Petro Poroshenko’s three-car caravan stopped at a gas station in the town of Pavlograd, on the road leading to Donetsk province. He has a virtual meeting to comment on the decision of the European Union to start negotiations for the entry of Ukraine. Poroshenko assumed the presidency after winning early elections in 2014, which were the result of the so-called Revolution of Dignity or, also, Euromaidan. Ukraine was in shock over the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula and the war in Donbass, where the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk controlled part of the territory. Five years later, Poroshenko would lose the elections against Volodymyr Zelensky, who today is considered one of his main opponents. But the current polls are not favorable to Poroshenko.
“Believe me! The window of opportunity was very narrow. And if we didn’t have the decision now – from the European Union -, it might be delayed by a generation. I am very happy that it happened, because this is the process to change the country. We are moving from the Soviet style to one of the best democratic, free and important systems, which is that of the European continent”, says Poroshenko when addressing this issue. He explains that he has just spent the day with the soldiers and acknowledges that the situation on the battle fronts, but especially in the Donbass, is complicated. Hence the importance of the message it sends to Europe. “Do you know that Ukraine is now the most Euro-optimistic nation on the continent? 90% of Ukrainians want Ukraine to be a full member of the European Union. 90% want Ukraine to be a full member of NATO. Both, after all, are the key to the peace process in Ukraine”, he says.
What does the approval to start negotiations for EU accession mean?
If we had not had this success, it would have been a gift to Putin. You must be very disappointed now. This was a very strong blow to him, to his entire propaganda machinery and to all his supporters. He spends ten times more money than we do, he has five times more soldiers than we do, he has ten times more tanks and fighters and bombers and everything than we do. But we have motivation and solidarity.
The hardest part comes now. What do you think awaits you in Ukraine?
We are about to begin an important phase of reforms that will help strengthen democracy, the rule of law, the fight against corruption, freedom of the media, and decentralization. But in the end it is to return to the European family. Our nation and our people say goodbye to Moscow. The celebration has been very, very big.
Two weeks ago you were supposed to go to Hungary to meet Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. What did I want to talk to him about? Why is Hungary becoming a stone in Ukraine’s path?
First of all, I know Orbán very well. I had a very fruitful negotiation with him when we made a partnership agreement. And not all European nations were happy with the association agreement with Hungary. And together with my team we finished ratifying it. He was confident of doing whatever it took to make this process possible. If I have to go to Budapest, I will try. I sent a letter to Orbán when I was not allowed to go. And I told him: please don’t pay attention to the fact that some useful fool blocked the leader of the opposition when he was going to leave the country. We have resolved this issue. Now we need the go-ahead in Ukraine’s integration process. For me it is not important who takes the medal for this, Charles Michel or Macron, Scholz or Sánchez. I am very proud that our joint efforts are paying off.
We visited regions near the front, and it is probably one of the most difficult times for Ukraine in almost two years. You have visited the soldiers in Donbass. How did they receive the news?
You can confirm that this news is very important for the soldiers. Another important thing: we need ammunition, weapons, sanctions and solidarity. In the current situation, when the Ukrainian troops do not have ammunition, radio electronic warfare systems, air defense, F-16 aircraft…, it is impossible to win the battle. We have enough weapons to defend ourselves, but we definitely don’t have enough to end the war. It is very positive that we have the authorization for our pre-accession talks, but it is negative that we do not have the package of 50,000 million euros for macro-financial aid. And also with the significant amount of 61 billion dollars of the United States. But please! We have to stop Putin! We need to de-Putinize Europe. I believe that our joint efforts can lead us to victory. I’m optimistic
A few days ago was the anniversary of the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Church of Moscow. You had a lot to do in this process. What did it mean?
I am very happy that millions of Ukrainians have the opportunity to go to a church not connected to Moscow. And this was another powerful blow for Putin, when he understood that he no longer noticed anything that would keep Ukraine in the orbit of the Russian empire. He does not have the ability to prevent us from joining the EU and NATO. And why is it so important to us? Because it has been said that NATO means life, but the European Union means a better life.
