It does not exclude “the possibility of a tactical nuclear attack on Kherson.” In an interview given to Parisian and published this Saturday, the Ukrainian ambassador to France, Vadym Omelchenko, returned to the Russian military strategy, undermined by the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army.
While Russia is losing ground, particularly in the south and east, the Kremlin has chosen to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as winter approaches. “This is not a new strategy for Russia,” says the ambassador, who recalls the Russian methods used in Syria, and in particular in Aleppo. “They destroyed infrastructure, bombed hospitals to scare people and take control of empty villages,” he said, recalling that the new commander of Russian troops, Sergei Surovikin, had already led them in Syria.
The Specter of a Nuclear Attack
For Vadym Omelchenko, this Russian strategy is a direct consequence of the Ukrainian advance, which “surrounded” the Russian troops, who lose “a battalion every day.”
In response, the operator Ukrenergo announced on Saturday that Ukrainians have already voluntarily reduced their electricity consumption by between 5% and 20% on average on certain days and in certain regions. “Everyone has reacted positively to the government’s calls to save energy. The power outages begin in waves and are accepted calmly”, comments the diplomat.
The latter, however, does not exclude a strong response from Moscow and, in particular, “a tactical nuclear attack on Kherson”, the first major city taken by Russian forces at the start of their offensive launched on February 24. Opportunity for Vadym Omelchenko to return to the words of Emmanuel Macron, who had ruled out any French intervention in the event of a nuclear attack on Ukraine: “France has always shown caution in its formulation, to avoid an escalation with words.” “What counts for us are not words but actions. France’s position satisfies us: a position of full partner”, he judges.
Another fear for Kyiv: the “destruction” of the Kakhovka dam, built on the Dnieper, about sixty kilometers from Kherson in a straight line, “in order to flood the territories.” On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian forces of having “undermined the dam and units of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.”
stalled negotiations
What about the negotiations? If, according to Vadym Omelchenko, Ukraine “will sit down at the negotiating table once a number of conditions have been met”, things have changed since the time of the talks started by Turkey at the end of March.
“Since then, there has been Boutcha, there has been Mariupol, the destruction in Chernihiv, in Kharkiv, the discovery of mass graves and the pseudo-referendum in the occupied territories. How can we now sit at the negotiating table?” asks the diplomat.
“We no longer have to settle for the withdrawal of the Russians to the lines of February 24, we see recognized our ability to advance to the borders of Ukraine in 1991”, he concludes.
Source: BFM TV
