Stakhovsky: “Their goal is to destroy Ukraine, to erase the nation”

– As you can see, we urgently need air defense systems, missiles for them, because the number of daily attacks on Kiev and civilian infrastructure in other cities is simply enormous. We need rockets capable of knocking down Shahda, ballistic and winged missiles. This is critical for the safety of Ukrainian citizens. We need to close the sky, at least partially to feel safe.

– Do you have any guarantees that the US will continue to assist? We know that Europe increases support, but only the US can provide the necessary weapons. Is there confidence that support will not stop?

– I have no such guarantees personally – I am here to represent the position of my unit and the military with which I serve. I would not say that Europe has “doubled” help, they are trying to increase support because they understand risks. If something is really bad in Ukraine, the consequences will affect everyone.

We are here to say: Ukraine will fight. With or without support, it changes nothing. If – and we hope that this does not happen – the US will completely stop help, it does not mean that we will sign peace with Russia. Their goal is to destroy Ukraine, kill all Ukrainians, erase the nation. Any peace agreement with Russia will be just a short rest before the next full-scale offensive.

– You participated in various operations of this war. The latter, the “spider web”, struck the whole world with its scale and boldness. After more than 16 months of preparation, Ukraine managed to destroy several Russian strategic bombers who were thousands of kilometers from Ukrainian cities. Such an asymmetrical war is a kind of message from the world? Even in the US, sometimes they wonder: can Ukraine really win. What do you say about operations of this kind?

– It’s not a message. We just try to minimize the enemy’s capabilities to strike in civilian cities. All this strategic aviation was used precisely for strokes on civilian objects and critical infrastructure, not for goals on the battlefield. So it was an event in response, well planned, organized and conducted under the control of the head of our country and the head of the Security Service. I think it was an exceptional operation that in the long run will be included in the textbooks of military history as an example of how a serious hidden blow can be inflicted by the opponent.

– This operation also clearly demonstrates the difference between how Ukraine is leading and how Russia does. Russia continues to deliberately attack civilian infrastructure – a kindergarten and a maternity hospital were fired last week. I mentioned that Europe is increasingly taking the threat of expanding this war outside Ukraine. The EU has just introduced a new package of sanctions against Russia, aimed at the energy sector and banks. These measures are also supported in the US Congress on both sides. However, President Donald Trump still has not signed this package. What would you like to say about this delay?

– We very much hope that he will still sign it. This would mean that in the near future, Russia’s economy will collapse faster. This will create internal problems that the Russian government will have to understand. And perhaps Russian citizens will finally start asking questions. Because now the only question that excites them is how to kill Ukrainians. We want this issue to disappear from their agenda and others have appeared instead – for example, how to survive in Russia itself.

– Let’s talk a little about your personal life. You are now in military uniform, and you used to be known to what you did on a tennis court. Before the invasion of Russia, you lived in Budapest with your family, began to develop winemaking in Ukraine, and then, as it was reported, because of a sense of guilt they returned to Ukraine to join the ranks of defenders. What helps you continue despite separating your family and that you have completely left your professional tennis career?

– I would not want to go into details of personal life, but I will say that I returned not from a sense of guilt, but from a sense of duty. This is the country in which I was born, the country I have represented throughout my tennis career. For more than 20 years I performed under the Ukrainian flag, was part of the national team, played in the Davis Cup. So at that moment I just had to do it.

What helps me move on? Everything is very simple – the level of hatred that we face the enemy. The way they treat Ukrainians, how they treat civilians. I saw it with my own eyes in the early years of the war, when I participated in various operations on the front line. I saw them kill and execute our prisoners, officers, and civilian Ukrainians. It does not fit in my head, as a person can do.