Yatsenyuk served two terms as Ukraine's prime minister from February to November 2014 – after the huge Euromaidan protests and Revolution of Dignity that saw President Viktor Yanukovych flee to Russia – and then again from November 2014 to April 2016. He is now chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum.

Yatsenyuk spoke to ERR's "Esimene stuudio" show at this year's forum and touched on his time as prime minister, the war in Ukraine, negotiations with Russia, Moscow's relationship with China, and the situation in the U.S.

The chairman called China an "accomplice" in Russia's full-scale invasion.

He said the situation with Washington is "very complicated" for Ukraine, the EU and NATO.

Yatsenyuk called U.S.-brokered "peace talks" between Ukraine and Russia "never ending" "sham talks" and a "special KGB operation under the auspices of the KGB operative Putin."

He said he was "pissed off" by discussions about handing over Ukrainian territory to Russia. "People just can't get that that's not the way it works. It completely contradicts international law /.../ The only way to get real peace is to fight like hell."

The chairman said the war will stop when Russia's resources are "drained" and that the country's economy is in a bad situation. However, Moscow has been given a reprieve by the war in Iran, which has boosted global oil prices.

"We need to turn the screw on Putin like hell. So not just to impose sanctions, but to enforce sanctions," he said.

He also called Ukraine's fight against Russia "a miracle." "Against the odds, we are standing and we are fighting," he told the show.

"We managed to maintain our morale. We still stay strong. We are really exhausted, we are tired, but we are not broken," Yatsenyuk said. "But as you've asked if there is light at the end of the tunnel, we all hope, and we all believe, that this light will come and that's the reason we are fighting."

You can watch the full interview, in English after the introduction, above.

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