know, cars are in the street.
Everyone is trying to live a normal life as well.
But you still have the threat and you have the blackouts.
How is everyday life at the moment in Kyiv compared to maybe
in the east?
Well, in Kyiv we have theatres open.
We have concerts every evening.
Even with just candles, you know, we have bars open.
We have different restaurants.
They buy generators.
If I have no electricity at my home, I can go to the nearest cafe
and work from there.
So it's about community.
We become only stronger with that.
Putin is trying to break everyone apart through the bombing,
but actually it's bringing people together. Is that right?
Yes, I think that he thought that with these bombs,
with these blackouts, he will win.
But we are a free country.
We are a democratic country, and we want our freedom.
We also have suddenly an air-raid siren will go off.
And then what happens? If there air-raid sirens will be now?
Well, I think that nothing... because people get used
to that. I go to the shelter only when I hear the explosions.
We just understand that if I should die today, then I would die today.
Like trusting fate? Yes. Just like that.
Because it's hard to be scared every minute of your life.
You are a very brave, lady.
Thank you very much. Shall we have a coffee? I see a cafe there.
Yeah, it will be warmer there. Get warm, shall we do that?
Yes. Let's go.
Whoa, whoa! It will be strange
to die from the car, you know, in Ukraine.
That would be bad.
Come on. You're very law abiding.
I like it, Elina.
HE LAUGHS
Elina's family live just 20km from the current front line.
Tell me about, tell me about your journey.
What's happened with you?
At the beginning of the war, my dad go, went to the armed
forces of Ukraine.
He was 56 years old, but he decided to protect his country
because everything that he did was for me, for his children,
for, for next generation.
He and two his colleagues,
they blown up at mine.
And his colleagues told my mother that there is 99% that he's dead
and 1% that he is a prisoner of war.
And she, I think that she still believes that he's a prisoner.
And she has hope that after the war, he came back home.
But there is no possibility that he will be alive.
I'm so sorry, Elina.
Tell me his full name.
Ihor Polyakov.
He and Mum asked about grandchildren.
He...
He will never be a grandfather.
I'm so sorry, Elina.
Losing, losing your dad is so hard.
I lost my dad when I was younger, and, you know, his presence
never leaves me.
Your, your dad's never going to leave your shoulder.
I hope so.
I shouldn't cry.
I promised myself that I would not cry.
You have to cry. Crying is so important.
Yeah. We will cry,
after our victory.
And it will be the tears of happiness.
I hope. Yeah.
Thank you. What a lady you are.
What a lady.
Brave heart.
Elina is not alone.
There are tens, hundreds of thousands people
across the country with similar stories
of regular people who have given their everything,
given their life for their country, for their freedom,
for their family, for their home.
You know, just...it's a country at the moment that's steeped in tears.
But also courage.
I mean, this last year has been like nothing you could have imagined.
If you go back a year ago, a few months before the invasion,
did you ever envision that the Russians actually would invade?
There are people who really didn't believe,
and even at the at the moment of full-scale invasion
didn't believe. Mm-hm.
They really counted on it that our people will run,
everybody will run, the economy will fall down.
So that was their strategy.
Yeah. And those first few weeks, months of the war...
You know, we've been to Irpin, you know, where they were,
just on the outskirts of Kyiv. Yes.
But you were here.
I mean, those must have been terrifying times.
What I thought, "No, we have to be here,
"join everybody, all the people, to fight.
When you were offered by Western leaders a chance to escape
and you came out with the phrase, "I need bullets, not a ride." -
that's become, like, such a phrase. What were you feeling at that time?
At that time?
I... It was strange for me, really.
I'm not... I'm not feel that I'm a hero.
And now every day you are speaking to world leaders on the big stage.
Looking back over this year, what have you learnt about dealing
at that level with people, human to human, country to country?
What have you learnt?
First of all, that the people are the same, the society is the same.
It doesn't matter what language you speak,
you see the eyes and you understand what's going on.
Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter from what country you are.
You love the same things.
You hate the same things, the same values. Yeah.
We love children.
We love our home.
And tell me some of the...
..some of the horrors of what Ukraine has really suffered
at the hands of the Russians.
Well, first of all, people really, really didn't...
HE SPEAKS UKRAINIAN Wait?
Expect. Huh? Didn't expect.
..didn't expect that humanity can do it,
that they will come and begin just to kill.
And this first day, they wanted just to kill.
Once the Russians were pushed back from towns and cities
that had been occupied, the true horrors of war were revealed.
Places like Bucha and Izium had mass unmarked graves,
revealing signs of torture and execution.
