Andriy Sadovy, mayor of Lviv and leader of Samopomich party, has said that Ukraine must first secure victories in four areas, such as politics, economy, military sphere, and foreign policy, to win the war against the Russian Federation, a statement published on the party’s website on October 25 reads.
“The first war is a political one. At its disposal, Russia has got two key levers of influence over the internal policy in Ukraine. They are direct agents of influence and corruption. We all know the people who work for Putin very well,” Sadovy said at the opening of the Lviv Security Forum. He added that they “have been going to Russia to get instructions and have owned media outlets in Ukraine.”
“Corruption is another lever. It is important for Putin to keep the Ukrainian political elite corrupt. In this case, it brings good for the Kremlin, even if they demonstrate anti-Russian rhetoric. Because they will not be trusted in the world, they will not be trusted by Ukrainians, and they will not be trusted by the army,” he said.
According to him, the second war is an economic one because it is important for the Russian Federation to tie up the Ukrainian economy to it. “After 2014, we saw a decrease in the trade turnover with Russia; however, Russian imports have significantly increased over the past two years,” the politician said.
“We have got our own coal (deposits) in western Ukraine; however, we continue to import coal from Russia. And such an approach can be observed in many other industries. Energy independence is of paramount importance. We have almost lost the war for North Stream 2 and the energy security issue is becoming a key one. Our priority shall be to step up domestic production of natural gas and introduce energy-saving technologies everywhere,” Sadovy said.
Also, he said that investments in the defense industry by Ukraine’s allies from the West should be discussed. “This war should give an impetus to some groundbreaking innovations in this area,” he said.
“The third was is a military one. We are proud of our soldiers, our defenders, who have shown their courage to the entire mankind. But the question is whether they are protected when they come back home. At the core here is to secure the trust and morale of our soldiers. When the enemy is greatly stronger in terms of the amount of weaponry, the morale is of paramount importance,” Sadovy said.
Also, he said that the budget of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry is “just a few lines of classified text.” “The budget of the U.S. Defense Department is given in detail on 500 pages. Are we afraid that the enemy will know what we have purchased and for which price? They have already known the details of our budget. However, it has been kept secret from Ukrainians,” he said.
According to Samopomich’s leader, one more war is waged in foreign policy. “To talk as equals with others, we need to minimize corruption and demonstrate growth in our economy. Then we will become equal partners and we will have something to offer to our potential allies,” he said.
“It is important for us to develop bilateral relations with the countries in Central Europe, the United States, and Great Britain because they understand what Russia is up to. The Ukrainian diplomacy should work at maximum revs so that we could seek and multiply our allies in all the countries that are important to us,” he said.
Sadovy said that only having won all these wars will Ukraine be able to win the war against Russia, protect its independence, and free all the currently occupied territories.
The Lviv Security Forum is being attended by experts from Ukraine and countries of the West, as well as Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin.
