for this opposition MP, “the fight against corruption is as necessary as the fight against the Russians”

Lesia Vasylenko, opposition MP, assumes sacred union behind Volodymyr Zelenski, while demanding discussions and criticism, within the framework of Parliament.

Ukraine is a young democracy, which became independent from Russia in August 1991, and which is learning it painfully, after the pro-democracy and pro-West revolutions of 2004 and 2014, the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the Donbass war. For two years and the Russian “special operation”, the Ukrainian Parliament has not stopped its activity. He even strengthened it with new laws being adopted every day. Lesia Vasylenko is an opposition MP. She returns to franceinfo on the need in her eyes to preserve democratic institutions while resisting Russian aggression. And the challenge of the fight against corruption, this “enemy from within”.

franceinfo: You are a member of the Ukrainian parliament, the Rada. There is a poster right next to us that says “Kyiv is waiting for you after the victory”. A message which is undoubtedly aimed at Westerners. Do you still believe in victory today?

Lesia Vasylenko: Absolutely. Victory is the only possible path for Ukraine and for all our Western friends and almost everywhere in the world, friends of democracy. If there is no victory for Ukraine, it will be the victory of autocracy, of a Russian imperialist regime. And I don’t think that’s the path we want to take in a modern 21st century world.

Recently, there was the capture of Avdiivka, Russia’s first major capture since Bakhmut in May 2023. Do you also observe that today, the Ukrainian forces do not have the means to offensive ambitions.

We never had the means to achieve our ambitions. To tell the truth, from the start, in January 2022, when the Ukrainians were requesting arms from all our partners, and especially from the West, we received the answer: no. But we must always be sensitive to the fact that the Russians are not going to stop if we don’t stop them.

Volodymyr Zelensky speaks regularly. In one of his recent interventions, while returning from the front, he explained what he had seen there, in the east of the country. “It is extremely difficult today at the front for the soldiers,” he said. Two years later, for Ukraine, is Volodymyr Zelensky still the man for the job, in your eyes?

Yes of course. The president is telling the truth, indeed. We are always grateful and we always thank our partners for everything they give us. But when we ask for more, it is not because we want it and that we are going to stockpile all these munitions or all these weapons. No, it’s because we need it. We use them, we use them to save lives.

But you are an opposition MP. Does this sacred union that there could have been two years ago still exist or is it threatened?

You know, when we talk about Ukraine abroad, on international platforms, it is always a sacred union, a united front for Ukraine. But when we are in our country, we are still a democracy. Parliament works, there are debates. We allow ourselves to criticize our colleagues, and that is how, in these discussions, in these debates, we arrive at decisions by the majority of Parliament, which meet the needs of the country.

When Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Valeri Zalouzhny, who was a popular man, replaced at the head of the Ukrainian army by Oleksandr Syrsky, did this dismissal concern you?

It was a very difficult decision. Valery Zaluzhny is a hero here in Ukraine. Changes are always a source of concern. So we will see the results of the new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army.

Volodymyr Zelensky is also called upon by the population to act on corruption. There have been repeated scandals that have rocked Ukraine. We can cite one: a high-ranking Ukrainian officer is said to have embezzled around millions of euros alongside a purchase of 100,000 mortar shells. Arrests took place at the end of January. And to this day, the military is still waiting to see those shells. Are you aware that the fight against corruption is a necessary battle, which must be fought today in Ukraine to restore confidence to the population?

Yes, absolutely. But this is a battle that Ukraine has been fighting for years and years. It was very slow, today it is going much faster because the Ukrainian population is demanding results. And we understand very well that the fight against corruption is as necessary as the fight against the Russians. We have the enemy from outside, the Russians who are invading our country. But there is also the enemy from within. Those who want to make money off the lives of others, off the lives of our soldiers and their family members. We know that we must exterminate this internal enemy that is corruption.