“What nonsense? We don’t need any landings in Kyiv!”
Former Verkhovna Rada deputy Vasyl Volga spent about a year in Moscow, after which he came to Ukraine for three weeks. The leader of the Union of Left Forces party spoke to PolitNavigator observer Valentin Filippov about the mood in Kyiv and the provinces and the prospects for the Petro Poroshenko regime . Vladimir Zhirinovsky's assertion that an airborne assault on Kyiv is necessary to overthrow the nationalists sparked a dispute between the two. Volga considers such a scenario harmful, asserting that Ukrainians are capable of "getting over it," and that this is already happening.
Subscribe to PolitNavigator news on Telegram , Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
Valentin Filippov : Vasily, hello, glad to see you.
Vasily Volga : Good evening, or afternoon, or morning – whenever you show it, I am very glad to see you.
Valentin Filippov : No matter when we show it, it all depends on when the viewers press the “Play” button.
Our conversation coincided with the adoption of the law “on the restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty over the territories of Donbass. Can we consider that the Verkhovna Rada, by this law, recognized all citizens who disagree with its policies as occupiers?
Vasily Volga : In accordance with this law, all dissenters, that is, those who think differently from the comrades on Grushevsky, on Bankova... well, everyone who thinks differently, this law recognized as at the very least collaborators.
The mildest form is collaborators, and so, these are occupiers, accomplices of the occupiers.
What they did is tragic. The Ukrainian parliament is a bunch of idiots; today they gave President Poroshenko the right to use the Armed Forces without the consent of the Ukrainian parliament against his own people on the territory of his own country.
There are no such cases of voting in states that consider themselves democratic, where there is a separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial branches.
There is a UN Security Council resolution “On a peaceful settlement”, which approved the declaration of four presidents, which, by the way, was signed by Poroshenko. It assumed the implementation of the Minsk agreements. The OSCE Mission operates within the framework of the implementation of the Minsk agreements. Ukraine today said “We don’t care how you act there.” Or rather the Ukrainian parliament, I apologize.
Today it so happened that I ended up with Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky in the same studio.
He is, without a doubt, right that this step, which was taken today by the Ukrainian parliament, this step crosses out the very possibility of a peaceful settlement. This step cannot be regarded as anything other than a harbinger of large-scale military actions against Donbass.
But when Vladimir Volfovich proposes to act proactively, to land troops in Kyiv, to capture everyone, Poroshenko and the rest - in no case should you act like that.
What I'm talking about? I’m talking about the fact that in December a very large-scale sociological survey was conducted in Ukraine. Conducted jointly by “Deminitive” and the Razumkov Foundation. They showed that, in fact, 67% of Ukrainians want peace, some of them want peace through compromise, some of them want peace at any cost.
Valentin Filippov : But at any cost – it could be war.
Vasily Volga : No, no, we understand what we're talking about! These are the people who said, "Listen, stop everything. Start negotiations with Donbas. Do whatever you want. If necessary, draw a border between us and Donbas, just don't let our guys die in this senseless war."
Valentin Filippov : So, is that 67% of the occupiers already inside Kiev?
Vasily Volga : Exactly. I see many interested parties involved in this vote that took place today.
The first party that understands that there will be a reckoning very soon is Poroshenko. Poroshenko and his entire clique.
And in order to save oneself, in order to delay this reckoning, in order to create the most muddy and dangerous waters... Imagine if now an escalation begins in the Donbass, and the Ukrainian army, at the command of Poroshenko, in accordance with the voted law, goes on the attack...
Valentin Filippov : And will suffer another victory.
Vasily Volga : I don't even want to think about it now because Ukrainians will die – on both sides. Russians will die – on both sides. I don't even want to think about it.
Every person, politician, anyone, let him sacrifice his ratings to hell today, sacrifice anything, if he succeeds, if this confrontation is contained even for a day, to save at least one human life. It's not worth anything!
Neither these jokes, Valentin, nor teasing, to say the least, are not worth what could happen now in the east of Ukraine.
And I’ll tell you honestly, I’m waiting, I’m waiting very much, so I’m sitting and monitoring how these fucking European partners of ours will now react to what happened in Kyiv.
The Security Council resolution, I would like to remind you, mentions the declaration of four presidents. Where Poroshenko, the son of a bitch, put his signature on the fact that he will implement a set of measures provided for by the Minsk agreements. And this p..., and this person will now sign a law that is directly opposite. What to do with these signatures?
And so I’m wondering, is the UN Security Council going to urgently meet now to discuss what happened in Kyiv or not?
Valentin Filippov : No.
