[Migrated] [PodTubeMe has migrated to a new system]

(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tirana, Albania - 16 May 2025

1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walking with European Council President Antonio Costa

2. Various of Zelenskyy and Costa walking into building and into meeting room

3. Mid of Zelenskyy and Costa speaking

4. Close of Zelenskyy

5. Zelenskyy and Costa speaking to media

6. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen entering and greeting Zelenskyy and Costa

7. Various of meeting

STORYLINE:

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy met with top European Union officials on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Albania on Friday.

After attending the summit roundtable, Zelenskyy met with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Von der Leyen said earlier at the summit that the EU is preparing a new package of sanctions against Russia.

Leaders of dozens of European countries gathered in Albania’s capital, Tirana, for the sixth EPC summit.

===========================================================

Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected].

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/

You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/55d1114b39f5478db5e00fdb208447d1

--

Support podtube.me continuity as a free service. Become a Patreon or make an one-time donation

--

Video at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZQzuDhcYlY

(16 May 2025)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mexico City - 08 May 2025

1. Colombian singer-songwriter Sebastián Yatra looking to camera

2. Close of Yatra’s hand

3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Sebastián Yatra, recording artist:

"I saw happiness as a child as my long-term goal, one day to be happy, but I saw it as something very far away, and now I feel it in everything I do."

4. UPSOUND (Spanish): "I was happy only 10 percent of the time, or 20 percent, and the rest of the time I was either anxious or in tremendous discomfort."

5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Sebastián Yatra, recording artist:

"What motivates me the most is to share that philosophy of life and that way of seeing things, and ‘Milagro’ is my way of expressing that perspective, that change of perspective that helps me to live everything from gratitude and love."

6. UPSOUND (Spanish): "I think (Mexico) is the country I have traveled to the most, apart from Colombia and the United States, where I grew up."

7. Close of Yatra’s hand

8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Sebastián Yatra, recording artist:

"All these albums and these songs have accompanied me in a moment of very big growth that is from 18 or 19 to 30, where you live a lot of things, and you really end up defining much more, I don’t know if who you are, but at least who you want to be or what you want to achieve, and the way you see life."

9. Yatra during interview

10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Sebastián Yatra, recording artist:

"So, when you see everything as a miracle, you start to be grateful for every little thing in the universe and you find its magic."

11. Close of Yatra

12. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Sebastián Yatra, recording artist:

"I grew up listening to Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, (Joan Manuel) Serrat, but I didn’t grow up listening to them in their voices, I grew up listening to them in my father’s voice, because I had, and still have, a great artist at home. My dad never dedicated himself to making music or writing or anything else, but he is a tremendous artist and with the guitar he did a lot of magic."

13. Yatra speaking to team, seen from behind

14. Various of Yatra reading news of election of new pope on phone. UPSOUND (Spanish): "The ‘Gringo’ pope… Leo"

15. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Sebastián Yatra, recording artist:

"I will continue to miss (Pope) Francis, Mr. Bergoglio, because I think he was a person who united a lot and was also not afraid to take away a little of the most closed rules of the Catholic religion, but he was open to the rest of the world to also accept all people for who they are."

16. Yatra posing for photos

17. Various of Yatra looking to camera

STORYLINE:

For Colombian singer-songwriter Sebastián Yatra, life is full of small miracles that come from dance, family and freedom.

"I saw happiness as a child as my long-term goal, one day to be happy, but I saw it as something very far away, and now I feel it in everything I do," he said in a recent interview from Mexico City.

"What motivates me the most is to share that philosophy of life and that way of seeing things, and ‘Milagro’ is my way of expressing that perspective, that change of perspective that helps me to live everything from gratitude and love," said the Grammy and Latin Grammy winner.

"Milagro" is his fourth album and comes three years after his previous production, “Dharma.”

"All these albums and these songs have accompanied me in a moment of very big growth that is from 18 or 19 to 30, where you live a lot of things, and you really end up defining much more, I don’t know if who you are, but at least who you want to be," said the artist.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/

You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b64a5ba582d844c1b17b491cfe5b9123

--

Support podtube.me continuity as a free service. Become a Patreon or make an one-time donation

--

Video at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro_3tPWnZbk

(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

++CLIENTS NOTE: REFUGEE HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED BY AP DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS++

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New Delhi - 16 May 2025

1. Wide of anonymous Rohingya refugee playing voice recording from one of his relatives [detained refugees]. (Audio of woman saying: we are in a jungle, surrounded by the sea)

2. Shift focus of refugee talking on phone to trees in the distance

3. Close up of hand holding the mobile phone

4. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Anonymous Rohingya Refugee:

++PARTLY OVERLAID WITH SHOT 2/3++

“My brother [detained individual] told me that life jackets were given to all the individuals, and they were thrown into the waters after their hands were untied and blindfolds removed. They saved their lives by swimming for 30 minutes. Then a fisherman rescued them and transported them to an island. The island was not inhabited by humans, there were big animals on the island. My brother had telephoned me with the fisherman’s phone.”

