Amanpour – Former Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk

Podcast: Amanpour (CNN Podcasts)
Date: October 2, 2025
Episode Theme:
A sweeping conversation covering the ongoing war in Ukraine, Western support and internal resilience, geopolitics, and democracy with former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. The episode also spotlights the struggles and courage of Afghan women’s footballers, climate activism with Jane Fonda and Mela Chiponda, nuclear proliferation risks, and a tribute to Jane Goodall.

Ukraine at War: The View from Arseniy Yatsenyuk

Russian Progress on the Front Lines

• [02:48] Amanpour: Opens with a question on whether there is a slowdown in Russian military advances.
• [02:56] Yatsenyuk: Confirms Russia has had only "incremental gains" and that "the pace has decreased severely."
  • Emphasizes the war is not recent but part of an 11-year conflict, dating back to Crimea's annexation (2014).
  • Reminds listeners: “Armed to the teeth, Russia didn’t manage to take over Ukraine...with 140 million population, didn’t manage to take over Ukraine of 40 million people.”
  • Claims Russian forces have suffered approximately 2.1 million dead and injured Ukrainian figures, stating Ukraine has "severely degraded Russian land forces by half."
• [04:04] Yatsenyuk: “More than 74% of Ukrainians still believe in the military victory of Ukraine over Russia...We can win, but it all depends on the political will of our allies.”

Notable Quote

Yatsenyuk [03:20]: “He [Putin] said to the entire world that it’s not his troops without insignia. So he lied as always in the bare face. So everything that is happening in the last 11 years is just astonishing.”

Shifts in Western Support

• [04:45] Amanpour: Notes a rhetorical change from President Trump, now advocating military support to retake Crimea and occupied territories.
• [05:31] Yatsenyuk: Welcomes Trump’s "verbal U-turn," saying it's an “important sign” that the former US president “has realized that designated war criminal Putin tried to play him,” but stresses “words matter only ... if they are supported by actions.”

Military Aid & Sanctions

• [06:30] Amanpour: Details on potential intelligence sharing and long-range missile deliveries.
• [07:04] Yatsenyuk: Highlights Ukraine’s attacks have caused “severe damage,” with “Russians lost around 20% of their oil refinery capacities.” Urges for delivery of Tomahawks, Taurus missiles, and notes these would be a “game changer.”
• [07:53] Amanpour & Yatsenyuk: Discuss legal and moral grounds for seizing $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.

Notable Quote

Yatsenyuk [08:05]: “Russia has violated international law. Russia has committed an act of aggression...only one way to make Russia accountable.”

Western Resolve & Harari’s Analysis

• [08:44] Amanpour: Cites Yuval Noah Harari, argues the West’s psychological resolve is the “weakest link.”
• [09:35] Yatsenyuk: “We will never surrender. We will never.”
• [09:40] Yatsenyuk: Reiterates need for “strong and bold actions”—naming supplemental security packages, financial aid, secondary sanctions, confiscation of Russian assets, and leverage against China and India supporting Russia.

Notable Quote

Yatsenyuk [10:55]: "China is accomplice. China provides a lifeline to Russia. China provides a lifeline to North Korea."

Russia's War Aims & Ukraine’s Future

• [11:33] Yatsenyuk: Disputes financial pain for Russia, calling proposed budget cuts “nothing.” Putin’s aims remain maximalist: “take over entire Ukraine and undermine the European Union and NATO.”
• [12:15] Amanpour: Notes long timeline for potential Russian conquest; Zelenskyy hints at stepping down post-war.
• [12:52] Yatsenyuk: Declares national unity behind Zelenskyy, but ultimate importance is preserving democracy: “Democracy will always prevail in Ukraine.”

Ukraine's Western Trajectory

• [13:25] Amanpour & Yatsenyuk: Brief discussion of Maidan legacy.
• [13:40] Yatsenyuk: Affirms commitment: “We will survive. We will join the EU, we will join NATO and we will defend Europe and the free world. Just help us.”

Advocacy and International Communication

• [14:05] Yatsenyuk: “I am talking to everyone. I am right now on an advocacy mission...France, Sweden, UK, Washington, Brussels, everywhere. We need to get everyone on board in order to win this fight.”
  • Frames the war as authoritarianism versus democracy and "against our liberties and against our life."
  • Final, confident statement: “We will win this war.”

Afghan Women’s Footballers: Defiance in Exile

[15:18] - [19:35]

Restored Connections & Sporting Defiance

• After internet shutdowns, Amanpour shifts to a report on Afghan women’s footballers exiled in England, fighting for recognition as a national team under FIFA, even as Taliban authorities try to erase them.
  • Players like Sozan and Elaha express pride and longing for family left behind.
  • Khalida Popil, founder of the original Afghan women’s side (2007), describes four years of struggle for FIFA’s recognition: “We have been knocking every closed door to get FIFA’s attention...and we have really faced silence for four years.” [19:01]
  • FIFA backs a new ‘Afghan Women’s Refugee Team’ set for an international tournament, acknowledging but not directly addressing the debate about “refugee” versus “national” status.

