VIDEO
EXCLUSIVE
The following is an interview with Pavlo Yakymenko, an MP of the ruling Servant of the People parliamentary faction.
[Klitina] Good afternoon, Pavlo Yakymenko is with us. Pavlo returned from Kharkiv only yesterday. I would like to inquire as to what is going on there. What is the morale like of residents?
[Yakymenko] Good afternoon. The situation in Kharkiv is quite complicated but under full control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The city comes under fire on a daily basis. We’ve lately had additional rocket strikes and strikes by multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). The residential areas located on the outskirts of Kharkiv such as Saltivka, Kholodna Hora, Piatykhatky, Oleksiyivka, Kharkiv Tractor Plant suffer the most. Gorky Park suffered a lot, as there was a strike on it; this is a park beloved by Kharkiv residents and guests to our city. To my big regret we must state that there are 40 to 60 strikes on average a day. However, the city continues to work and live, or at least make attempts to live the life it lived before the war. All damage is continuing to be eliminated daily, the rescuers, law- enforcement authorities, hospitals and all the critical infrastructure continue their work. Even business starts to work in some areas, where there is a possibility for it. We have definitely seen a tendency in the last week for people to start to return, as we see more cars and people in the streets.
[Klitina] So, people are returning to the city, rather than being evacuated from it? Is that right?
[Yakymenko] Yes, they are coming back, and this is quite visible.
[Klitina] What is your outlook on the current situation? How will the city defend itself?
[Yakymenko] The city will definitely defend itself. The city will definitely stand, since all plans of the Russian Federation to capture Kharkiv failed; their plans did not and will not materialize. Kharkiv is far better fortified today than it was at the beginning of the war. The Armed Forces currently control the situation. We have a lot of volunteers who each day sign up for both the Armed Forces and the Territorial Defence. All the people have consolidated, they all live around one idea and one thought. They all believe in our victory. Everyone helps each other. I cannot make any forecasts since I am not a military man, but I clearly understand and clearly see that no one will abandon the city and everyone will stand until we attain our common victory.
[Klitina] That is clear and it is good to hear such news. Could you inform us on the humanitarian needs of residents?
[Yakymenko] The needs are as follows. The city has suffered massive devastation, with more than 1,600 apartment blocks destroyed as of today. As a result, all the people who lived in those blocks have no shelter, so there is huge demand for temporary housing. Both the Kharkiv Region Military Administration and the City Council are trying to solve this problem in the most effective way. Among priority tasks at the moment is repairing the network, as there are problems with electricity and water supply. The Russian Federation hit them and targeted the networks deliberately. There are districts without electricity and water right now. We visited one such district with humanitarian aid a short while ago. We met and spoke with the people there. Since the beginning of the war people have been living exclusively in basements without electricity or water; there are children too. Therefore, the municipal and communal services are working on eliminating these problems to make sure everyone has both light and water, as well as all what is necessary for people’s livelihoods. Both Kharkiv city and Kharkiv Region have their humanitarian needs, but our humanitarian headquarters and our logistical centres, which we have set up in the first week, are operating quite actively now. We have established centralized humanitarian aid distribution points. Volunteers are helping us a lot with this. Thus, our humanitarian headquarters are working actively and thank God everything works out for everyone. There is a big need related to the front line, since our defenders need a lot more weapons in order to effectively defend our land and go onto the attack in some directions.
[Klitina] I have a final question to you. What message would you like to convey to the international community? I understand there is primarily a need for weapons to attain a victory.
[Yakymenko] Yes, Ukraine definitely needs international community’s support, people should feel this support. We should all understand that we are not fighting this cancer of the 21st century alone. Our President, Vladimir Zelensky, should feel this support, our defenders should feel this support. I am convinced that more and more of our neighbours and European countries realize that today Ukraine is a shield, they understand that today we are defending our right to life, they understand that today we are defending our land and, therefore, we definitely need arms, therefore the economic pressure on the Russian Federation should increase, so that the war which began on February 24, would turn out to be too expensive for it. We all need to unite around this problem in order to force the Russian Federation to end what it started on February 24.
[Klitina] Thank you very much for the interview. Slava Ukrayini!
[Yakymenko] Thank you. Heroyam slava!