5. Man playing voice recording in his phone with one of his relatives

6. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Anonymous Rohingya Refugee:

“We had reached India while saving our lives. We could have left India also. Suddenly my parents were snatched from me and taken away. I am not able to survive here. If someone gets information about my parents, please provide me that info. There is nobody for me here.”

7. Man walking

STORYLINE:

Indian authorities allegedly forced dozens of Rohingya refugees off a naval vessel into the sea near Myanmar last week after providing them with life jackets, a United Nations agency, family members of the refugees and their lawyer said.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement on Thursday, said at least 40 Rohingya refugees were detained in New Delhi and cast into the sea by the Indian navy near the maritime border with Myanmar.

The refugees — including children, women and older people — swam ashore, but their whereabouts in Myanmar remain unknown, the agency said.

Five Rohingya refugees on Friday confirmed to The Associated Press that their family members were part of the group that were detained by Indian authorities on May 6.

The group, including 15 Christians, were flown in an aircraft and later cast into the sea by Indian navy authorities on May 8, they said.

Dilawar Hussain, a lawyer representing the refugees, said the families have filed a petition in India’s top court, urging the Indian government to bring them back to New Delhi.

India’s navy and foreign ministry declined to comment.

In its statement Thursday, the rights office said it had appointed a U.N. expert to probe into what it called were “unconscionable, unacceptable acts."

The U.N. agency urged the Indian government to refrain from “inhumane and life-threatening treatment of Rohingya refugees, including their repatriation into perilous conditions in Myanmar.”

India does not have a national policy or a law to deal with refugees.

It is also not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol.

But hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya refugees have fled persecution in Myanmar after suffering oppression in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where officials have been accused of genocide.

According to Refugees International, of the estimated 40,000 Rohingya refugees living in India at least 22,500 are registered with the UNHCR.

Many of them live in squalid camps in various Indian states.

One of those refugees, who has not been identified by AP due to safety concerns, said his brother was among those returned.

AP Video shot by Piyush Nagpal

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/

You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/e30481f9cc1e4a86a99e9768226173ef

--

Support podtube.me continuity as a free service. Become a Patreon or make an one-time donation

--

Video at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGbvlE42Ehk

(16 May 2025)

Clients note: This item contains on-screen graphics, including AP branding.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Basel, Switzerland - 16 May 2025

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Zoë Më, Eurovision contestant for Switzerland:

"It really feels like coming home, when I walk on stage people scream my name, wave and I wave back and then in the end of my performance I see all the lights, so that really, like I had goosebumps the first time I performed my song on that stage."

(Reporter: "And your performance on stage is actually quite intricate, isn't it, with the camera and stuff, so what's that like to do?")

"It just feels like a performance that is the truest version of myself that I can be on stage and I wanted exactly that so I'm really proud and I feel like it's like art and I'm really proud of what we did."

(Reporter: "And finally, you're singing in French, obviously 20 different languages we're hearing this year, which is amazing. Do you think it adds something when someone's singing in their kind of native tongue?")

"For me, I always prefer the songs that are sung in their native languages in Eurovision because I feel like I always discover new cultures and yeah, it's exciting. So that's something I love about Eurovision."

STORYLINE:

Zoë Më is representing Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest grand final with her song "Voyage" and explains why it's special to have the event in her hometown of Basel. (16 May)

===========================================================

Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected].

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/

You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/9eeea34e4d4541d4adf9658262a10da8

--

Support podtube.me continuity as a free service. Become a Patreon or make an one-time donation

--

Video at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQCpDlQtpHk

(16 May 2025)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Basel, Switzerland - 16 May 2025

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Zoë Më, Eurovision contestant for Switzerland:

"It really feels like coming home, when I walk on stage people scream my name, wave and I wave back and then in the end of my performance I see all the lights, so that really, like I had goosebumps the first time I performed my song on that stage."

(Reporter: "And your performance on stage is actually quite intricate, isn't it, with the camera and stuff, so what's that like to do?")

