Tetyana Ogarkova, journalist, head of the international department of the Ukraine Crisis Center regrets Sunday June 12 on franceinfo “the absence of a strong union in Europe” against Vladimir Putin. The will to want “do not irritate the aggressor, appease the aggressor” goes badly in Ukraine, according to her. Tetyana Ogarkova refers to statements by Emmanuel Macron who called for “don’t humiliate Russia”. This strategy “has never worked and never will work”she said.
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franceinfo: What is the situation of Ukrainians in Odessa or Khazkiv where you recently visited?
Tetyana Ogarkova: I visited Kharkiv last weekend. I was able to see how the city lives, which is 40 km from the border with Russia. It’s a life where there is no longer any room for calm since, despite the Ukrainian counter-offensive which was able to liberate 70% of the Kharkiv region, there are still Russian troops on the ground. These are daily bombardments with artillery. We always need more heavy weapons, precisely to destroy this Russian ability to bomb civilians. There are civilians who unfortunately die every day in Kharkiv and the surrounding area, such as in Tsyrkuny which is under constant bombardment. It is a war that is absolutely unjustified. We have seen inside the city a strength that we did not expect, since there are people who stayed in Kharkiv during the very difficult months of March and April. Very strong people who do everything possible to support the volunteer army. I was struck to see the cultural people, the directors, the writers who are there and who deal with military aid for the soldiers who are on the positions.
The deliveries of heavy armaments from the European Union in particular are not fast enough?
There are always promises to deliver more heavy weapons to us. And it is indeed howitzers, but also Launch Rocket System which will enable us to cut down the Russian artillery. If you want a comparison between Ukrainian forces and Russian forces in terms of heavy artillery, it’s one against ten. They have ten times more weapons. What we see in Donetsk, Rubizhne, Popasna, not to mention Mariupol, is a strategy of crushing, scorched earth. They destroy everything in their path, advancing little by little because it is not a spectacular advance.
“They kill everything on their way without there being a distinction between civilians, soldiers, between women, children.”
Tetyana Ogarkova, journalistat franceinfo
The destruction is enormous.
Do you expect any particular help from France?
Concerning France, I won’t hide from you that we reacted a bit badly to the statements coming from the President of the Republic who talks about not humiliating Russia. We can see a bit of the political will behind not to irritate the aggressor, in fact to appease the aggressor. However, we, here in Ukraine, have clearly seen, unfortunately, that this policy has never worked and will never work either. We saw clearly, in 2014, that the policy of appeasement and the desire to turn a blind eye to Crimea and the Donbass occupied by Russia led to another war, much bloodier, eight years later. We of course regret the absence of a strong union in Europe. It is hoped that there will still be a return to the union, since there is no other solution to put an end to this war than to bring about the necessary military defeat of Russia.