But other alleged crimes also took place.
They raped children.
They... They wanted mothers, fathers to see it.
So it was terrible.
And this was shock, really.
And it's...and there's so many war crimes under investigation now,
aren't there, and stories of children and detention camps.
People always ask, "How many people have been killed by Russians"?
And I really say that nobody knows,
because, er, when we de-occupy
the new village, the new territory where, for example, 1,000 people
lived before the war,
when you come there, you see 20 people.
You don't know where are they. Some of them went, some of them,
mostly children, been deporched...
deported.
And a lot of people... Children deported? Yes.
To where? To Russia? Thousands to Russia. Thousands?
What for you has been
the darkest, hardest moment
in the last nine months?
The hardest moment.
I think the first day.
How have the Ukrainian people reacted?
Great. Great honour.
How they strong, how really,
when Russians attacked our people and Russians thought
that if they will attack more and more, more,
our people will be shocked and will afraid.
But it was... the result was opposite.
Really? The more they fight, the more they attacked us,
the more strong our people began and became. Right. Yeah.
On that first day of the war,
it was feared that the Ukrainian military
would not be strong enough to hold off the Russians.
So President Zelenskyy introduced a martial law, banning men
between the ages of 18 to 60 from leaving the country.
Whilst they were not forced to,
many signed up voluntarily to join the armed forces...
..and begun their training to learn how to fight.
I wanted to hear first-hand from citizens
who enlisted in the Army.
So yesterday, whilst in Irpin, I met up with a soldier.
I think he's all the way at the end. You see him?
Olexander fought in the early battles
that took place in his hometown.
Hey, Olexander. Hello.
How are you? Nice to see you.
You doing OK? Yeah. Yeah. Thank you.
This is...this was your home?
It was my home.
It was destroyed...by Russians.
Yeah, but now we try to rebuild it.
And were you guys, were you home when it was shelled?
No, I wasn't in position to save our city from occupants.
What happened during those, those weeks?
So this, this whole area was the front line?
Yeah. Yeah. Like, frontline. Incredible.
So on the first day of the war, were you a soldier beforehand,
or did you start on the day of the war?
But it is amazing that a country is, like, mobilised, like, overnight
and you're given arms and you're asked to fight
and you've got to figure it out. Yeah. Yeah.
That's amazing. Well, you're a scout.
Yeah. Yeah. Amazing.
All my family, scout. Yeah. I have two children. Yeah.
As the Chief Ambassador for World Scouting,
it's always an honour for me to meet a fellow scout.
And how are your family now?
So now she is, she is back in the town?
Yeah. Yeah, she's now here.
Can we...can we meet her?
I think so, yeah. Yeah? Yeah.
Shall we go? We can do it today.
My son, his name's Adrian.
Adrian. Adrian. My daughter, she is scout too.
And is she here?
She is 12 and now, she with my grandmother.
OK. Yes. Great.
Hey.
Hi. Nice to meet you. You doing OK?
Yeah. Hey, who's this? Is this Adrian?
Well, you're a scout. You can give me a left handshake.
Well done. Well done. You doing all right?
Staying warm?
So when did you come back to Ukraine?
In the end of May. Of the May. Yeah.
And why did you come back?
Erm, It's really hard to live abroad.
I want to live here.
And you're pleased you're back?
It's like, erm...
New puzzle of your life because your friends, your family,
your life, your home, everything was destroyed. Hm.
Now I need to...
Rebuild it. Rebuild it. Yeah.
And how do your children...
how have they reacted to everything?
First reaction, I think it was shock.
And for our daughter, it was very hard because she realised
that her father...
..he is alive. but it can be...
..tomorrow. Yeah.
What do you say to Adrian about life?
What's happening? How do you explain it?
And that's hard... hard to explain.
You think Ukraine can win this?
Yes. We have no other choice.
I think you guys are amazing.
I got a little present for you.
When we're walking here, I always carry with me...
something from the Scouts.
Because you never know when you're going to meet us.
It was surprise for you! Yeah, yeah, it was a surprise.
Yeah, but I always, I always carry these.
And this, what I have, is the newest scout badge.
Hmm! And it's for you guys because it's a never-give-up badge.
Which is you. Which is you.
Which is Adrian. Yeah?
OK. So there you go, Adrian.
There you go. That's for you. Your never-give-up scout badge.
You've earned it. You've earned it.
Thank you. Yeah.
MUM WHISPERS TO ADRIAN
Thank you.
I have a small present for you too.
I love it! Victory. Victory tea. Every Englishman loves tea!
