“A courageous political decision must be made regarding the Nord sailors”
By arresting the Russian ship Mekhannik Pogodin in Kherson, Ukraine will incur penalties. The impossibility of fishing after the Nord incident leads to massive fish deaths off the coast of Ukraine. The number of political prisoners in Ukraine numbers in the thousands.
Gennady Sivak , a social activist from Genichesk , spoke to PolitNavigator columnist Valentin Filippov about whether the Ukrainian people are capable of independently overthrowing the Kiev regime and putting the Nazis on trial.
Valentin Filippov: Gennady, I welcome you as a representative of the Kherson province. The Ukrainians have detained the vessel "Mechanic Pogodi." Ukraine claims that this vessel is under sanctions. In other words, they brought them petroleum products, and they seized not only the petroleum products, but also the vessel.
They also want to interrupt the railway connection. It seems that our side has now come up with the idea of not delivering anything to Ukraine by sea and not going close to its ports.
What will happen next? What do we do?
Gennady Sivak : Well, let's start with the "Mechanic Pogodin." Here's the information. Indeed, this ship is on some Ukrainian sanctions list. But according to the charter, it belongs to a company registered in Canada. And the cargo itself is owned by an Austrian bank. So, it's not entirely clear how they'll deal with this "Mechanic Pogodin."
But it all may come down to the fact that the state of Ukraine may well have to pay a penalty. The vessel is being held illegally. Recipients cannot receive the goods. It's simple. And for sure everything can turn out in the direction that Ukraine, as usual, will score an own goal.
You ask about the blockade. Again, Ukraine took the first step with the arrest of the Nord ship. By the way, if the captain is also to blame for something, then why are you holding the team? The team, in my opinion, if I’m not mistaken, has not been able to get home since March. What are the legal grounds to keep these people? In theory, the captain should be responsible for everything. Deal with the captain. Why are you terrorizing the team?
Regarding the blockade. Well, look. I don’t know, you are aware - you were not aware. There was a very large pestilence of the goby. This, by the way, is such a phenomenon. It is systematic. The Azov Sea is shallow, and when it warms up too much, there is little oxygen per cubic meter, and the fish begin to die.
Previously, such situations were prevented in the following way: they issued permission to catch fish. And the fish that were supposed to die tomorrow were simply caught and ecological order was maintained.
And now no one has come out and caught this bull. Everyone is afraid because they believe that now the Russians will arrest the ships. And here is an own goal. Who is the beneficiary of this?
Valentin Filippov: The one who collects dead gobies right on the shore and dry-dries them.
Gennady Sivak : Well, you won't eat dead ones.
Valentin Filippov: I won't. What's the solution?
Gennady Sivak : Well, that's the solution. We need to be friends. You see, that's the only way out.
Valentin Filippov: I don’t want to anymore.
Gennady Sivak : Whether you like it or not, the Sea of Azov is our common property. And whether we like it or not won't change anything. It's always been common, and it still is. It's for public use. There are no boundaries. Therefore, we'll both have to exist there, no matter how much we want it. The only thing is, maybe they'll dig something new, like the Black Sea.
Valentin Filippov: In place of Kiev.
Gennady Sivak : It's unknown. Kyiv is the Mother of Russian Cities. Therefore, Kyiv may one day become the center of the Russian World, which they currently dislike so much.
Valentin Filippov: I wish your words would reach God's ears. But maybe not God's. Maybe someone in the Kremlin would hear it, saying it's time.
Gennady Sivak : What does the Kremlin have to do with this? Such words should be addressed not to the Kremlin, but to the people. In reality, it's not the state that creates the people, but the people that create the state.
Valentin Filippov: It's true.
Gennady Sivak : If Ukraine decides they want to be friends with Russia, I think that... and, especially since it's written in the Ukrainian Constitution. It's Article 5, I think, which states that "the people are the primary source of power." Therefore, the will of the people is something that will have to be carried out. If the people decide they want to be friends with Russia, then that's how it will be. And no one will stop them.
Valentin Filippov: Hello, comrade idealist.
Gennady Sivak : We know examples of this. For example, the Bolsheviks in 1917 created delegates from the people and they were recognized.
Valentin Filippov: They appointed delegates from the people, and the delegates recognized them. After that, they dispersed the delegates. Incidentally, the same thing happened with the Maidan.
