The leader of the “ANTS” Network spoke on Radio NV about expectations from the next meeting in Rammstein, about the slowness of partners in the supply of weapons. And also about why the wartime economy still does not work, despite loud statements of the authorities, etc.
F-16 over the Black Sea guarantee our safety.
Hanna Hopko, head of the “ANTS” Network, said this during a broadcast on Radio NV.
“We sent the pilots to Washington in June 2022 and talked about the f-16. Imagine if, when one of the congressmen registered a legislative initiative to allocate additional funds for education and training, and our pilots were trained, then we would have already had trained pilots and the F-16 would already be flying over the Black Sea, she said. – … We could have talked about security, freedom of navigation, free trade in the Black Sea for a long time.”
Also during the conversation, she noted that for the victory of Ukraine at the level of the leaders of the states, a clear conscious decision, a joint consolidated position on the inevitable defeat of russia in 2023 will be required.
“I would like us not to talk from Rammstein to Rammstein, from tank coalition to fighter coalition. This is a somewhat tactical game, I would say. I would like to see a strategic approach, when finally, at the level of Rammstein, but not by the representatives of the Ministers of Defense, but by the leaders of the states, there will be a clear conscious decision, a common, consolidated position that there should be an inevitable defeat of russia in the 23rd year and Ukraine should get everything it needs.” said Hanna Hopko.
According to her, the world should realize: the longer the war lasts, the more the authoritarian club strengthens each other.
“It shouldn’t be like that: it’s too late to provide the tanks we were waiting for earlier. Of course, we are grateful, because there is no other option and we depend very much on Western support, on the Rammstein coalition, on financial support (almost 60% of the budget depends on the West), but I would like the Strategy to be finally adopted and the political will to defeat russia in Ukraine. Because, for us, this is the price of people’s lives. We see what is happening in the frontline territories: we do not have enough air defense to protect the civilian population. Protracted, delayed decisions take away the best of the best. That’s why I want to finally realize that the longer the war lasts, the more the authoritarian club strengthens each other and looks for opportunities to attack other states, create new conflicts and new theaters of war. Therefore, I would like to finally make this political decision not at the level of defense ministers, but at the level of the leaders of the Rammstein countries, that Ukraine’s victory is a joint victory and that the defeat of the russian federation must be accelerated.”
Hopko emphasized that she also has questions for the Ukrainian authorities, because despite the loud statements of the authorities, the wartime economy still does not work,
“The wartime economy never worked, let’s be honest about it. Despite many declarations, there are many questions regarding the transparency of procurement and prioritization as well. For example, the government allocates 30 million to renew parks as zones for improving health. I understand that parks and the environment are all important, because russia commits, in addition to genocide, ecocide, but not now, when our military lacks drones. We have to go to a war economy, take the best practices that were in place during the Second World War, make and not squander the money that we have. Despite the fact that I say 60% is our borrowed money, given to us by others to support the budget. Well, that is, we are collecting loans in the same way, let’s talk about it.”
Also during the conversation, she emphasized that on the way to victory, Ukraine should build horizontal ties with the countries of Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
“Ukraine’s presence there is necessary. Don’t delegate this to other states, which will carry out advocacy on our behalf, but we must go there. For this there are public diplomats, for this there is the official Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives of the government of the Verkhovna Rada. In the Verkhovna Rada, there are friendship groups, for example, with Latin American countries. Physical visits there are required. You need to start building these horizontal connections. Another example. India. We still don’t even have an ambassador there. Although we are fighting for India’s support and we understand how important it is, says the head of “ANTS”. – Why does Ukraine need to sway the global south in its favor? The United Nations voted overwhelmingly on February 23 to demand that Russia “immediately” withdraw its troops from Ukraine. At the meeting of the UN General Assembly, 141 states supported the resolution confirming support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, 38 states did not support this resolution or abstained (except russia), and if you count, 32 of them are countries of the Global South. And we need to clearly understand: we need to work with the global south.”
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