Meeting in Brussels with the Ambassador of Ukraine to Belgium, Natalia Anoshyna, who discusses the threats facing the country.
How to maintain international attention on Ukraine, after two and a half years of war?
I would first like to speak about Belgium, whose very important support has never diminished. We hope to work with both the next government and the De Croo government. Since the start of the war, the message we receive from Belgian politicians is that the country will support Ukraine.”as long as necessary“, that is to say until victory.
Ukraine and Russia are each waging “their own ‘world war'”
What would constitute a de facto victory for Ukraine?
The peace agreement presented by President Zelensky during the “peace summit” organized in Switzerland (last July 15 and 16, Editor’s note) is the one and only peace plan we will accept. There is no possible alternative. We demand the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory and a return to our 1991 borders, including Crimea and the oblasts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kharkiv. These borders have been recognized by the international community… and Russia, which itself recognized Ukraine as an independent and sovereign state, should not be forgotten. We will therefore not negotiate on our territorial rights. Once the Russian soldiers return home to their families, the war is over. This is a first point. The second is that whatever happens, it will be a question of strengthening the military support provided by our allies, starting with air defense. Every day, bombings fall on Sumy, Kharkiv, Odessa, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and now as far west as Lviv. Only effective air defense can put an end to it. Help us shoot down the drones and missiles raining down on Ukraine, and deliver us unrestricted long-range weapons to target the Russian air bases that fire these missiles.
President Zelensky rightly accused the West last week of deliberately “slowing down” the process of delivering long-range weapons…
Indeed, progress is slow and time is against us. We are still alive today but we do not know what will happen tomorrow. Every hour that passes works in Russia’s favor. Each delay in arms deliveries gives Russia more resources to prepare an attack, regroup its troops and obtain supplies from Iran and North Korea.
You don’t mention China, what role do you think the country plays?
We have seen the “peace proposals” formulated by Brazil and China (which largely take up Russian positions, Editor’s note). Neither nation has discussed this with Ukraine. How can we even consider a peace plan for Ukraine… without Ukraine? (The Democratic candidate for the American presidential election, Kamala Harris, for her part, pledged this Tuesday to never meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the absence of Ukraine, Editor’s note).
Germany categorically refuses to send long-range weapons to Ukraine. What would happen if Western aid were to decrease or stabilize?
We are fully aware that we cannot rely solely on our allies. This is why we embarked on a process of revolutionizing our defense capabilities from the start of the conflict. As an example, we have now developed a 100pc Ukrainian long-range drone. We can hit Russia directly. But unfortunately, our production capacity is not enough. We still need a little time.
Do you fear “conflict fatigue” on the international level?
What I fear are the effects of Russia’s daily propaganda. The Russians are constantly whitewashing their crimes while executing prisoners of war (the prosecutor general has just opened two investigations into the “murder” of 20 Ukrainian soldiers taken prisoner, Editor’s note). And during this time, what do we see? Russian athletes trying to enter international competitions. Ukrainian athletes, or any Ukrainians for that matter, cannot tolerate this. They will not face Russian opponents in competition. It is essential to understand that these athletes deeply support Vladimir Putin. They are even part of the armed forces in some cases. We call on sports organizations to act firmly when making their decisions. Aggressors and killers cannot turn into heroes, in sport as elsewhere, because this is exactly what happened at festivals and cinema and Toronto and Venice, which chose to broadcast a few years ago weeks a documentary on the Kremlin soldiers. We literally rolled out the red carpet for them.
The United States sends billions to Ukraine, Moscow brandishes the nuclear threat
The presidential election in the United States will have important consequences. Who, between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, is favored by President Zelensky?
Not knowing who will win, the President wanted to personally meet the two candidates, as well as President Biden and members of Congress (at the end of September, during the United Nations General Assembly, Editor’s note) to present to them his “Plan for Victory”. Donald Trump made us wait a long time before confirming, but I think he has an excellent team of advisors who saw the impact of the meeting between Kamala Harris and Volodymyr Zelensky in the polls (laughs). That’s probably what made them change their minds.
What exactly does this “plan for victory” contain?
Nobody knows the details except President Zelensky. But there are four essential points: military support, economic support, Ukraine’s place on the international geopolitical scene, and integration into NATO. I personally see no obstacle to joining NATO. I think that we have largely demonstrated our ability to defend our territory and that of our allies, and to handle the weapons provided by member states of the Organization.