I will drink it with pride. Thank you, guys.
Family is everything, eh?
As it stands in November,
military counter offensives have helped Ukraine to take back half
the territory it lost to Russia at the start of the war,
but at a heavy price.
Cities that were besieged for months have now been liberated
back to the people of Ukraine.
CROWDS RESPOND
But now that Ukraine is reclaiming ground
how are you doing this?
We have to. We don't have, you know, just we don't have another way
and we don't want to have a way out
and we don't want to live with their flag.
All we defend, we love it.
They don't love it. They hate it.
And, er, that has never been their homeland,
never been their land.
I met a lady yesterday...
Here? Yeah, and she...
Her husband was a businessman.
February 24th became a soldier.
She and her children go to Italy, and now she's come back.
She says, "I want to be... I want to be here".
I know all my, you know, some friends and their wives
went from the beginning of full scale invasion.
They...all of them came back.
Well, I think I've learned that just in the few days
here of how...
..Ukrainians love Ukraine. Love Ukraine very much.
And there is a power to that.
That really saved Ukraine.
Yeah. This attitude to the country, the people attitude.
But now that Russia is losing,
they're now targeting civilian infrastructure to try and,
you know, we're going into Ukrainian winter
snow on the ground, minus five degrees. It's going to get cold.
It's difficult.
It's really very difficult to live without electricity.
And because of they taking to energy network
is also you will live not only without electricity, without water.
A lot of challenges. Winter, it's... My opinion,
I think that winter is the second part of this war.
Surviving winter? Yes, surviving winter.
really, really is very difficult period.
And it will be difficult and all our people are ready.
But we'll see because we know that Russia will not stop.
Winter survival is hard.
Yes, but only three months.
Only three months? There you go. You're right.
Beautiful park. Great park. Do you get to walk much like this?
No, no, no. I don't...
This is good, yeah?
PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY CHUCKLES
Winter survival. Winter survival.
You know, the best survival advice I ever got given for surviving
in the winter is stay together. One plus one
equals five, you know? You are right. Hold each other.
So the government is putting these warming...
Is this one of the warming stations?
Yes, one, that is one of the small one.
Mostly, we open them very quickly at schools,
kitchen gardens or universities, you know, in every public places.
With no clear end to the conflict in sight,
shelters have been rolled out across the country to provide warmth
and electricity to people that have none.
I love it. Let's have a look.
OK.
PRESIDENT GREETS PEOPLE
Wow, this is warm, yeah.
All people can come and charge their gadgets.
Take some tea and coffee.
Russians waited really the first days when the temperature
will be minus. 78 rockets attack during two hours.
78, what? Cruise missiles and... Cruise missiles.
Wow! In two hours? As soon as the temperature dropped?
Yes.
President, I think we should have a coffee.
There we go. President, one for you. Thank you so much.
And then, come on, let's get outside because it's nice
being in the fresh air for you.
Here is a man, as you know, he doesn't get outside enough.
He's the most protected man.
And it's good. Come on. OK.
HE GREETS HIS PEOPLE
Hey, I've got, I've got something for you.
Here. Here you go. Hold this.
Come on. Who doesn't like a bit of chocolate?
OK, that is mine.
It's amazing seeing...
seeing all the people come together.
It's like the harder you hit them, the tighter your people become.
People never...
..never thought, I think, that they could be attacked
from the sky, you know, in the 21st century.
It's a tragedy.
But anyway, people are ready.
But what would it take for peace to come to Ukraine?
What will it take? For the peace?
Of the list of so many things we need.
And you feel that peace will come?
It CAN come? Is it possible?
I think it will not come because... because it will come.
You have to work for peace.
You have to fight for peace.
It is really this situation.
You have to fight for the victory.
But when the Putin will not feel that he is strong,
when they will feel that they are alone,
peace will come.
Thank you so much. An honour. An honour. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much. Max, I promise he'd still be alive!
He's still alive. This is good.
I'm OK. Thank you, guys, all - so much.
Take care. Thank you, guys. All the best.
Well, President's just left.
What an incredible man!
You know - gentle, smart,
true visionary, you know, just determined and resolute.
But, er, also just for me to be reminded that whoever you are,
president, you know, everybody is just regular people trying to go
about their life and do their best.
They're trying to protect their families,
look after their home,
follow their dreams,
go for things.
And that's a sort of beautiful freedom that
none of us must ever take for granted.
It's what this country are fighting for, what Zelenskyy is fighting for.
For me, a privilege to walk a little bit beside him,
hear his story.
Subtitles by Red Bee Media