Piotr Skolimowski

NEW: Volodymyr Zelenskyy Bloomberg interview by @DarynaKrasno and our Kyiv team + Says Trump is pushing Ukraine to capitulate to Russia. “I believe steps have been taken to convince Ukraine to capitulate” + Says he’s offered to stop striking Russian oil refineries if the US provides Patriot air defences. “My latest model was: We don’t target Russian diesel, you give us missiles for Patriot systems to protect our facilities” + Says the US is threatening to cut off support if Ukraine doesn’t stop its refinery strikes. “They just want us to stop attacking diesel. And if we strike that, they will disconnect us from something” + Says the US is slowing deliveries of Patriots already paid for via the PURL scheme. “We have paid for the weapons. A part of the supplies has been authorized, while the rest haven’t been. And this is not a technical issue” + Says he thinks the US situation may improve after the mid-terms. “Politics is very aggressive during election time. I think it is agony now, but after elections, life will continue and I believe it will be calmer” bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

EXCLUSIVE: 24 hours with Andy Burnham in Ukraine for his first major foreign policy interview. The domestic-focused PM leaves warming to his global role. “I’m at my best when I can see the injustice and I can go at it. I see it here and I feel it here. I come away more determined to do something.” -his gutting convo with wounded soldiers -his anger visiting civilian bomb sites -his emotion seeing Zelensky with war widows -his frustration at the idea he’s disinterested in foreign affairs and vow to maintain Britain’s leadership role -he says he’ll try to win Trump round on Patriots in the US next month -wants his trips abroad to have purpose -says the war is at a critical moment and now’s the time to dig in as the Russian economy hits the buffers -reveals Russian casualties have hit 1.5m -says there’s evidence Russian public opinion is shifting -says if Ukraine can make it to early next year things will be in its favour -his more personal, emotional approach to diplomacy -how he sees similarities between his style and Zelensky’s, albeit under very different circumstances -that guitar moment -his praise for Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer -his concern about the impact of Iran on the UK economy -his optimism for a progressive resurgence and end to right-wing populism not just in Britain but around the world, maybe even in the US. “The pendulum has to swing back” bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Breaking: Andy Burnham has arrived in Kyiv for his first international trip since becoming PM. On the train into Ukraine he said he felt visiting was “the right thing to do at this particular time” in the wake of escalating Russian attacks. Story here: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…