It was tough enough trying to get an interview with Ukraine’s finance minister, whose website has been offline for weeks. But when the scheduled day arrived, a wave of Russian missile strikes forced a cancellation.
McHugh was trying to speak with Serhiy Marchenko for an explainer about how Ukraine was going to pay for its defense. It ran anyway without Marchenko, who was so impressed by McHugh’s reporting that he rescheduled an exclusive Zoom interview in English.
In his interview, McHugh got Marchenko to reveal Hungary’s blocking EU aid to Ukraine was a big concern for the war-torn country facing a yawning budget gap. McHugh also pressed the official on another touchy subject: Ukraine’s reputation for corruption before the war.