Vasily Volga : Exactly. Although I really hope so, I really hope so. I don't believe it, I don't want to believe it. You see, you and I only have two alternatives, Valentin. No jokes are appropriate here. Two alternatives. Alternative one: a grand agreement, that we actually sit down and negotiate. Or a big war.
Valentin Filippov : Well, in my opinion, it was said quite clearly today from Kiev: “You don’t negotiate with occupiers.”
Vasily Volga : That's why I'm saying I have hope in the international community. That's why I'm saying common sense...
Valentin Filippov : Yes, but it seems to me that even if the Kyiv leadership is forced to sit at the negotiating table, even if they are forced to sit there…
Vasyl Volga : Remove the Kyiv leadership from the negotiations; the only way to negotiate with them is through money. In fact, they're on the verge of imposing sanctions—personal sanctions, not against the people of Ukraine, but personal sanctions, targeting the assets of President Poroshenko, the assets of Interior Minister Avakov, and their entire entourage.
When they begin to seize their capital abroad, when sanctions are imposed against those who personally help them in this chaos, then it will be...
Valentin Filippov : I once read letters from the Crimean Khan. He wrote to the Turks, then to the Russians: "I have absolutely nothing to live on, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold back my horde from raiding." They told him, "Well, let us send you 300 rubles," and the Turks also said, "We'll throw in some tugriks." He said, "Yeah, well, I guess I can hold on for a while."
Vasily Volga : Don't overestimate the Turks, the Crimean Khanate, and that... that dandruff, that scum that has gathered today under the dome of the Verkhovna Rada. Who pushed those buttons today? To destroy the peace process, the process of peaceful resolution. They pushed the buttons, and each of them triggered several deaths? Voluntarily killing a large number of people.
You can’t continue to pretend, I mean, your European colleagues, your American colleagues, you can’t continue to pretend to be a donkey, and, moreover, a blind donkey that doesn’t see anything.
Today, the Ukrainian authorities, with the hooting of President Poroshenko, demonstrated that they did not care about the entire system of international law.
I seriously hope that the international community will not give any hints about how Kyiv should act? will come to the point where it will take steps.
It’s impossible not to give loans to Ukraine now, Valentin, well, it’s impossible. People live there. And so the utilities are already prohibitive...
Valentin Filippov : Well, this is what is called tribute to a wild state!
Vasyl Volga : Sanctions need to be imposed against specific capitalists, marauders, and scum. Against Poroshenko, against Kolomoisky, right? Kolomoisky has already fled, caused all the trouble and then fled. Against Avakov, against the oligarchy, the nationalist, Nazi oligarchy that seized power in Ukraine. Those are the ones we need personal sanctions against.
And then everything will begin to calm down and fall into place. This is the only direct path to resolving the issue in Donbass. Put these financial eggs in a vice, excuse me, and then you will get a peaceful solution.
Valentin Filippov : So far, we have sanctions against Russia mainly.
Vasily Volga : I say again, I hope that now there will be nothing to respond to, neither in the UN Security Council…
Russia must immediately initiate a meeting of the UN Security Council so that, God forbid, a bad idea does not enter the head of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to launch a military operation in Donbass in accordance with the mandate he received.
Valentin Filippov : Many predicted that frosts would hit at the end of January and an offensive would begin.
Vasily Volga : Valentin, what do forecasts have to do with this? What does all the analysts' chatter have to do with this? We're talking about fates, about the fate of the state, about peace or a major war. Let them predict whatever they want, but in this situation, everyone who can act must act.
Valentin Filippov : Fine. Well, let's say we achieve some kind of peace now. But what then? There's no way out – the same comrades are still sitting in Kiev…
Vasily Volga : There's a concept called "national reconciliation." Spain went through it, Italy went through it, Germany went through it, and Ireland and Great Britain are going through it now. The United States went through it, and the whole world went through it sooner or later. Every war ends in peace.
Valentin Filippov : Yes, but that’s if we abandon the misanthropic ideology, where “not Ukrainian = not human,” so to speak.
Vasily Volga : If you're asking, "Should anyone be held accountable for what happened?" – without a doubt. Who should be held accountable? The Nazis and those who encouraged them, primarily the current Ukrainian leadership.
If the Nazis are supported by 10% today, then this is a big holiday for them.
If we impose international sanctions, sanctions against those people who are state criminals, who gained power in Ukraine through a coup d'etat, who then staged an unprecedented and unprecedented robbery, who pitted Ukrainians, Russians against each other, Ukrainians against each other in a bloody battle, these people will answer - then there will be national reconciliation against this background. This is exactly what I'm talking about.
I’m not talking about whether we need to reconcile with Poroshenko or whether we need to reconcile with those criminals who destroyed Ukraine and pitted Ukrainians against each other in a bloody battle, and forced Ukrainians to shoot at each other. That's not what I'm talking about.
