Transcript of WION interview, 10 November

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WION: 0:00
Well, as the war nears the thousand-day mark, Russia and Ukraine have intensified their assault on each other. Ukraine launched a drone strike on Moscow, its biggest attack on the Russian capital since the beginning of the war in 2022. The fierce onslaught forced the temporary shutdown of two of the city's major airports, injuring at least one person. Russian officials claim to have shot down 34 drones flying towards Moscow over the Ramenskoye and Kolomensky districts of the Moscow region, as well as the Domodedovo city, home to one of the city's biggest airports. Though Moscow reported no major damage, Russia's federal air transport agency says the airports of Domodedovo, Sheremet'evo and Zhukov had to divert flights.

Moscow and its surrounding region, with a population of at least 21 million people, is one of the biggest metropolitan areas in Europe, alongside Istanbul. Kolomensky is an administrative and municipal district located nearly 20 kilometers from Moscow. The Ramenskoye district is some 45 kilometers southeast of the Kremlin. It was last targeted by Ukraine in September, in what was then the biggest attack on the Russian capital. The Russian air defenses claimed to destroy 20 drones back then.

1:28
Ukraine, on the other hand, claims at least two people were injured in a Russian drone attack on the Odessa region. At least six residential buildings and a gas station are among the damaged infrastructure in that region. Ukraine's air force claimed its air defenses downed 62 out of 145 Russian drones launched on 13 regions of the war-torn country, including Odessa. Russian authorities have not yet commented on the attack.

Odessa mayor Trukhanov: 1:57 [English subtitles]
For the fourth night in a row, the enemy targets our city. There were several Shaheds [drones]. You all know and see what's going on today. Luckily, there are no [deaths], but there are injured people. There are many damaged residences and apartments. Private houses were destroyed. People have to be on the street now.

WION: 2:31
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called [on] its Western partners for supplying weapons to help protect the country's skies. He claims Russia has fired 145 Shaheds and other drone strikes at Ukraine overnight, the most in any single night-time attack of the war so far. Meanwhile, Putin said he saw positive signals from US President-elect Donald Trump's position on Ukraine. However, he warned that it would be hard to predict how Trump will behave in office.

3:08
Dr. Gilbert Doctorow is an author and also a historian. He is now joining us live on this broadcast. Dr. Doctorow, great to have you with us again. There's a mixed bag of worry, optimism, and skepticism. Ukraine reportedly attacked Moscow with drones, forcing Russia to temporarily close some airports. I have spoken to a few critics who say that it's clear Ukraine may be losing the war in a ploy to push their Western allies to act. Before we talk about the future of the war, how is the Kremlin likely to respond to this later salvo?

Dr. Gilbert Doctorow, PhD: 3:47
Well, I think they will step up their own attacks. In fact, for the last two days, Moscow has staged some very severe attacks. But we keep in mind that the Russian missiles fired on Ukraine are of a different order of magnitude and potential for damage and destruction of the objects they're targeting than drones are.

Drones are very good public relations, as this particular attack has been, but they are not the same thing as hypersonic missiles that destroy Patriot installations or that destroy barracks, housing hundreds of foreign mercenaries and high officers of the Ukrainian army, as the Russians have done in recent months. So let's not get ahead of ourselves in reading this latest attack by Ukraine on Moscow as having particular content and value in a military sense.

4:55
On saying that, I would like to call attention to another element of the war, which is the war on the ground. And here, many observers speak about the Russian advances, the Russian army is unstoppable, as if the Russians are waltzing down a rose garden as they crush fleeing Ukrainians. That is also untrue and does not fairly represent this very cruel, very dangerous war for all parties.

The Ukrainians, as reported by Russian television, I want to insist on this, by their reporters on the ground, the Ukrainian forces in various places on the front are staging big counter attacks. And there is fierce fighting by the Russians' account in various locations along the 1,000-kilometer front. So this is a war that is not over. It is a war that is continuing, but it is also not a stalemate, because the Russians continue to advance several kilometers a day on many points of the line of confrontation.

WION: 6:04
Dr. Doctorow, what direction do you foresee the war in Ukraine taking from now till January next year? Do you have some hope that Trump and his new administration will bring some semblance of peace?

Doctorow:
Mr. Trump has made good intentions clear in his public statements about ending the war. However, it would be a mistake to believe that the American president can dominate the situation, that America will decide who gets what at the end of this war. That is nonsense. It is, unfortunately, falling into the trap of American hegemony that has been guiding the American administration and the American mass media for years. Mr. Trump will not decide how the war ends. Mr. Putin will.

7:00
And that should be clear, because the Russians have the upper hand. They are slowly grinding down the Ukrainian forces. They're killing 2,000 and more Ukrainian soldiers a day. And the Ukrainians, though they're doing their best to recruit, cannot keep up with their daily losses. So the outcome of this war of attrition, if it continues for several long months, it's fairly obvious. Mr. Putin will have his way, whatever Mr. Trump and his advisors and the American mass media may think.

WION: 7:30
All right, we'll have to leave it there. I've been talking to Dr. Doctorow. Thank you very much for your time and for talking to me on World is One today.

Doctorow: 7:40
So kind of you to invite me.