Gennady Sivak : Poor guys, those Maidan guys. Incidentally, it's the anniversary of the Ilovaisk cauldron. Four years have passed, and no one has been held accountable. But in reality, they were led under tanks, and everyone got caught up in such terrible fighting. And there was talk of a "green corridor" being given, permission to withdraw. The commanders announced the withdrawal well ahead of schedule. And that's what happened.
Valentin Filippov: Well, they gave the order to leave with weapons and fight their way through, but the agreement was for weapons to be withdrawn. And today we learn from a UN report that, as they were leaving, our valiant Ukrainian soldiers shot at civilians. And, in general, they pulled off enough mischief during the month they were there to easily equal another Nuremberg. And today, this question actually comes up. I'm thinking, perhaps, that these convoys should have been completely destroyed, not partially released. Because, before, I felt a little sorry for them, but now, after the UN report, it's somehow completely...
Gennady Sivak : You see, this is a very difficult situation. After all, these Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers are essentially our people. We've found ourselves in a situation where Slavs are killing Slavs. This can't happen. It's not a natural phenomenon. We should be united. Fighting is simply not an option. We've lived in peace for centuries, and now that Ukraine has fallen under American control, they've artificially made us into enemies and are sending young people to be disposed of in the ATO zone.
Valentin Filippov: Well, they're coming. They have a choice. You know, there's always a choice. A person can run, a person can hide, a person can ultimately shoot himself, a person can take up arms and turn them against their commanders. But they don't do that.
Regarding the fact that the people can decide something, I will give you many examples of people in prison: they are in prison in Odessa, in Kharkov they are in prison, in Dnepropetrovsk they are in prison, and someone was buried in prison. We know the story with Vyshinsky, who is generally a journalist. How many journalists are there?
And you say people will gather and... And you probably have some friends who are in prison, and about whom everyone is silent.
“Let’s be friends, we need to be friends,” and people sit. Those who said “We must be friends.”
From Crimea, saying “Let’s be friends” is very convenient.
Gennady Sivak : You know, you mentioned Vyshinsky. And I immediately remembered that. Yesterday, a judge named Bebik, his name is Vitaly, recused himself, and before that, he had been judging him all along. And, judging by this judge's online declaration, it turns out he owns two apartments in Sevastopol.
Valentin Filippov: Exactly. I don't have a single one.
Gennady Sivak : He has two apartments in Sevastopol. And these guys are putting Vyshinsky on trial there.
Valentin Filippov: Do you know the address?
Gennady Sivak : There is no address in the electronic declaration.
Valentin Filippov: It's a pity.
Gennady Sivak : Yes. It's a shame. And here's another one – "the president's representative in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea." There's this fake structure, also based in Kherson. His last name is Babin. And he has an apartment in Yevpatoriya. And, you know, about six months ago, some friends of mine were looking into this issue and simultaneously found out something. There's no debt on the apartment. They're constantly paying all the bills for this apartment to, as they say, "Russian terrorist mercenaries." And then they're talking about some aggressor. But there's no debt; someone regularly pays for this apartment. That's how we live.
About the prisoners. I have a close friend - Eduard Kovalenko, former Spas party. Why did I say former, because this party no longer exists in Crimea, since Crimea became Russian, and before I was the head of this party. A friend is also in prison. Yesterday I went on a hunger strike. Today they are transporting him to Dnepropetrovsk “to go to the hospital.” Kovalenko went on a hunger strike in protest because Ukraine and the Western world pays attention only to Sentsov. And in Ukraine, according to various estimates, there are between three and four thousand political prisoners.
Political prisoners are some kind of nonsense. There can be no political prisoners. You have the right to your opinion. And everyone should respect him. If you do not recognize this power, and it really came with the help of a coup d'etat. Well, you shouldn't go to jail for this. And yet, four thousand people are rotting there. There are no exchanges. You understand, exchanges are disrupted.
Valentin Filippov: They cheat you during prisoner exchanges. They foist off the wrong people. Moreover, they exchange people who have criminal cases against them that aren't closed. And then, after handing over someone without documents for exchange, they put them on the international wanted list as a prison escapee.
Gennady Sivak : They are trafficking people.