"It just feels like a performance that is the truest version of myself that I can be on stage and I wanted exactly that so I'm really proud and I feel like it's like art and I'm really proud of what we did."

(Reporter: "And finally, you're singing in French, obviously 20 different languages we're hearing this year, which is amazing. Do you think it adds something when someone's singing in their kind of native tongue?")

"For me, I always prefer the songs that are sung in their native languages in Eurovision because I feel like I always discover new cultures and yeah, it's exciting. So that's something I love about Eurovision."

STORYLINE:

Zoë Më is representing Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest grand final with her song "Voyage" and explains why it's special to have the event in her hometown of Basel. (16 May)

===========================================================

Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected].

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/

You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/06decd6397204a4daed8ae9b53134e47

--

Support podtube.me continuity as a free service. Become a Patreon or make an one-time donation

--

Video at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k14JA9sByhM

(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Basel, Switzerland - 15 May 2025

1. Ukraine representative for Eurovision, Ziferblat, posing for photos with fans

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Valentyn Leshchynskyi, Singer, Ziferblat:

“It's like a national day of national outfits in Ukraine. I mean, you see us wearing this kind of, it's called Vyshevanka. So, yeah, the Ukrainian diaspora that is living here celebrating in this kind of way. So, we just had some Ukrainian dishes, right, like five minutes ago. I see, I'm really enjoying that people, even if they're not at homes, they're far away from Ukraine, they're trying to bring the traditions here to show what we are, yeah, so that's it.”

3. Wide of Ukrainian event

4. Mid of Ziferblat eating Ukrainian food

5. Wide of event and Ukrainian flag

6. Wide of Ziferblat members and crowd singing Ukrainian national anthem

7. Mid of women singing Ukrainian national anthem

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Valentyn Leshchynskyi, Singer, Ziferblat:

“We have two missions here because we are representing Ukraine during the war times and so we need to remind Europeans about the war. So we are fundraising to buy some robotic systems to demine Ukraine, a big part of Ukrainian territories that we can compare like this part of the Ukrainian territory to like three and a half Switzerland, you know, is equal to three and half Switzerland. And the second goal, of course, we represent the whole nation that is suffering because of the war and we need to get a high position."

9. Wide of women singing Ukrainian national anthem

10. Wide of Ziferblat and crowd signing Ukrainian national anthem

11. Wide of Sizerblatt sitting at table during event with fans

12. Mid of fans holding up posters and Ukrainian flags

13. Wide of fans holding up Ukrainian flag

STORYLINE:

Ukraine’s musicians can’t escape war, even at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Rock band Ziferblat had arrived in Basel, Switzerland to represent their country, only to learn that the home of backing singer Khrystyna Starykova in a frontline region of eastern Ukraine had been destroyed by Russian shelling.

Ziferblat are twin brothers Daniil Leshchynskyi on vocals and Valentyn Leshchynskyi on guitar, plus drummer Fedir Khodakov.

Valentyn says Khrystyna showed bravery and strength in dealing with the loss, which happened during their rehearsals for Eurovision in Basel.

Ziferblat are set to compete in Saturday's grand final with "Bird of Pray," a track whose intense vocals and prog rock sound owe something to the 1970s – as does the front man’s pink bell-bottomed suit.

Ukraine is a longtime Eurovision competitor – as was its neighbor Russia. Both saw their relationship with the continental pop contest transformed by Moscow’s full-scale invasion three years ago.

Russia was kicked out. Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra won the contest in 2022, less than three months after the invasion.

With it came the right to host. When war made that impossible, Liverpool stepped in to stage a contest with a distinctly Ukrainian flavor, with the city bedecked in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags.

Even before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s competitors were part cultural diplomat, out to tell the world about their country’s history, music and language.

Ukrainian singer Jamala won the contest in 2016 — two years after Russia illegally seized Crimea — with a song about the expulsion of Crimean Tatars by Stalin in 1944.

Kalush Orchestra’s wining song "Stefania" blended rapping in Ukrainian with a haunting refrain on a traditional Ukrainian wind instrument.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/

You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/6670dd6015eb4c89966afe6169135a37

--

Support podtube.me continuity as a free service. Become a Patreon or make an one-time donation

--

Video at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JghpAA1uyHs

(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Beit Lahiya, Northern Gaza Strip - 16 May 2025

1. Various of man mourning his relative, wrapped bodies on the ground

2. Various of people mourning their relatives

3. People gathering near bodies

4. People placing bodies on the ground

5. Various of people mourning their relatives

6. Various of bodies on the ground

7. Various of people placing bodies on cart, cart loaded with bodies leaving

8. People sitting near bodies of their relatives

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jabaliya, Northern Gaza Strip - 16 May 2025

9. Various of destroyed building, people searching through rubble looking for victims

STORYLINE:

Bereaved relatives in northern Gaza mourned their loved ones on Friday, after Israeli strikes on the Strip killed at least 82 people.

