A month has passed from the start of the biggest military conflict on European soil since World War II. Civilians are being killed from the very beginning of the brutal Russian aggression against independent and sovereign Ukraine. The Russian army, simply, without warning, is firing with heaviest weapons, from air, land and sea, at civilian targets – residential buildings, passenger vehicles, schools and kindergartens, hospitals, maternity hospitals, theaters, shopping malls, nursing homes and even nuclear power plants.
We speak with the Ambassador of Ukraine, Н.Е. Natalia Zadorozhnyuk,who, in an interview on January 13, 2022, didn’t exclude full aggression by Putin’s military machinery against Ukraine. Ambassador Zadorozhnyuk has stressed several times so far that the aggression against Ukraine is an aggression against the democratic and civilized world, which is the main conclusion also of CIVIL’s statement (25.2.2022), the first in North Macedonia and among the first in the world, in which it most strongly condemns the Russian aggression. Zadorozhnyuk here answers questions on several aspects of this tragic war.
On March 24 it will be one month since the start of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. What is the situation in Ukraine?
ZADOROZHNYUK: A month of war with the Russian regime. The Blitzkrieg of the Kremlin aggressors has failed. Ukraine is fighting heroically and in a dedicated manner. It is fighting for itself, for the future of its children, for Europe and for democratic values, for the right to choice. There is significant advantage of the Ukrainian Army in the ground battles and there is a critical need to close the skies. The air is dominated by the aggressor’s aviation.
Military wise, we have defeated the so-called second army in the world. This war for them is the beginning of the end.
In addition to the demoralization, Russia, losing on the battlefield, has resorted also to intimidation – this includes the crimes of the Russian army with shootings at the population, thefts, airstrikes and missiles on critical infrastructure buildings across the entire territory of Ukraine.
The people are, primarily, the army, their willingness to go into battle. In this respect, the Russians are losing catastrophically. We have an incomparable quality advantage of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and of the Ukrainian people. And this is not only a military advantage – it’s a people’s resistance. Our army is operating with 100% support of the population.
Any Ukrainian soldier at the frontline who comes out of their car is simply attacked by the local population with the wish to feed them, to refuel their car, to help them and to report information on the aggressor.
As soon as any equipment of the occupier gets broken down, the local residents come to it before our military units. They immediately disable it completely. This is full resistance, the scale of which world history has still not seen. The entire nation has gone to war.
The enemy has suffered great losses in all directions.
Yes, Mariupol is blocked, it is true. The aggressor is physically destroying this beautiful city. There is nothing sacred for them.Knowing that people were hiding in the theatre, he deliberately and ruthlessly threw a bomb at it. Even the civilian humanitarian corridors they are opening, they are forcing people to evacuate not in Ukraine, but on the territory of the Russian Federation.
The biggest deficit in Ukraine now is weapons. All civilians demand to be included in the war, to be given the opportunity to oust the aggressor. Those who could not get weapons, are building barricades and organizing help for the army. A real people’s war is being led.
Although it’s extremely difficult to predict, can you, based on your knowledge and analyses, give predictions on what the perspective is, how the war will unfold in the following period?
ZADOROZHNYUK: The one who has greater advantage on the battlefield will have greater advantage during negotiations. The Ukrainians have already destroyed every possible plan of the enemy. The Kremlin is trying to come up with acceptable options for its fictive “victory” over Ukraine, so as to somehow explain the effects of the sanctions and to preserve the government of the inhumane Putin regime.
However, the Kremlin regime has not lost and probably doesn’t plan to lose its goal – to force Ukraine to surrender. Therefore, not being able to win in the military operations, he has resorted to war crimes – killing civilians, use of prohibited weapons, shelling humanitarian convoys.
According to latest surveys, 92% of Ukrainians believe that we will win. But there is a circumstance that is not on Ukraine’s side: dreadful human losses and gradual economic exhaustion.
The brutal attacks on civilian targets has forced more than ten million people to flee their homes, of who more than three million are now refugees outside of Ukraine. How many refugees from Ukraine are there in North Macedonia at the moment and what do they need the most? Can the institutions and humane citizens do something more? Are the Ukrainian refugees enabled to work in North Macedonia?
ZADOROZHNYUK: We are now waiting for official information from the Ministry of Interior on the exact number of citizens from Ukraine. According to our estimates, around 500 citizens from Ukraine have entered the country, who are mainly accommodated with relatives and friends. We are currently resolving the issue of medical care and of including the Ukrainian children in the education process.
The state government has passed a decision on providing temporary residence for Ukrainian citizens. Citizens can turn to the police department, to the Foreign Affairs Inspectorate for a temporary residence permit for humanitarian reasons. Citizens of Ukraine who have obtained this temporary residence permit have the right to employment and social protection in the country.
What is most important for Ukraine at the moment?
ZADOROZHNYUK: Tightening sanctions on Russia, providing weapons to Ukraine, closing the Ukrainian sky for Russian missiles and bombardment and providing humanitarian aid.
How will you asses the Russian propaganda in North Macedonia? How much, in your opinion, has the Russian propaganda penetrated the public and media space? What do you think should be done?
ZADOROZHNYUK: The examples of Russian propaganda that I have analyzed these days show that the ideological machine so generously financed by Russia now has the same problems as the “second army in the world”. Even bigger.
Russia in the first days managed to fill the information space with fake news and information garbage, but now the situation has stabilized. Most of the citizens understood, increasingly more Macedonian media are giving true information. We see them, of course, the trolls from Kremlin, and other special forces of the Russian propaganda, they are noisy, but weak, shouting some empty slogans.
The Russian regime with its information campaign is humiliating the Macedonian citizens, their ability to analyze, to see the truth, they publish some crazy fake news, hoping that someone might really believe in such madness. I think that even the fiercest supporters of Putinism don’t believe them anymore, but rather support them by inertia. It’s hard for people to admit their mistakes, to admit that their idols are not at all idols, but criminals.
Fortunately, the Russian propaganda, this information garbage will be reduced.
I am convinced that this brutal war, started by Russia in the 21st century, will have an impact on all spheres of life in the European countries, including also in the information sphere. There will be increasingly more objective, honest information, more professional journalists.
In this direction, the work of Civilmedia, Kontraspin, Truthmeter, Meta, Nezavisen and many, many other professional media outlets deserve respect and support.
Ukraine has received support from the Western allies, but far from enough. What is the reason for this and do you expect any radical change in terms of this issue?
ZADOROZHNYUK: We received very strong assistance from our Western allies in all directions. Certainly, when your country is bombarded and destroyed, when civilians, children are killed, you consider and demand greater support. We need as much as will stop this cynical and ruthless regime.
You saw that the Russian propaganda recently stated that Ukraine is a buffer zone to Europe. They will go further – Poland, the Baltic countries, will return to Georgia, Moldova. Former Russian President, Deputy in the Security Council, Medvedev, recently intimidated Poland. But Poland is a strong and courageous country, and as a response to this intimidation, expelled 45 Russian diplomats.
That is why Ukraine, Europe, the civilized world are united around one thing – we must all stop this fascist regime in Europe, and not only stop it, but alsoinflict devastating defeat. The regime that is conducting genocide has no right to exist.
Xhabir Deralla
Translation: N. Cvetkovska
