PRESS RELEASE : Ukraine to continue liberating its territories despite any statements from Russia – Mykhailo Podolyak in interview with Politico [October 2022]

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 1 October 2022.

Russia’s attempt to annex the territories of four Ukrainian regions will in no way affect Ukraine’s resolve to liberate all its lands, Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said this in an interview with Politico.

“For our plans, [Russia’s annexation] doesn’t matter,” Podolyak said, adding the nation “should liberate all its territories.”

The adviser to the head of the Office of the Head of State also said that the mobilization recently announced by the President of the Russian Federation shows that Russia has run out of a professional army.

“This army is being replaced by absolutely untrained people. A living resource has been thrown onto the front lines, and it will simply be exterminated,” he said.

According to the adviser to the head of the President’s Office, it’s actually to Ukraine’s advantage that Russia has announced this mobilization.

“This shows the people of Russia that the country really is at war, that it’s not doing very well in this war, and that the Russians themselves will be the ones to pay the price,” Podolyak said.

In addition, in his opinion, the mobilization is prompting Kyiv to call for more weapons from its Western allies.

“For example, 100 more 155mm-caliber missiles would solve the problem, if you will excuse me for putting it that way, of additional human resources being utilized by Russia on the field of battle,” the adviser to the head of the President’s Office said.

U.S. authorities announced a $1.1 billion arms package for Ukraine, including 18 additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). Russia now has one card left to play in this war: nuclear weapons.

However, Podolyak considers its application against a non-nuclear nation to be absurd.

At the same time, the Ukrainian side calls on Western countries to unequivocally warn Russia of the consequences of using nuclear or chemical weapons. Podolyak wants for “very tough retaliation measures aimed at the destruction of Russia’s defense infrastructure” to follow.

Meanwhile, Ukraine “will keep doing its job” to liberate its territory, Podolyak said.

“We have no other options when it comes to ending the war properly. We can’t leave some enclave [under Russian occupation] or create a new dividing line,” he said, referring to the frozen conflict that followed Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the Donbas war in 2014-2015.