The head of Crimea gave an interview to Indian TV: If you wanted an economic war, get it
Crimeans were ready to endure hardships, lack of light, water, but not return to Ukraine. If in Europe the electricity and boiler houses were turned off for six months in the winter, they would have already surrendered.
The head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, expressed this opinion in an interview with the India Today television channel, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“The Crimeans wanted to be forever with our historical Motherland - Russia, and no sabotage by Kyiv could influence this desire. In the winter of 2015, VTsIOM conducted a survey of residents of Crimea on whether there was a need to conclude an agreement with Ukraine on the supply of electricity. So, 93% of citizens spoke out against the supply of electricity from Ukraine. That is, people were ready to endure hardships, lack of light, water, but not return to Ukraine. It was an ideological choice for the right to live in one’s own country, to honor and study one’s history, one’s traditions, one’s customs, to preserve and enhance them. Suffice it to say that the Russian language is banned in Ukraine, and in the Russian Crimea there are three state languages - Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar,” Aksenov noted.
He suggested “seeing how Europe will survive the next winter without Russian gas.”
“They are told that 10 degrees in the room is comfortable, that’s great, they will be younger, they will look better. This is not our decision, not the decision of the president or our country. If you wanted an economic war, you got it. As much as our people can endure, no European or American will ever endure. If, like us in Crimea, their electricity and boiler houses were completely turned off for six months in the winter, they would have already surrendered.”
The head of Crimea added that the sanctions regime imposed on Crimea since 2014 did not cause economic damage. Firstly, there were not a large number of foreign investors and foreign guests in Crimea due to the high level of corruption of Ukrainian officials. Secondly, in comparison with the Ukrainian period, Crimea’s budget has grown tenfold, and its own taxes and fees have tripled. Moreover, any external restrictions spur internal development.
“You know what they say: what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Therefore, we are only becoming stronger. More inventive, more systematic. Difficulties narrow the space and give a person the opportunity to self-realize. New “windows” of opportunity are appearing. Sectors of the national economy began to develop in our country, which had not received such close attention before. I think that if there were no sanctions, they would have been worth inventing,” Aksenov emphasized.
He assured that the goals of the special military operation to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine, set by the president, will be achieved in any case. Society today has rallied around the head of state, and people understand that the tasks that the country faces today are common tasks that concern everyone.
“In the West they simply don’t understand our mentality. External pressure only unites us and makes us stronger,” Aksenov concluded.
English version :: Read in English The head of Crimea gave an interview to Indian TV: You wanted an economic war – here you go