“The president will see you now.”
We had been working with our contacts for months and the decision lastly got here with simply 36 hours’ discover.
We wanted to make our approach from London to Kyiv, a warfare zone, and be prepared for the interview.
We scrambled – the staff had been everywhere in the UK, together with within the pub – and got here collectively at Luton Airport within the early hours of the following morning.
Flying to Moldova took simply three hours – it was troublesome for me to course of that warfare was so near residence.
Arriving with all of the digicam gear, physique armour and what I believed could be applicable clothes to interview a wartime chief in a besieged capital metropolis, we decanted from the aircraft and into two sturdy automobiles.
The journey throughout the border to Kyiv would take about 10 hours, and the seven-person staff settled in.
Bumping alongside potholed roads at nighttime was at greatest uncomfortable, however we had a deadline to beat – curfew was at 11pm and if we did not make the lodge by then we would want to remain outdoors town for the night time.
Watch: In full: Kay Burley’s interview with President Zelenskyy
The common border crossing was closed and so we needed to go for an extended route which added time that we simply did not have.
We ultimately reached the outskirts of town, driving alongside a street the place a Sky News crew had virtually misplaced their lives when Russian troopers took intention at their automobile some months earlier than.
Finally, we reached the lodge with 10 minutes to spare.
Up early the following morning and we headed to the presidential palace for the interview everybody wished – a chat with Mr Zelenskyy about NATO, tanks, household, President Putin, and as a lot else as we may match into the allotted hour.
Security was intense, closely armoured personnel stalked the grounds; airport-style scanners checked every bit of our digicam gear; our telephones and laptops had been confiscated and locked distant from the president.
Sandbags had been piled excessive all over the place – together with within the women’ bathroom; our passports had been checked and checked and checked once more.
There had been a spelling error on one of many crew’s names which induced a lot consternation, however lastly we had been cleared to proceed and made our method to the allotted room.
The angle for the interview was chosen along side the president’s staff, they wished hard-backed, nondescript chairs as with all his earlier interviews.
Watch: President Zelenskyy offers Sky’s Kay Burley an perception into his every day life and household
I believed leather-based chesterfields could be extra becoming for the chat I had in thoughts – not simply with a politician at warfare but in addition a father who was attempting to maintain his household protected too.
After a lot dialogue, it was agreed the sofas may work. Great, let’s go. The clock was ticking and the crew arrange swiftly in preparation for the interview we would deliberate for months.
Then we waited. And waited. And waited… the delay consuming into our valuable allotted time.
I walked into a cold, dimly lit hallway and stopped on the backside of a sweeping marble staircase.
The juxtaposition appeared incongruous, however warfare has created an vitality disaster in Ukraine and losing gas on warmth and lightweight is not vital, I used to be advised.
Eventually, the president arrived. Bounding down the staircase he provided profuse apologies.
He’d been speaking to a world chief – he did say who, however I wasn’t actually listening – our interview time was slashed in half and I used to be mentally modifying my questions as we walked in the direction of the interview room.
We sat, the interview started “how are you, Mr President?” after which a second that will show to be a pivotal level within the warfare, caught on digicam.
I used to be asking about Leopard 2 tanks and the way essential they might be to Ukrainian troopers on the battlefield.
The German chief, Olaf Scholz, had continued to be nervous about sending the automobiles that may be used towards Russian forces.
President Zelenskyy had began his reply and was starting his common enchantment to the German chancellor when he was shortly interrupted by his aide, who had positioned himself within the president’s eye-line for the interview.
Mr Scholz had that very second introduced that he would ship tanks. The second caught on digicam.
The president appeared relieved, allowed himself a wry smile and advised our viewers he would converse to the chief as quickly as our interview had ended.
Time will inform if it was a second that turned the way forward for this warfare.
Too quickly our time was up and the president shortly posed for just a few pictures earlier than leaving for his much-anticipated cellphone name with the German chief.
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We rang London to share the information.
“Do you have it on tape?”
“Yup.”
“File as soon as you can.”
We edited late into the night time and into the following morning earlier than relocating to St Michael’s Square to arrange for the breakfast programme.
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The burnt-out carcasses of Russian tanks have been dragged into the Kyiv landmark, a every day reminder of how shut the enemy got here to taking the capital.
The snow started to fall as air raid sirens had been sounding, warning missiles could possibly be touchdown close by, however Nick, our safety man, was calm and thus so was I. A deep breath and we had been on air.
Three hours later the programme was over and our interview was making headlines world wide together with on the Kremlin, livid that Mr Zelenskyy had labelled President Putin a “nobody”.
We packed up our gear and clambered right into a cramped folks provider for the 15-hour drive to Warsaw; residence, after which the following alternative.
Stay tuned.
Source: information.sky.com”
