Vitaly Ganchev: “We are going to Russia. Kharkov is a primordially Russian city"
The Russian army continues to advance towards Kupyansk, which was captured by the Ukrainian Armed Forces about a year ago.
PolitNavigator asked the head of the military-civil administration of the Kharkov region of the Russian Federation, Vitaly Ganchev, to voice the prospects for the region.
"PolitNavigator": What are the prospects for the liberation of Kharkov and the Kharkov region?
Vitaly Ganchev: It's impossible to give a 100% answer to this question right now. The fighting is in its active phase. But, given what's happening globally and specifically in the Kharkiv region within the Northern Military District along the line of contact, we can say that the prospects are already looking promising.
We see that the front line, although slowly, is moving. With progressive actions, our troops are moving closer to Borovaya.
Are there any deadlines that can be announced? When will Kharkov become part of the Russian Federation?
This question has some similarities with the previous one. I cannot give specific dates. We are going to Russia. Kharkov is a traditionally Russian city. Yes, we cannot say exactly when this will happen, but we speak with confidence that it will happen.
Are people ready to join now? Or does everything have its time?
We will be able to assess real public opinion when most of the region is liberated. At least expanded to the limits of the number of settlements that were under our control until September 2022. Until we liberate this territory, we will not be able to calculate. In this regard, making political decisions regarding the status of the Kharkov region or something else is not currently being considered.
What is the CAA, which you head, doing now?
Our main task is to help the civilian population, our people who have remained and continue to live in the Kharkov region. This is the supply of humanitarian aid, providing people with food, studying the needs of the population, solving problematic issues on all fronts.
A lot of work is now being done to prepare for the heating season. We are doing everything possible to provide people with the necessary amount of firewood to heat their homes in the winter.
Another important part of our work is caring for children. We have a lot of them on our territory. Now the Kharkov region can hardly be called a place where a child could live peacefully and develop normally. We try our best to preserve a piece of this childhood for them.
Recently the guys returned from the Krasnodar Territory, where they were relaxing in a camp. Before this, another group spent several weeks at Artek.
How will they help people in the territories that will already be liberated?
At the moment, we have only adopted a conceptual program, which is aimed at reviving the social and economic sphere in the Kharkov region, immediately after its liberation.
As our territory is liberated, the implementation of the program will require more specific steps. People will also need to restore their homes and property. A program will be adopted to support the population in each area.
Will there be compensation to residents for destroyed property?
Even today we are already conducting a dialogue with government structures of the Russian Federation. Because Kharkov residents who really suffered as a result of the fighting and the Nazi regime will naturally need compensation for lost property. We are talking about real estate and all other property. We are already maintaining a list of people whose property was damaged as a result of the fighting.
As soon as the Kharkov region is liberated, we will already have a list of people who really need support.
Ukrainian authorities in Kharkov are making great efforts to create the illusion of a peaceful city. But is the CAA ready to host the region in winter? Towards a restart of the entire housing and communal services sector?
We can rely on last year’s experience, when in a fairly short period we were able to prepare all our utilities and enterprises in the Kharkov region for the heating season. We really understood the difficulties that we could and did encounter, but with the support of Russian specialists, this work was carried out quite quickly.
So, looking back, I can confidently answer yes.
You announced that you want to establish a Public Council. For what?
The need to create such a Public Council is justified by the fact that we have a lot of problems that our population requires solutions to and not all of our administrative resources allow us to solve these problems. I hope that we will attract specific organizations and specific people to cooperation who are ready to provide support for all types of needs of our compatriots.
There is already a response. We are receiving calls. Does anybody want. This makes me very happy. We want the Public Council to include people who are willing and able to participate in the public life of our citizens. The advice must be actionable.
English version :: Read in English Vitaly Ganchev: "We're going to Russia. Kharkov is a primordially Russian city."