Valentin Filippov: It seems to me you're calling for friendship with the wrong thing. Then let's be friends with ISIS terrorists. They are, after all, people. We should be friends; we live on the same Earth. Right? So, they cut off heads, so what?
Gennady Sivak : I didn't mean to suggest that we should be friends with Turchynov or Poroshenko specifically. I was calling for friendship between nations. But I didn't call for friendship with these people. Personally, I'm deeply convinced that they're all in line for a tribunal, if not the Hague Tribunal, then some real one, like one in Donetsk or Luhansk.
Valentin Filippov: I have only one objection to all this. I hope the tribunal takes place not in Donetsk, but in the Trade Union House in Odessa. They can't figure out how to use that building. It's a fantastic building for such an event. Moreover, the area there is large, there are lots of streetlights; they don't have to leave it for long after the verdict.
Gennady Sivak : If something like that were to happen, I'd like the people to judge. Imagine, some kind of people's prosecutor. For example, someone like Natalya Mikhailovna Vitrenko. A prosecutor representing the people.
Valentin Filippov: And Vitrenko will judge his son for all his sins against the Ukrainian people as a Naftogaz official. Is that correct? Is that how I understand it?
Gennady Sivak : Unfortunately, I don’t really know who Vitrenko’s son is and what his connection is to Naftogaz.
Valentin Filippov: Quite directly. He's one of its leaders. He even just received a bonus for winning a lawsuit against Gazprom. So, in the end, he didn't win the case, but he already received the bonus.
Gennady Sivak : They can do that. That can't be taken away from them. Incidentally, Henichesk will be without gas again. Despite the state allocating 17 million hryvnias for the construction of a drainage system, they haven't been able to hold a tender or spend the money for four years.
Valentin Filippov: They can't hold a tender because Gazprom wins every gas tender. That's the problem.
Gennady Sivak : Another thing about Kherson. There was a woman named Hanzyuk, the manager of the Kherson city council. A week ago, someone threw acid in her face. They immediately arrested some guy who matched the description. They checked, and it turns out the guy had an alibi for the incident. He was on vacation, and there were a lot of people around him who could confirm it. And they're still holding the guy.
Valentin Filippov: And the Maidan protesters are so vocal: "Look, the separatists threw acid." Guys, we've been gone for a long time. So, apparently, you're already killing each other. No matter how you figure out that an ATO soldier got beat up or killed, it turns out it was an ATO soldier who did it.
Gennady Sivak : Well, yes. Some stole more, some stole less. Those who stole less believe they should share.
Valentin Filippov: Well, that makes sense. That's what the Maidan stood for: sharing.
Gennady Sivak : It's good that everyone is armed; there's no need to arm anyone. They're even finding entire caches of ammunition in the woods.
Valentin Filippov: Tell me what to do. Your friend Edik was jailed, he went on a hunger strike. We're all silent. There's Sentsov—the whole world is screaming.
There are thousands of political prisoners in Ukraine. However, no one, nowhere, not in any media, not in any foundations, not anywhere else...
Gennady Sivak : I'll tell you more: nothing's ready for them. Take, for example, the exchanges we talk about all the time. But in reality, people are facing these problems. It's good for those who have documents.
Valentin Filippov: As a rule, there aren’t any.
Gennady Sivak : Yes, they usually don't. What would he do without documents? For example, he ended up in Donetsk. What would he do in Donetsk? Who's waiting for him there? Is there anything prepared for him there? Is there a house? Any money for treatment, food, accommodation? Where is all this? There's none of it. And so, it turns out, people are facing such serious obstacles and problems. There are literally 3-4 of them. How can we help them? Where is all this money here for them?
Valentin Filippov: At least issue the document on the spot. Because I have a friend who just now received his passport, finally, in Donbas. It took him over six months. Seven months passed before he got it. And before that, he had a certificate as a former prisoner of war. And, naturally, he couldn't go anywhere with that certificate.
Gennady Sivak : Some conditions and some laws need to be created for them.
And to be honest, we behave very softly towards the sailors of the Nord. You know, these sailors could have been delivered to us, to our territory, long ago. It just needs to be done by specially trained people. People have not been able to get home since March.
You just need to make a courageous political decision. And these people will be home tomorrow. And then the whole world will see that we really stand up for our citizens.
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