Ukrainian society does not capitulate to Russia’s ultimatum and we have no alternative but to defend ourselves, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Moldova Marko Shevchenko stated during a public debate hosted by IPN News Agency. According to the Ukrainian diplomat, Russia’s attack on the hospital in Kyiv was meant to press the Ukrainian leadership to accept the Kremlin’s conditions.
According to Marko Shevchenko, Russia has experience in destroying civilian targets and does it lightly in Ukraine because it knows that the Ukrainian people are hostile to the Moscow regime. The goal of the attack on the Kyiv children’s hospital was to put pressure on Ukraine’s leadership and allies.
“I think the Russian officials know exactly where this hospital is located and they even know what ward there is on each floor. That’s why, most likely, the main stake was political and psychological. It was intended to put psychological pressure on the leadership of Ukraine and our partners. I remind the people that such attacks and crimes are not new for the Russian Federation. Let’s remember the events during the two Chechen wars, when the Russian army razed to the ground Chechen settlements, starting with the city of Grozny and ending with Chechen villages. If Russia did this to its citizens, on its territory, it’s clear that it can do the same to another country, especially since we are talking about citizens who have a hostile attitude towards Russia,” said Ambassador Marko Shevchenko.
He noted that the purpose of the Russian army’s attacks is to cause fear and panic in Ukrainian society. The Kremlin destroys civilian infrastructure so that the population leaves the Ukrainian cities.
“The attacks on children’s institutions are nothing new. It was the attack on the maternity hospital in Mariupol at the beginning of the war, in 2022. The whole planet saw the images of newborns being pulled out from under the rubble. On July 8, simultaneously with the attack on “Okhmatdyt” hospital, there was another attack on a private hospital that provides treatment services for children and mothers-to-be. That’s why this is a fixed strategy to scare the population, to get the population out of the cities, turning citizens into refugees and turning cities into places where it becomes impossible to live. When there is no electricity in the city and we see attacks on the energy infrastructure, it means that there is no light or water in the city because the pumps do not work. All these things cause the population to leave their homes and move to quieter places,” stated the Ukrainian diplomat.
He noted that his country will not surrender to the aggressor and will continue to defend itself. The terrorist actions of the Russian army will not cause Ukrainian society to accept the conditions imposed by the Kremlin.
“Ukrainian society is not capitulating, as the Russian authorities demand. Ukrainian society wants to continue the fight against the Russian attackers. At the NATO Summit, which took place after this attack, the leadership of Ukraine signed a security agreement with 23 states. Ukraine continues to defend itself and we believe that we have no alternative. Ukraine understands that accepting the Russian conditions means the destruction of the Ukrainian people. That’s why we are defending ourselves and I see no prospects of fulfilling Russia’s ultimatum,” Marko Shevchenko pointed out.
The public debate entitled “War crimes: reasons and consequences” was the 310th installment of IPN’s project “Developing political culture through public debates”, which is implemented with the support of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
