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00:00 Ukraine says its air defenses fought off a Russian attack overnight, shooting down dozens
00:06 of drones and cruise missiles.
00:08 And a key military airfield in western Ukraine was among the targets.
00:11 N'Kiev also says a Russian-guided bomb hit a blood transfusion center in the city of
00:18 Kupyansk on Saturday, set it on fire.
00:21 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says there were casualties, but we don't have those
00:26 numbers yet.
00:27 And military analyst Lieutenant General Mark Hertling joins me now.
00:31 General, we're seeing increasing strikes from the Ukrainians using drones, some high-profile
00:37 drone hits over the last couple of days, including a naval landing ship, a fuel tanker, as there
00:45 are some challenges getting the counteroffensive to the level at which they're hoping for.
00:52 How can these drone strikes turn that momentum?
00:55 Well, the offensive, first of all, Victor, I would suggest, is going slower than many
01:01 expected, not slower than I expected, to be honest with you.
01:04 They are conducting some very tough operations.
01:07 They are through the first of three defensive belts in the southeast toward Berdyansk and
01:13 Melitopol, two critical areas.
01:16 But the drones strikes that they have been using, the Ukrainians have been using against
01:20 Russia, has forced the Russian commanders to look at places they need to defend, places
01:26 that they would not have expected months ago, places-- we're talking about a country that
01:33 doesn't have a navy, Ukraine, conducting naval operations and sinking several Russian ships
01:39 or damaging them, at least.
01:41 That's pretty significant.
01:43 It causes the Russians to pull off some of the areas that they've been defending to defend
01:47 areas they didn't expect to defend.
01:49 And that all requires resources.
01:52 Let's talk about the summit in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
01:56 The Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held this summit of dozens of world leaders, hosted
02:01 the Ukrainians but not the Russians, to try to get to some framework, some discussion
02:07 to a peace deal eventually.
02:11 What's your degree of confidence in what we saw in Jeddah?
02:15 Well, I'm glad you asked that question, because not many are covering this critically important
02:20 conference.
02:21 Close to 50 nations attended.
02:23 Russia was not one of them.
02:25 In that conference, President Zelensky was able to present his 10-point peace plan, which
02:33 is fascinating in terms of looking at the future.
02:36 So it's a commitment to future security within Ukraine and what President Zelensky expects
02:42 out of the end of the war.
02:44 And such as restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops
02:48 and the cessation of activities, releasing all prisoners and deportees, especially the
02:55 children that have been deported to Russia, the thousands of children, justice, including
03:00 the special tribunal.
03:01 And there are six others that I didn't mention.
03:04 So this is an opportunity for Ukraine to present what they're looking for in order to even
03:10 come to the peace table with Russia.
03:12 This isn't just a hey, we're going to trade this for this.
03:16 Mr. Zelensky has said specifically what he wants out of any kind of relationship with
03:22 Russia.
03:23 And it's going to be a tough row to hoe, Victor, to be honest with you, because those are some
03:27 difficult challenges that Russia is not going to agree to.
03:31 One other topic here.
03:32 Pending decision by the U.S. on whether to designate the U.S. Army soldier Travis King,
03:37 who crossed from South Korea into North Korea last month, to declare him as a prisoner of
03:44 war.
03:45 He faces assault charges in South Korea, was going to be sent back to Fort Bliss in Texas.
03:50 This is about treatment of King while he's in North Korea.
03:54 Should he be declared a POW?
03:56 What do you think?
03:57 Well, I don't think so, Victor, but it's a tough call.
04:01 And the reason I say no is because a prisoner of war gets all kinds of, actually, things
04:08 like pay.
04:09 They're continuing to be paid while they're a prisoner.
04:12 In King's case, he willingly deserted into North Korea when he was about to undergo some
04:19 legal actions.
04:20 So that's a different category.
04:23 We've seen this before.
04:24 And it's a tough call because certainly, you know, the United States wants to take care
04:28 of all of its citizens.
04:30 But in this case, this was a willing desertion by a soldier to go into a foreign country.
04:36 There was no taking of him as a prisoner.
04:39 He walked across the line.
04:41 That's going to cause some interesting legal debates within the Pentagon and the State
04:46 Department.
04:47 But we'll see what happens.
04:48 I personally don't believe he should be declared as a prisoner of war.
04:51 Retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, good to see you.
04:54 Thank you, sir.