Prime Minister thank you so much for joining us on Bloomberg Television
you're today in Brussels meeting with your European counterparts.
You have your status you have your European ambitions.
How do you see this relationship between Ukraine and the EU evolving.
Thank you for having me here. And first of all I should gratitude to
European Commission to European Parliament to Libyan Council and all the
European Union for giving us candidate status.
For us it's a huge encourage in our fighting against Russia and against say
invasion and unprovoked aggression. So our society decided to be as a part
of European Union. It's in our constitution our political
power absolutely united in our vector of movement to a European Union.
So now we perform even 65 even 70 percent of our association agreement.
Now we will perform all the seven conditions of European Commission when
we have candidate status. And we hope and we will do our best the
next year we will go to the negotiations procedures and from our side we have
absolutely great unity in our political establishment in our society to move
very fast toward European Union membership.
So we hope Our colleagues from European Union will
support us in this moment because for us it's civilized choice and we will do our
best to be European partner. And you've made it very clear you don't
want to be in the Russian orbit. Now it was it said that you've made your
choice there. But speaking of Russia of course I have
to ask you today the Kremlin now in a very obvious manner just said that if
the sanctions continue but there's going to be no gas going through the European
Union it will be a very cold winter for Europe.
You've spoken to European officials today.
Do you have the guarantees that they will keep the sanctions on no matter
what Russia does whether there's flows or they don't go back.
The Europe will support you. You know we have a war criminal war in
Ukraine bloody war. But European Union also have a war
hybrid war because it's gas and oil blackmail.
It's hybrid cyber. And this information all attacks.
It's a food crisis which Russia creates blocking our seaports its migrant crisis
which Russia creates by killing civilians in Ukraine and having a famine
in African and Asian countries. All of this is elements of hybrid war.
So this what is happening in the European Union on European continent is
not so simple. It's not because it was a war in
Ukraine. It's because of action of Russia in the
European Union in Ukraine all around the world.
So now we have a war principal war between different worlds between
civilized world between democracy and freedom and between autocracy between
Soviet style principles between the Russian empire.
So we wouldn't like to be part of Russian empire.
As you mentioned but we would like to be part of free and democratic Europe
democratic world and very important to understand all of us that only to be
denied that we could win in this war and we could save our democratic and freedom
principles. And we should go through this winter.
We should find a possibility to go through this war and to win in this war
area or us on its own place in Ukraine protect the borders of Europe from
military invasion. But Europe should protect the democratic
principles in Ukraine should support us and should support should protect the
democratic and freedom principles on the territory of European Union.
So because of this we should acting together like one unit.
And did you have a clear commitment though from European officials that
these sanctions are going to stay on. It doesn't matter whether there is Nord
Stream one flows where they come back or they don't.
The European Union is not going to play along the rules of Vladimir Putin wants
which are very clear. Lift the sanctions.
We can see absolute understanding from European leaders that we are in a hybrid
war. We have absolute understanding that
Russia is blackmailing European politicians.
And we have absolutely. Sherman from European politics that they
will stay with Ukraine till they win. Till you win.
And I wonder your country however and even while the war has been going on now
a very brutal war and in 2022 in the heart of Europe you have kept your
promise to keep the flows through your own company.
The. After gas and you have worked with
Gazprom which is a Russian company. All of this.
Try to keep a cool head. Despite the fact that there's a war.
I wonder however are you in a position now to say we will continue to protect
that infrastructure. Is there a way that you can pump more
through Ukraine to try to help the Europeans.
What happens with the Ukrainian infrastructure in this.
Ukraine always perform all of our obligations to supply gas to European
consumers. And we do it despite the war.
For two for the gas and for the oil. And we will continue our gas pumping
system gas transit system could pump much much five times more so we can
support Europe by gas transit. We also can support Europe by export of
our electricity in case if we will save the region nuclear power station and if
some. Peacekeeping mission will go there and
Ukraine will control it so we can export two to four megawatts of electricity to
the Europe so support Europe. So it's very important to understand
that Ukraine could be a very good partner and supporter of Europe during
this energy crisis. And you make two very good points here.
You say depending on the situation in the nuclear station we could export more
electricity. I wonder what does the situation look
like right now in the station. And then to you said we have capacity to
pump five times more. What would it take them to get to five
times. Is this a deal with Russia.
Is it what would it take to get to that goal.
So it should be a deal between European consumers and Russian suppliers.
So we could execute or could perform technical possibility to supply this
guest resolve our gas system because technically it could pump more than one
hundred thirty million cubic meters. So it's huge volume.
And the situation in the nuclear plant is very sensitive.
We know that president Zelenskiy spoke to President Macron
He says what's going on is completely reckless.
How is the situation looking on the ground based on the information that you
have right now. Today about 4:00 p.m.
the last line was cut not not cut but was turned off by specific
electricity and protecting mechanism. So now the station is working in a
separate regime. So they need to use diesel generators.
They should support this freezing of nuclear fuel by this generators and by
work in one of the blocks which create this energy for this purpose.
It's a regime which not let station to work for a long time.
We don't know half of the day maybe 24 hours.
But later we should fix this electricity line as we do it even twice or three
times per every week because Russians couldn't manage all of this on the
station in their own of the station for at least 31 years
Ukraine not one time have no any problems with nuclear objects but now we
have it even every day. So we should clean this station and teritory
around from Russians from zero soldiers demilitarize the station to bring them
basically to keep mission and to observe a secure situation.
It does feel like you're playing a little bit with fire here that the
fighting with with with of course with Russia there.
You mentioned pushing back Russians. Of course that is your big goal.
And there is a big counter-offensive counterattack from Ukraine to Russia.
I know it's very delicate. You're not going to be able to give me a
lot of details but it does feel like this is the moment the Ukraine has been
waiting for for months. How do you see this playing out.
Can you really score big victories and push Russia back with gratitude so much
our partners because we have now supplying a very modern ammunition
and weaponry. So it led us to stabilize frontline.
And now we're trying to find weak places in the front line from Russia side.
So we Continue some operations.
We have some successes in south of Ukraine and in the north of Ukraine.
So we hope that we will go into our head because moral stage of all soul soldiers
is very high. So our society is prepared to go.
Deals are in but Russian soldiers are absolutely demotivated and it let us big
hope to liberate our territories in nearest time.
But when you see them we understand that we should have additional supply of
weaponry to Ukraine because we should have balance.
Often the ratio or proper ratio of weapons and ammunition for our army
because Russia has a huge army huge resources and limited ammunition and
limited human resources. You.
Come October we need to win. Do you feel pressure that you need to
win fast or actually. There is no deadline for you.
You're going to fight for as long as it takes?
We do our best. And it's absolutely impossible to
predict how this war will continue. But we do our best because we are the
most interested to finish this war as fast as possible.
You can imagine this and you can believe this but we understand that time will
play to Russia's side. So the all together with our allies with
our partners should make our best should make maximal efforts to finish this war
as fast as possible. But Russia is interested to go for a
longer time to take more time next year of next months
And this is actually a challenge for all of us.
And prime age is just a final question. I have to ask you this though.
What does victory look like to you. Ukraine has said for from day one this
is a defining battle for our country. It will decide the soul of the nation.
How does it end your eyes. What does a victory look like for
Ukraine. We should liberate all of our
territories and Crimea. Everything our country.
Absolutely. All of our territories in our borders
internationally recognized in the nineteen ninety one.
Well Prime Minister thank you so much for joining us as always.
Very good to see. And of course we wish you the best on
this. Thank you so much.
All the best to.