Ambassador-at-large, Ukraine Foreign Ministry - Olexander Scherba

Published: Sept. 3, 2014, 4 a.m.

Vladimir Putin is reported to have said he could take the Ukrainian capital Kiev in two weeks if he wanted to. As he offers increasingly brazen support to the pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, his message to the West is clear - don't mess with Russia.

Hardtalk speaks to senior Ukrainian diplomat Olexander Scherba. Can Kiev afford to risk all-out war with Moscow?