Climate Crisis & Activism: Jane Fonda & Mela Chiponda

[19:35] - [35:11]

Climate Despair & Action

• [19:35] Amanpour: Quotes Joan Baez via Al Gore: “the antidote to despair is action.”
• [20:47] Jane Fonda: On polluter skepticism, particularly from Trump: “Well, we just have to talk to him. He just needs some education. He doesn’t understand.”
• [21:17] Fonda: Describes shift from protest to electoral activism: “If you can’t change the people, change the people.”
  • Set up the Jane Fonda Climate PAC to elect climate champions, particularly in key states.

Notable Quotes

Jane Fonda [22:22]: “We’re facing two existential crises, climate and democracy. And we can’t have a stable climate unless we have a stable democracy.”

Global South, Gender & Energy Poverty

• [22:58] Mela Chiponda: SHINE Collab bridges gender, climate, and energy: “This crisis is not a single issue thing that we can say, we just fighting climate only.”
• [24:04] Chiponda: “Africa only contributes to less than 4% of greenhouse gas emissions. But our argument still is that fossil fuels are harmful...in terms of the health of ecosystems and democracy.”
• [27:27] Chiponda: “Women’s labor is taken for granted...the money intended for climate ends up just up there with governments and not with the people.”
• [28:10] Fonda: "Only 2% of all funding for climate crisis is given to women led groups."

Empowering Women – Funding Equity

• Fonda and Chiponda advocate sending climate relief directly to women: “No middlemen, there’s no trickle down, straight to the women on the ground.” [28:15]
• Highlight first recipients of the Jane Fonda Gender and Climate Justice Fund: Ecuador, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Senegal, Indonesia. [29:13]

Democracy, Free Speech, and Counterculture

• [30:36] Amanpour: Discusses threats to democracy and free speech; links climate activism and democracy advocacy.
• [31:11] Fonda: Cites the need to organize within “pillars of support” ("military, the media, art, etc.") to safeguard democracy.
• [32:28] Fonda: Urges against the silencing of protest groups via "slap suits" (e.g., Greenpeace).

Personal Reflections

• [33:16] - [34:12] Jane Fonda shares memories of Robert Redford, their collaborations, and personal loss after his passing.
• [34:29] Fonda: At age 88, fears missing her craft but remains committed to activism.

Nuclear Threats & Non-Proliferation

[36:23] - [51:34]

New Era of Nuclear Proliferation

• [36:30] - [38:10] Megan O’Sullivan and Ernest Moniz explain a major bipartisan report on nuclear threats post-Ukraine and as US global reliability is questioned.
• [39:58] O’Sullivan: The task force strongly supports “extended deterrence”—the US guarantee to allies not to develop their own nuclear weapons.
• Erosion of faith in US promises (e.g., Ukraine and Libya gave up nukes and suffered invasion).
• [45:40] O’Sullivan: “Countries that give up nuclear weapons or don’t have nuclear weapons are ones that are subject to aggression.”

Notable Quotes

Moniz [44:47]: “President Putin really crossed the line there and did something unprecedented. The idea here is, it would be great to put that genie back in the bottle.”

• [49:05] O’Sullivan & Moniz: Affirm New START treaty extension would be a positive step, but caution remains regarding Russia’s intentions.

Tribute to Jane Goodall

[51:42] - [53:05]

• Remembrance of Jane Goodall (d. at 91) and her revolutionary work on chimpanzees as tool users, defying scientific convention.
  • Goodall’s reflection on her clashes with scientific authorities: “When it comes to animal personality, mind and emotion, they're wrong...that was my dog.” [52:41-52:51]

Memorable Quotes & Key Timestamps

• Yatsenyuk [03:20]: “Everything that is happening in the last 11 years is just astonishing.”
• Yatsenyuk [05:31]: "...President Trump has realized that designated war criminal Putin tried to play him."
• Yatsenyuk [09:35]: "We will never surrender. We will never."
• Fonda [22:22]: “We can’t have a stable climate unless we have a stable democracy.”
• Chiponda [24:04]: “Africa only contributes to less than 4% of greenhouse gas emissions.”
• Fonda [28:10]: "Only 2% of all funding for climate crisis is given to women led groups."
• Moniz [44:47]: “President Putin really crossed the line there and did something unprecedented.”
• Goodall [52:51]: "When it comes to animal personality, mind and emotion, they're wrong...that was my dog."

Conclusion

This episode of Amanpour is a rich, urgent survey of democracy under threat, women’s resilience, and global crises. From the steely optimism of Ukraine’s Yatsenyuk calling for action, not words, from the West (“We will win this war”), to the ground-level activism of Jane Fonda and Mela Chiponda for gendered climate justice, the show continually returns to themes of courage, resolve, and collective action. Nuclear risks and the legacy of Jane Goodall round out an episode that underscores not only peril, but hope, in global affairs.