“A tank is now also a defensive weapon”

Ambassador Melnyk warned: “We are seeing the extent to which apartment blocks, hospitals are being destroyed. We will experience Aleppo on a hundredfold scale. It’s only a matter of time.”

The ambassador also quickly demanded further arms deliveries from Germany. He named warships, airplanes, tanks, armored cars and drones. In view of Moscow’s aggression, a tank is now a defensive weapon because it is about protecting the population.

In addition, a supply corridor must be built from Germany via Poland to the north-eastern city of Kharkiv. After eight days of bombing, food was slowly running out. “This must be started now, otherwise the situation will be really catastrophic in a few weeks.”

Melnyk is hoping for support from Berlin on the question of Ukraine’s EU membership. In view of the fact that a million people have now fled, candidate status is an important signal to the people remaining in Ukraine.

Read the whole interview here:

Mr Ambassador, you have been welcoming arms deliveries from Germany ever since the federal government decided to do so on Saturday. Can these and deliveries from other countries really change the fate of Ukraine?
That is a difficult question. Ukraine has been asking the federal government to take this threat seriously, not for days or weeks, but for many months, ever since Russian troops began deploying along Ukraine’s borders. What matters now is that any help that arrives comes very quickly. Not tomorrow, but today.

The aid could well help our armed forces. Also to the residents who, without weapons, block convoys on the streets. Who yell at the Russian tanks: Get lost! Throw Molotov cocktails at them. If the West actually stands by our side now, if the Federal Republic, after a long hesitation, really gives us a strong helping hand with defensive weapons, then that can help a lot. Defensive weapons now means the full range for us.

What do you mean exactly?
Warships, planes, tanks, armored cars, drones. Anything that helps us to protect the population now. Because a tank is now also a defensive weapon from our point of view. To protect a village from attack.

We have a new situation. And that’s why we’ve officially asked the federal government and sent a new list of weapon systems that we need now. We hope that this list will be reviewed very, very quickly and that we will be supported with what we need now.

Military experts warn of the second wave of attacks now threatened by Russian troops. Do you expect that in the coming days?
What can get worse after this wave? Most of the Russian troops are already deployed from all sides. We have to prepare for every scenario. An attack on Odessa could now be imminent. An attack from Belarusian territory too. The ground offensive is one thing. For this it is important that we now get anti-tank missiles on a large scale. From Germany, but also from other countries. These weapons are now also delivered where they are needed.

But most of the destruction is caused by Luftwaffe rocket fire. That means we finally need a no-fly zone. And not only above the big cities, but we need this zone above all above the nuclear power plants. The West needs to wake up.

The situation changes every day. What was valid a week ago may no longer be relevant today. And that’s why we expect our NATO partners, including the German government, to take a courageous step. You can’t just keep watching.

But the no-fly zone would mean direct NATO intervention in the war. Do you really think that can happen?
We believe in the common sense of our partners. That decision rests with our partners and allies. I do believe that a creative solution can be found in this context.

NATO has so far categorically rejected participation in a no-fly zone. What could such a creative solution look like that includes a no-fly zone but does not represent direct NATO involvement and no escalation from a Russian perspective?
That is the question at the moment. In conversations with government representatives, with members of parliament and with many people, I hear the same thought: yes, don’t provoke. How much longer can this way of thinking determine the actions of the federal government? In the past weeks and months we have asked, warned, admonished. It was always delayed. And at the end of the day you have made decisions, even here in Berlin.

It’s the same scenario now. We see the extent to which apartment blocks, hospitals are being destroyed. We will experience Aleppo on a hundredfold scale. It’s only a matter of time. Are the Germans prepared to look on and say: yes, but a no-fly zone would be a provocation? Putin was not provoked, he started this war. And that’s why there’s nothing left that could provoke him any more.

We are not in NATO. We have a legitimate request. Now it is up to NATO and our partners, including Germany, to see what solution can be found.