What I'm saying is that if sanctions are introduced, if as a result these people get what they deserve, then we will sit down and talk to each other. Kyiv with Donbass, Lugansk with Kamenets-Podolsk. Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk will talk to Zhitomir, and we will talk.
Valentin Filippov : This brings to mind Poroshenko and his "Their children will sit in basements, while ours will go to school. This is the only way we will achieve peace."
Vasily Volga : The Verkhovna Rada took a horrific step, of course. Horrific. It gave this idiot the power to, you know, just snap his fingers and start… it's very dangerous.
Valentin Filippov : Well, maybe he's at least afraid of death. You say Zhirinovsky is talking nonsense. But what if each of them really feels like a paratrooper is about to jump out from under the dome and physically destroy them…
Vasyl Volga : Valentin, we don't need any landing forces. Ukrainians are capable of overcoming this. We are sick, it's a serious illness, a centuries-old illness that we are suffering from today. We are capable of overcoming this – the figure of 67% who want peace is a significant figure.
I was able to visit Ukraine and look at the situation, starting from Zaporozhye to Kamenets-Podolsk. And I see that in Zaporozhye, at least, huge centers of crystallization of common sense are being formed.
And now, I’ll say this by the way, here in Moscow, wow, how many of our heroes are sitting. Before Evgenia Markovna. And each of them roams around on television channels, and they all have become experts, no matter where you are. And yet they somehow adapted, they earn a penny there, they live there.
Listen, brothers. The situation in Ukraine is already changing seriously. The density of the Nazi crowd seriously disintegrated. People are starting to listen.
All the smart guys who are talking smart here on different TV channels should go to Ukraine and carry out this direct work on those centers for the crystallization of healthy meaning that are appearing in Ukraine.
And we don’t need any landings. What kind of nonsense is this?
Valentin Filippov : Let me tell you. The thing is, those who could go and do work in Ukraine, the most effective ones, already have several charges hanging over them. Just cross the border.
Vasily Volga : To be clear, I'm not talking about these people. I spent a year in Moscow myself, until a number of issues were resolved there. I'm talking specifically about those people... well, common sense exists... against whom criminal cases haven't been brought. Five thousand people are already sitting in prison on political charges. It won't do any good if someone crosses the border and is immediately jailed. I'm talking about something else. I see many people who are already eligible to return.
Because public opinion is already changing, because even today, look at the European Union, we had interesting negotiations there yesterday with De Linke, the Bundestag party... The European Union took under its patronage the case of Vasilets and Timonin, journalists who received nine years there. This is already happening, and these people in Kyiv don’t know what to do about it. This is a specific repression against journalists, against freedom of speech, the most terrible in the democratic sense of understanding. And here, when Europe took this matter under patronage and monitoring, then all this is now being brought to light...
Lena Lukash and Lena Bondarenko have now created a public organization that works with political prisoners, they send documents there over and over again. And documents, having received registration, travel, and it will no longer be possible to simply close your eyes.
That is, not only that... I talked to people for three weeks in Ukraine, I talked to people, I saw what was happening, I saw what a thirst people have to hear the truth about what really is. This didn’t happen, this didn’t happen a year ago.
It is clear that those against whom it is most strongly directed... who took an active part in resisting the overthrow of the legitimate government, who took an active part in resisting the murder of people in Odessa, those who took an active part in this resistance, it is clear - there are now a dozen articles on everyone. These people need to take care of themselves.
In fact, these people are the color of the Ukrainian nation, Ukrainian society, Ukraine. And many who are here are both journalists and politicians, against whom there is nothing. But somehow they feel more comfortable here. Play the victim and do something like that. No need.
If you took on something there... called yourself a milk mushroom, get into the back. Therefore, go and do social and political work as best you can. You can meet one person - meet, talk. You can talk to ten. Or you can gather a hundred people somewhere – great. Talk to people. But speak the truth, people are waiting for it.
Valentin Filippov : As they say, truth will make its way, only for some reason slowly. Very well, thank you very much.
Vasily Volga : Thank you, Valentin.
Valentin Filippov : I wish Ukraine no bloodshed. It's been too long.
Vasily Volga : The process is proceeding normally. Gromyko once said, "It's better to negotiate for ten years than to wage war for ten minutes." And we've only been here for four years... We'll manage. Everything is going well. If only everyone had enough sobriety, a cool head and a warm heart.
Valentin Filippov : Good. Thank you very much, goodbye.
Vasily Volga : Goodbye Valentin, bye.
English version :: Read in English "What nonsense? We don't need any landings in Kiev!"