Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna:  the number of dead or wounded Ukrainian civilians is significantly higher than the losses in the Ukrainian military force

Olha Stefanishyna is a Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine. She was a speaker of the third #UkrainianDialogue, which Aspen Institute Kyiv held with Aspen Institute France. Olha spoke on the Russian atrocities in Ukraine, and how Russian-Ukrainian war affects the world.

There are already multiple shreds of evidence of brutality, which we learned only from the lessons of history over the previous decades

In Olha’s opinion, everyone now is the minister in charge of the victory of Ukraine, and everyone does whatever is needed to bring this day as soon as possible.

Ms. Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine stressed that on February 24, the Kremlin started the bloodiest war in Europe since World War II. There are already multiple shreds of evidence of brutality, which we learned only from the lessons of history over the previous decades. 

— In his rhetoric, Putin was talking about preventing genocide in Ukraine. But right now, the Russian army is systematically killing and torturing civilians. At this moment, the number of dead or wounded civilians is significantly higher than the losses in the Ukrainian military force. We have also started using terminology, which seemed to be something forgotten,  describing the tragedies of the past. These examples include  filtration camps, forceful displacement of people and massive disappearances of people from the territory of Ukraine. It is from our data that 45 thousand Ukrainians have been forcefully deported to the Russian Federation (as of April 14).

Around 80% of Russian citizens support this war and the mass killing of Ukrainians

Olha underlined that Russia aims to ensure that Ukrainians don’t exist as a nation. She said that all these atrocities in Bucha and other occupied territories in Ukraine were not only sanctioned by the Russian highest political and military leaders but also approved by Russian citizens. Also, she noted that Russian propaganda already shows further plans for a war campaign: 

— Around 80% of Russian citizens support this war and the mass killing of Ukrainians. It is a shared responsibility. There are open, detailed discussions in Russian talk shows of further offensive attacks not limited to Ukraine but also to Poland, the Baltic states, Finland and Sweden.

The large-scale consequences of the war will affect the economies around the world

Ms. Deputy Prime Minister said that if the world leaders are not willing to make decisions to protect the Ukrainian people in Ukrainian territory, they should also protect their people, their nation, and the nations they are advocating for. Because the consequences of the Russian-Ukraine war will affect national economies around the world: 

— Large-scale consequences of this war are not only around the military conflict.  ⅕ of the world’s population will suffer from the lack of food. That innervation has been launched by this war. The large-scale consequences will hamper the economies around the world, and many Asian and African countries will suffer. Therefore, what we are now talking about is why a no-fly zone should at the very least be ensured over the Black Sea to ensure the restoration of the shipment of goods, of seeds around the world. It is blocked now, and it affects not only the Ukrainian economy.

Olha stressed that it is the time for leaders of action. At the same time, she noted that instead of searching for compromises for fewer losses in their economies, European leaders should understand that sacrificing the lives of Ukrainians will not lead to prosperity.

Aspen Institute Kyiv launched the #UkrainianDialogue project in cooperation with Aspen Network international partners. Its goal is to create a platform for leadership dialogue between Ukrainians who fight for democratic values and other countries’ representatives that support Ukraine.