The Kyiv Independent spoke with the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink on Sept. 19 on the sidelines of the National Media Talk, an annual journalism conference held in Kyiv, and supported by USAID and Internews.
The following is the transcript of the interview:
The Kyiv Independent: Thank you for doing this, and for supporting this event – that’s important for the journalistic community. Something that we are watching very closely now is President Volodymyr Zelensky's upcoming visit to Washington next week. What are your expectations for the visit?
Ambassador Brink: I was so delighted today to talk to media, government, and civil society representatives at a very important media event in Kyiv, even in wartime circumstances. Free media, independent media is very important to Ukraine's aspirations to join Europe, to join NATO. It's a delight to be here.
With regard to President Zelensky's visit to the United States. I know my president is very much looking forward to hosting him in the United States. I know he will have other meetings as well. We're looking forward to hearing his views on the future. He has said very clearly that he's going to present those to President Biden. President Biden and his team will be glad to do this meeting with President Zelensky and follow up.
The Kyiv Independent: We know that President Zelensky is going to present his victory plan, which is now fully complete, as of yesterday. Have you had a chance to take a look at it? What do you expect from it?
Ambassador Brink: President Zelensky has been very clear that he is going to show this plan first to President Biden. He and his team have been true to that. We have some sense of the contours of this plan, and of course, we're working hand in glove with the government to support your victory in many different ways. It'll be very positive for us to receive the details of the victory plan and be able to work together to follow up on this.
The Kyiv Independent: Is the U.S. still ready to support Ukraine's full victory, meaning the return of all territories, including Crimea, and the full military defeat of Russia?
Ambassador Brink: Look, our position has been very clear as articulated by the president, as articulated by Secretary Blinken when he was just here last week in Kyiv. We support Ukraine and its victory in its win against Russia's aggression. Now our support is in support of a vision of Ukraine – sovereign, independent, democratic, prosperous, integrated into Europe and into NATO. So that vision is a vision from Ukrainians, and it's a vision of the future that we support. That's our position. We're leaving the details of the war, the details of when and how to negotiate up to your democratically elected president.
The Kyiv Independent: Should we be hopeful about a change in the U.S. policy on allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles on Russian territory?
Ambassador Brink: I'm not going to get ahead of where my president and administration are. We have heard the request. I can tell you we will continue to support Ukrainians in your effort to fight against Russia's aggression. We will continue to adjust and adapt how we are supporting you, and we will work really closely and are working very closely with your government and administration in order to achieve that goal.
The Kyiv Independent: What can you say to Ukrainians and supporters of Ukraine from around the world who are watching anxiously what's going to happen with the U.S. presidential election and how it will impact the war and the future of Ukraine?
Ambassador Brink: Well, in my position as the president's representative in Kyiv, I cannot comment on our politics. What I can say is this: I spend a lot of time in America, in many parts of America, on the East Coast, on the West Coast. I'm from the Midwest. There is strong bipartisan support for Ukraine, for your fight for freedom, for the values that we share together, and for the future that you envision for yourself. This is important for your country, but it's also important for European security and U.S. vital national interests. That's my view. That's the view of foreign policy experts across the political spectrum. That's the administration's view. And so that well of support is very important to have and one which we are going to use to keep supporting your effort to fight Russia's aggression.
The Kyiv Independent: We're talking today at the National Media Talk, an event focusing on media in wartime. As you very well know, at the beginning of the year, Ukrainian journalists raised concerns about certain attempts at intimidation, surveillance, and so on. What is your message to those actors in Ukraine who are willing to try to suppress free media during wartime and who see independent journalism as a threat?
Ambassador Brink: Our position is very clear on free media. It is vital, it's critical. Efforts of harassment and intimidation – wherever they come from – against independent and free media don't have a place in a country that's trying to move into the EU or NATO.
The Kyiv Independent: There's been a government reshuffle recently that has attracted a lot of interest. Is there anything that the embassy is watching especially closely within the reshuffle? The civil society has been raising concerns a lot lately about the consolidation of power in the energy sector, specifically with Minister Herman Halushchenko and with the firing of the chief of Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi. Is this an area that you're watching? Do you have any comments on that?
Ambassador Brink: The members of the government – that is up to the democratically elected leader of your country, President Zelensky. With regard to your energy situation, that is something that we also strongly support in terms of your ability to defend yourself against Russian missiles and drones, but also to repair and protect the energy infrastructure. We are going to continue in that regard to do everything possible to support your preparations for this winter. We have spent $324 million this spring to put about three gigawatts back into your grid. We have another $825 million that we are spending to do many aspects of repair, protection, and assistance to distribution. So we're going to continue in that way.
What I would say about this is that strong corporate governance that is done according to OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) standards is vital for donor confidence and private sector investment, which is what Ukraine needs for its recovery.
The Kyiv Independent: Just to clarify, do you mean that the firing of Kudrytskyi was potentially a threat to proper corporate governance?
Ambassador Brink: I don't want to comment on the specifics of how it happened, but I can say that a strong adherence to international standards — that means OECD standards in corporate governance in SOEs (state-owned enterprises), especially SOEs like Ukrenergo and other energy SOEs — is vitally important to your future.
Francis Farrell