It came as U.S. President Donald Trump brought to a close his Middle East visit that skipped Israel and offered no prospect for a ceasefire in the war-battered territory.

Strikes overnight and into Friday hit across Gaza, including the outskirts of Deir al-Balah and the city of Khan Younis. At least 66 people were killed according to the Indonesian hospital, where most of the bodies were taken. A further 16 bodies were taken to Nasser hospital, said health officials.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes, which lasted hours into Friday morning and sent people fleeing from the Jabaliya refugee camp and the town of Beit Lahiya.

There had been widespread hope that Trump's regional trip could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.

They followed days of similar attacks that killed more than 130 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Production by: Wafaa Shurafa

===========================================================

Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected].

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/

You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/6a88469f7b404264956ecdf9cec21769

--

Support podtube.me continuity as a free service. Become a Patreon or make an one-time donation

--

Video at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxV4NyfEXjM

(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

AGENCY POOL

Hanoi, Vietnam - 16 May 2025

1. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra shakes hands with Vietnamese General Secretary of Communist Party To Lam

2. Various of meeting between Paetongtarn and Lam

3. Various of Paetongtarn shaking hands with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong

4. Various of meeting between Paetongtarn and Cuong

STORYLINE:

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met Vietnamese Communist Party chief To Lam and President Luong Cuong on Friday, before concluding her two-day official visit to Hanoi.

During Paetongtarn’s trip, Vietnam and Thailand upgraded their ties to the highest level of diplomacy, the comprehensive strategic partnership, which was announced following Paetongtarn’s meeting with her Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh.

Thailand is Vietnam’s largest trading partner in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) bloc and its seventh largest in the world.

Bilateral trade reached over 20 billion dollars in 2024.

Paetongtarn’s trip was her first visit to Vietnam as prime minister.

Vietnam now treats Thailand the same way as it does the U.S., China and Russia, its main strategic partners.

The closer ties aim to enhance political, defense and security cooperation, boost trade to $25 billion and increase tourism and green energy cooperation, state media said.

===========================================================

Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected].

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/

You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/94f00ecb2e97454f95438c0f5ad183b8

--

Support podtube.me continuity as a free service. Become a Patreon or make an one-time donation

--

Video at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BahXf1aEg5o

(16 May 2025)

IRAN FLOWER FESTIVAL HZ

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

RESTRICTIONS: No use by BBC Persian, VOA Persian, Manoto TV, Iran International

LENGTH: 4:10

ASSOCIATED PRESS - No use by BBC Persian, VOA Persian, Manoto TV, Iran International

Tehran, Iran - 14 May 2025

1.Various of flowers and floral displays

2. Various of visitors taking pictures

3. Close pull of flowers

4. Wide of family taking photo with flowers and their baby

5. SOUNDBITE: (Farsi) Kiaei (first name not given), deputy head of Iran's Flowers and Plants Association:

"We have showcased around 800 species of plants. We have around 18,000 plant species, out of which around 800 are on display here."

6. Wide of Tehran Milad tower and the Iranian flag

7. Pull focus of flowers

8. Various of the show

9. SOUNDBITE: (Farsi) Gholam Hossein Soltanmohammadi, head of Tehran's Flower Production Association:

"In this show 250 Iranian companies and 11 foreign companies are taking part. Our goal is to showcase our innovations and various species produced domestically for people to see, and we've been successful so far. We also aim to popularize using flowers and plants, and make citizens familiar with them. We have around 8,000 plants here and fewer than 1,000 are here, many of them are not available here. Most importantly, we want neighbouring countries to see our capabilities and pave the way for exporting flowers and plants. Currently we are ranked 17th in global production, but 170th in exports."

10. Wide of large green wall

11. Close tilt up from roses

12. Various of the show

13. Wide top shot of the show

14. Various of the show

15. SOUNDBITE: (Farsi) Esmaili (no first name given), Visitor:

"It was extremely enjoyable to be here. I came here from a very long distance, from Damavand town, and there was a heavy traffic jam outside the venue, but when I arrived my feelings completely changed and absolutely enjoyed this place."

