Russian attacks cannot 'break Ukrainian resilience,' says former deputy minister
Russia launched a barrage of deadly strikes on civilian areas and critical energy infrastructure
Russia will not break the morale of Ukrainians with its latest barrage of attacks, says Ukraine's former deputy defence minister.
Ukraine has made major gains against Russia in recent months, recapturing several cities and towns from Russian occupying forces. But on Monday, Russia hit back hard, launching deadly strikes against several Ukrainian cities, including its capital, Kyiv.
The attacks targeted civilian and residential areas, as well as key energy infrastructure. Ukrainian officials said Monday that at least 11 people were killed and 64 wounded, though the final death toll is not yet known.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose military invaded neighbouring Ukraine on Feb. 24, said the strikes were in retaliation for what he called "terrorist" actions, including an attack last weekend on a strategically important bridge between Russia and the annexed Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the bridge attack.
Alina Frolova, Ukraine's former deputy minister of defence, lives in Kyiv, not far from some of Monday's strikes. Here is part of her conversation with As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
How are you doing? How are you staying safe?
Keeping at home and trying to keep the rule of the two walls. And so that's everything you can do in this situation.
How were your neighbours and people around you coping? You know, obviously you're in the middle of this invasion and this war, but these are the worst attacks we've seen in quite some time.
For Kyiv, it looks quite more or less similar [to] how it was in the very beginning when they tried to occupy Kyiv, to encircle it.
Our people are fantastic in their ability to cope and to co-operate to support each other. So it starts from the basic family level, and family and friends.
One of the [Ukrainian charitable] foundations today, after the first wave of the attack, said that they are collecting money for hunting drones [and] equipment ... So Ukrainians are donating ... lot of money to buy new equipment to protect ourselves.
WATCH | Russian strikes in Kyiv on Monday:
What can you tell us about these latest attacks? What was targeted, and [what was] the human cost?
The human cost is still [being calculated], especially in those areas where we have some civilian infrastructures heavily [damaged].
Today's attack was targeting two types of ... targets. It was energy infrastructure. In many regions, in many cities, there is no electricity now.
That was one of the goals. And the other goal, I think, was more to attack the morale of Ukrainians [by attacking] completely civilian [areas and] important civilian objects.
But this is … not the first day of the war. This is not something which can break Ukraine.
Andriy Yermak, a senior adviser to the Ukrainian president, says, in his view, Russia's only goal is to cause a "humanitarian catastrophe." What is your assessment of what you've seen today?
Well, yes, I think that the end goal of Russians didn't change. So in the beginning, Putin clearly declared that his goal is to eliminate Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation. So I don't think that some principle goal has changed.
But of course, the approach which they choose for today obviously demonstrates that they tried to cause some kind of humanitarian catastrophe. Again, this is not something which can break Ukrainian resilience. This is not something which can stop [the] Ukrainian army from implementing the counteroffensive, which is continuing.
As you know Vladimir Putin has called today's attack retaliation for the attack on the Crimean bridge. He says that was a terrorist act perpetrated by Ukraine, and I wonder how you respond to those statements?
Russian experts, also, in different interviews during the day ... were saying about [defending] Russia from terrorist attacks. However, I would like to say that Russia is not [defending], because they attacked Ukraine.
Crimea is Ukraine. And [the] Crimea bridge is a very legitimate target because it was constructed without permission [from] Ukraine and without the agreement of Ukraine.
But at the same time, Russia ... hit the civilian infrastructure. They hit the civilian objects. They do massive killings, as you can see from released territories, reports of the graves, of tortures that they do, massive killings of civilians and activists.
So you can compare the tactics and you can compare the actions which both states are doing. And obviously, Ukraine is in [the] defending position and Russia is in attack, and they behave like terrorists.
We will have more civilian losses with such intensive missile attacks. But, well, that's war. And we are going to win, so we're paying our price for now.- Irina Frolova, former Ukrainian deptuty defence minister
In addition to Putin's latest threats, the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Vladimir Putin, is accusing Ukraine of planning attacks on Belarus. When they say they're going to make a joint task force, Belarus and Russia, what is your sense of what that means for this war?
First of all ... Belarus allowed the Russian troops to enter from the Russian territory to Ukraine ... So whatever Lukashenko said, they're already in the war.
And should they join with the Russian army, that would be the worst day for Belarusian army, because Belarusian army is not prepared to take part in ... battlefield or combat operations. They don't have this experience. They are not well-prepared, not well-equipped. And obviously, Ukraine has now troops on the Belarusian border who [have] battlefield experience and proper equipment. And that would be very massive losses for Belarus.
What do you think Ukrainians should be expecting in the next days and weeks?
I think that we will have, for some period, intensification of missile strikes. Obviously, I don't think that it will be just today. I think that maybe not with such intens[ity], but it will continue for some period — a few days, a week — to give the pressure.
And even with this [Russian] mobilization, they … don't have enough forces to re-equip the army for now. So I don't think that, principally, the situation will be changed.
Yeah, we will have more civilian losses with such intensive missile attacks. But, well, that's war. And we are going to win, so we're paying our price for now.
With files from The Associated Press. Interview produced by Kevin Robertson. Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
