In an interview with Iryna Solomko, Danilov talked about where the Ukrainian military will stay and whether negotiations with Russia are possible.
Iryna Solomko: I would like to start our conversation with the events in the Kherson region. At the beginning of the counteroffensive there were reports of this, Facebook was buzzing, however, it quickly died down. Currently, there is almost no information about the actions of the Armed Forces. Have the authorities decided to change tactics? At the same time, Russia uses this pause to its advantage, says that the offensive of the Armed Forces has failed. Where is the balance in the communication, and can you still give some details of the counterattack?
Oleksiy Danilov: We have two and a half thousand kilometers of front. Some events take place there every day. This is the business of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine… This is the business of our military – where, when and in what way they carry out certain operations.
You have to be patient. We believe in our Supreme Commander, we believe in the Armed Forces. We understand what they do. They have repeatedly proven that they can cope with the tasks set. So let’s wait calmly. And when the time comes, we will know everything.
I can remind you that, unfortunately, at the beginning of February, the whole world, without exception, believed that our country would not exist for 3-5 days. However, I always said and still say – our country will win, we will liberate all our territories, including Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where these terrorists are now. They will all, without exception, be destroyed. They have nothing to do here.
Therefore, when they started accusing us there that we were preparing, not preparing… They started saying something there… I can say that if we hadn’t prepared, Russian tanks would already be in Warsaw, Prague and Berlin. We are now actually fighting modern fascism, which is the Putin regime.
I.S.: How could you comment on this wave of reports in the Western media that Ukraine was not prepared. Why do you think this question arose now?
O.D.: The Russian Federation constantly conducts its special information operations. This is their vocation and task. Their services, which work in huge numbers on the territory of Europe and other countries, are starting to raise questions that should not be raised at all.
Only we understood and knew how we were preparing, what we were doing, what we were doing in order to resist the onslaught that came upon us on February 24. Another thing is that this information was in a completely closed mode and reached only those who needed it.
We could not fan and screw up society. Because the first task that Putin had was to sow chaos in Ukraine. He set this task almost since November last year. They shook the internal situation.
It is practically impossible to prepare for such a big war. You have to prepare society. It should be as national and patriotic as possible. You have to fight with the fifth column. And we did it. The military component is generally a separate thing that the units knew about.
Is it difficult for us? Yes, it is difficult… It was extremely difficult in the early days. Why? Because no one believed in us, did not believe that we are capable of fighting and defeating the enemy on the battlefield. The information we were told about since November was not a secret. It was talked about in society, buzzed, as you say, Facebook. It was talked about and discussed, but we were preparing.
I.S.: There are various expert assessments regarding the duration of the active phase of the war. Recently, one of the European experts said that it will be until late autumn, another 5-7 weeks, and then due to the weather, the situation will freeze. Do you agree with this? Because different forecasts are coming from the authorities.
OD: It will be a difficult, difficult war. But this is our job, which we have to do perfectly together with our partners. To finish and finally put an end to the issue of Russia’s influence on its immediate neighbors. So that the Russian Federation loses the desire to engage in such things and poke its nose into Ukraine, to tell us how we should live.
As for timing. This is a difficult question. This is not a matter of a day or two, a week or a month. This is a question that will take much more time, taking into account the fact that the Russian Federation is a large country. There are a huge number of colonized peoples, which it uses today in this war. When Russia finally gets rid of its colonies, which it seized in the 19th and 20th centuries, then we will see the real territory of Russia. It will all fly away.
Another thing is that it will be very difficult. And here the help of partners is decisive. And the faster it will arrive, the better the weapons will be, the better we will be able to deal with the enemy.
I.S.: Do you feel that your partners are tired of the topic of war and Ukraine. How can communication and support be improved?
O.D.: We do not see any partners. This is another direction of the information operation that the Russian Federation is working on.
I.S.: One of the threats is the holding of a “referendum”, in particular on the territory of the Kherson region. It was postponed several times, but the Russians are preparing. The attack on Kherson, is it related to preventing the Russians from holding a “referendum”?
O.D.: “ Referendum” on which territory are they holding? They have no right to conduct anything on the territory of the sovereign country – Ukraine. They have already conducted one, the consequences are palpable. Do they want to spend more? Let them try.
They conduct it only for themselves. What is the matter here? If there is no external enemy in Russia, this artificial country collapses like a house of cards. And this is a problem for them. They constantly need an enemy, so that there is someone and something to fight against. I’m sorry, but 75% of the people there don’t have warm toilets. So you take care of your country, why do you keep coming here?!
I.S.: That is, as far as I understood from your answer, you do not consider it a threat. However, some experts say that after the referendum, Russia may include the Kherson region in Russia, and this will already be a completely different legal status of the territory.
O.D.: Let Germany, France, Bordeaux be included in the Russian Federation…
I.S.: If we talk about the internal situation in Ukraine, how stable is it after all from the point of view of Russian influence?
O.D.: We will cleanse our country of those Russian rats who, unfortunately, still run through our wells and try to do certain processes here. We will definitely send them all either to prison or back to Russia.
I.S.: A significant part of this influence is financial influence. A few days ago, VAKS made a decision regarding the confiscation of the property of Russian oligarch Volodymyr Yevtushenkov. The NSDC plays a key role in the context of sanctions and all other processes. Currently, there are four decisions of the National Security Council, but there are not so many names of specific Russian oligarchs. Why is the work so slow?
If Russia stays the way it is, it’s only a matter of time before it can start another warOleksiy Danilov
O.D.: We have 81 submissions, which have already been processed today. The part is currently being completed by an interdepartmental group, which was created under the Cabinet of Ministers. First Vice Prime Minister Yuliya Svyridenko heads this group. Work continues.
The other thing is that here you have to check everything to the last comma. Because we are talking not only about sanctions, but also about the seizure of assets and property. And these are completely different things. And in order not to give them the opportunity to further challenge our decisions, including in the courts of other jurisdictions, including the European one, we have to do everything in such a way that all documents are flawless.
I can also say that the legislator has adopted changes to the legislation. They also influenced this process. However, he did not stop for a single day. Moreover, I am sure that in the near future we will make sure that all the sanctions adopted by Great Britain, the USA and other partners are reflected in our decisions.
I.S.: Regarding holding Russia accountable in the context of economic crimes committed against Ukrainian citizens in the temporarily occupied territories. I had a conversation with a farmer whose farm is currently in the occupied territories. He cannot go to court and defend his rights, because the National Security Council has not made a decision on the status of these territories.
O.D.: Today, the norm you are talking about is in our legislation. That the Council of National Security and Defense makes decisions about certain territories that are occupied. But I already said about two and a half thousand kilometers of the front line. It’s a moving thing. And we cannot make decisions about settlements every day. There are questions, and we are working with them on how to make it automatic. And it helped our citizens to solve the issues you mentioned.
IS: How do you see the end of this war? And does it help Ukraine that, according to the latest polls, the level of Russian support for the war is decreasing.
OD: The end of the war means the liberation of all our territories. But we must understand: if Russia remains as it is, it is only a matter of time before it can start another war. Therefore, our task is to make Russia so that it does not even have the desire to think that it can attack its neighbors, especially in such a way as it did in relation to our country.
I.S.: Yes, but then where will the Armed Forces stop: in Crimea, in Moscow?
O.D.: The Armed Forces will stop where our interests end. And it will depend on many circumstances.
I.S.: Do you see a field for negotiations with Russia today?
O.D.: As soon as we free all our territory, then we can talk to them about something.
[Source: https://ukrainian.voanews.com/a/danilov_interview/6737702.html]