16. Various of flower show

17. Various of cactus plants

18. Various of visitors walking around the show

STORYLINE:

LEADIN:

Tehran's Goftegoo park has been taken over by a riot of colour for this year's Flowers and Plants Exhibition.

The show welcomes thousands of visitors, both plant lovers and industry professionals, to a colourful display of floral diversity.

STORYLINE:

The 20th annual Flowers and Plants Exhibition opened this week at Goftegoo park in Tehran.

With more than 250 Iranian companies and 11 international participants taking part, the show aims to introduce new plant species, support domestic producers, and promote horticulture among people in the country.

"We have showcased around 800 species of plants. We have around 18,000 plant species, out of which around 800 are on display here," says Kiaei, the deputy head of Iran’s Flowers and Plants Association.

The event also includes workshops on plant propagation, indoor plant care, small garden design, and pest and disease management.

Local producers say they aim to attract international buyers, as Iran continues to struggle with exports despite relatively high production.

Iran produces over four billion flowers and ornamental plants, cultivated across over 8,250 hectares of greenhouses and open fields, according to figures from last year provided by official news agency IRNA.

Visitors at the show are having a great time browsing the displays and stands, and even if the traffic was a little heavy getting in, one visitor, Esmaili, is finding the flowers are cheering him up.

The exhibition is organized by Tehran Municipality and ends on Friday 16 May 2025.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/

You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b72195b0c8b549729602fccb9ac375de

--

Support podtube.me continuity as a free service. Become a Patreon or make an one-time donation

--

Video at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8A7W-qbsqY

(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Kyiv region, Ukraine - 15 May 2025

1. Various of Valentyna, also known by call sign “Valkyrie” checking machine gun bullets

2. Mid of volunteer of air defence unit “Witches of Bucha” seating in their house in the base

3. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Valentyna, also known by call sign “Valkyrie”, a volunteer of air defence unit “Witches of Bucha”:

“Where Russia is there, I have no faith in anything, in what Russia says. Whatever the outcome of the negotiations, Ukraine is fighting, Ukraine is standing, Ukraine is with weapons.”

4. Soldiers in base

5. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Known by call sign “Calypso”, a commander of air defence unit “Witches of Bucha”:

“Judging by the way our neighbor behaves in general, you can never trust them in anything. And that's why maybe there will be some kind of truce. Everyone wants it. I want it too, of course, but it's unlikely. That's my opinion. Hope is such an uncertain thing. We rely on our strength, not just hope that it will end in something. We already hoped once when we asked NATO to close the skies over us. So we don't hope.”

6. Gun rack

7. Various of volunteer of air defence unit “Witches of Bucha” moving weapon cases to their house in the base

STORYLINE:

The evening before Russia and Ukraine were due to hold their first direct peace talks in three years, women volunteers of the air defence unit “Witches of Bucha” were on duty, like they are each night, in a forest in Kyiv region.

Russian drone attacks are typically more intense at night, but daytime attacks are just as deadly.

The drone unit spends entire nights driving back and forth from their base in the forest to the position.

Sometimes they stand there for hours waiting to shoot.

The night before the negotiations was quiet, and members of the unit rested in small camp houses at their forest base.

Asked about their views on a potential ceasefire, the women were doubtful any tangible results would be achieved.

“If our partners see this, they already see that they are not contractual people, that they do not fulfill their duties, that they lie, they lie openly," said Olena, also known by call sign “Akuma”, and a volunteer of the air defence unit.

"They've sent the second echelon delegation. They do not want peace," she added.

Another volunteer said she was cautiously hopeful.

“Hope is such an uncertain thing," said the volunteer a unit commander known by the call sign “Calypso”.

"We rely on our strength, not just hope that it will end in something. We already hoped once when we asked NATO to close the skies over us. So we don't hope, we do.”

Russia and Ukraine are due to hold their first direct peace talks in three years Friday, gathering in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but officials and observers expect them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than 3-year war.

A Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov was due to meet with a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.

The latest push to end the fighting got off to a rocky start on Thursday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face.

Delegations from the two countries also flew to different Turkish cities and put together teams of significantly different diplomatic heft for possible talks.

AP Video shot by Alex Babenko

===========================================================

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/

You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/07469530b2254c339aa0c9c8ddea3883

--

Support podtube.me continuity as a free service. Become a Patreon or make an one-time donation

--

Video at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzMtQgJMC2k