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Andriy Parubiy: Ukrainians are Dying for Europe and the Whole Civilized World

Feb 28, 2015 | Newpathway, Ukrainian National Federation, Featured, Politics

On February 22, Andriy Parubiy, first deputy Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine and former Commander of the Maidan Self Defence, visited Toronto. The New Pathway interviewed Mr. Parubiy to find his outlook on the latest developments of the war in the Donbas.

NP: Recently, it seems that European support for Ukraine is not as strong as Ukraine had hoped for. On February 23, the German Foreign minister Steinmeier said that in the Donbas “There are early signs … of at least some relaxation” and made a hint that the red line would be crossed if “rebels” tried to capture Mariupol. Which means that what happened in Debaltseve is not much of a violation of the Minsk agreements.

AP: Apparently, Europe was not ready to what has happened in Ukraine. Ukraine was not ready for that itself. When the Russian agression started, we were convinced that the global help for Ukraine had to be immediate. And that's why, after some time, we are now used to this kind of statements – that capture of Mariupol would be “the red line”, but after that it seems that Zaporizhzhia would be “the red line”, and then if the Russian troops reached Kyiv, it would become “the red line”.

So, this kind of statements are worrisome, but, what is even worse, they affect the morale of the Ukrainians. When Putin says that Ukraine cannot join NATO and after that some European foreign ministers say the same, it is depressing to hear that in Ukraine where the best sons and daughers of the nation have died and are continuing to die for Europe and the whole civilised world. If Ukraine falls to Putin, we can only guess which country will be next. And it's a mission for all Ukrainians in Ukraine and the Diaspora to let the world know that Ukraine needs all kinds of help, including arms and equipment.

NP: Some are saying, maybe cinically, that the hopeless resistance at Debaltseve was Ukraine's latest attempt to prove to the world that Russia is the aggressor. And the latest President Poroshenko's initiative to invite peacekeepers looks like a desperate move after all other hopes on the West have not been fulfilled.

AP: I don't think there was any special scenario for Debaltseve. The enemy gathered all its forces from Luhansk and Donetsk regions and threw them at Debaltseve. They outnumbered us by many times. I think it would be unfair to say that Ukraine had planned this situation. When we saw to what extent they outnumbered us, we decided to retreat. I don't think there was some conspiracy involved here.

The peacekeeping initiative is two-fold and is being received differently. We understand that for the peacekeepers to be involved, there needs to be peace already in that region. So, this idea cannot be implemented very quickly and needs to be discussed. Ukraine continues to have one goal – to drive the occupant from its territory, and will use all means possible to achieve that. I respect the President Poroshenko's diplomatic efforts, we will also continue to use military force too.

NP: Do you think that Ukraine has done everything it could in terms of economic sanctions against Russia? There have been complaints in the West that it's not the case.

AP: Our sanctions against Russia are identical to Europe's. We are sometimes accused of buying natural gas from Russia, but if we stop buying it, we will descend into chaos. Over the last year, we have managed to minimize the supplies of gas from Russia through supplies from other countries and energy saving. But we cannot stop buying gas from Russia outright.

I think the fact that Ukraine has so far not defaulted on its debts although the economy had been completely destroyed by the Yanukovych regime, and at the same time we are leading the war and sometimes counterattacking, while managing to keep up with the social payments, means that we have maintained the situation in some balance.

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