How else can the West support Moscow against new moves?
We hope that we will be given at least a chance that this war will not be lost for us. Chancellor Scholz said Putin will not win. Then that means that Ukraine should be supported even more massively, also with economic aid.

We need a supply corridor, from Germany via Poland to Kharkiv in the northeast. Because we see that after eight days of blockade and war there is hardly any food left. The power supply is often no longer there. Thermal power plants are being bombed, shut down. It’s not just about delivering weapons as quickly as possible, it’s also about helping people. The situation is getting more desperate every day.

We need something like a Berlin Airlift 2.0, like what was done during the blockade of West Berlin, but overland. This has to start now, otherwise the situation will be really catastrophic in a few weeks.

With all these important military and logistical questions: How important is this debate about EU accession for you these days?
Some here in Germany couldn’t understand why the President, who is staying in Kyiv and speaking up and giving people courage, is suddenly making an application for Ukraine’s EU membership in this desperate situation. One should not underestimate the power and strength of this signal, especially for those people who may now fear for their lives, who may have lost their houses, their apartments, everything. That signal would, I believe, be as important as the weapons we await.

We have a new dimension of refugee flows. A million people or more in a week. In the Syrian war we had the number in ten years. This is an important perspective for people leaving their homeland, but especially for those who want to stay. We need this courageous political decision now.

We have also forwarded this request to the traffic light government. It is now important that Germany does not hesitate, at least on this issue, that it is not the last to agree, but that it perhaps takes on the leading role.

When do you expect the EU to make a decision on this?
We hope that this decision will be made in the next few days, maybe weeks. It’s about candidate status. And then, of course, there will be a procedure. That might not have to take as long as it does for some other candidates – years or decades.

You know that membership is part of our constitution. We’ve had the Association Agreement with the EU for almost eight years and we’ve been working very, very hard on it. I was in government myself and was responsible for this master plan. We’re pretty much on schedule. This means that when we are finished with this master plan in 2024, or maybe now in 2025, we may be as good as Romania or Bulgaria were when they joined. We need this future project. You can’t allow Ukraine to be lost when Putin should win.

You say you’ve been warning for years. Do you think the USA and Europe are partly to blame for the fact that Putin has become so strong and aggressive because of not enough counters?
Now is not the time to assign blame, but of course the West had a duty not only to introduce these relatively mild sanctions after the annexation of Crimea at the latest. I don’t know whether one can speak of shared responsibility. The sole responsibility for this madness, for this hell on our soil, lies with Mr. Putin – the only war criminal. But I think so: if such sanctions as they are a week ago could have been introduced immediately after the occupation of Crimea, who knows whether Mr. Putin would not have lost his appetite for new wars.

But now it is important to do the right thing, at least when it is not too late. Not letting Ukraine down and giving us a real chance to survive. You saw for yourself how brave people are. Surrender is not an option for us. And that means that the West should have a little more trust and confidence in us.

And what else can go along with it in terms of political flanking measures? More sanctions against Russia? Which ones can that be?
From our point of view, the issue of sanctions remains on the table, because not all sanction mechanisms have been used there either. Only seven banks were excluded from the Swift payment system in Russia. The largest bank, Sberbank, as well as many others, such as Gazprom Bank, were spared. You have to close all loopholes.

At the same time, we ask that at least threats should be raised with the topic of a ban on the import of raw materials. If the German foreign minister says we want to ruin the Russian economy, then we want to take the foreign minister at her word. If the pressure on Putin from within is now to be increased to such an extent, then we expect that this difficult decision will also be part of Germany’s part. What matters now is whether Ukraine survives or not.

We have seen that oligarchs have been hit hard. Yachts were now being confiscated. We would be very grateful to the federal government if these billions of assets could be sold immediately and the proceeds benefited the people of Ukraine and could be used to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure in Ukraine.
Mr Ambassador, thank you very much for the interview.

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