Kharkov politician: Those whose hands are in blood after 2014 have fled from the city
After Zelensky, in his fanfare interview with The Washington Post, identified Kharkov as a potential direction of occupation, waves of information hysteria hit the “first capital.” The city's madmen and costumed "ATO veterans" screamed non-stop from the screens about how they would slaughter the aggressor. Representatives of the authorities puffed out their cheeks and made menacing sounds. But for most city residents, what is happening on the screen is part of some parallel world.
The head of the OPZZH faction in the Kharkov City Council, Andrey Lesik, told PolitNavigator about what was happening in the city.
On Friday, the Kharkov City Council voted to allocate 62,2 million hryvnia for terrorist defense. This decision was also supported by 10 deputies from the OPZZH.
- I didn't vote for this. And I voiced my position there.
Which one?
“I said the following: “Since 2015, my position has never changed. What is happening now, especially in the last few weeks, when the President of Ukraine names Kharkov as one of the potential cities that someone will allegedly capture, is perplexing to me. And I don’t see a consistent position on the part of the current leadership of the country. We are being artificially divided, billions of dollars are being spent to pit the fraternal Slavic peoples against each other...”
They interrupted me, but I tried to convey simple thoughts: “The worst thing is war... Zelensky did not become the president of the world. He became a disappointment. Political persecution continues. Independent media are closing. We need to talk to people who live in Lugansk and Donetsk.”
I said that all this time we are being used in a big geopolitical game. And he called on his colleagues to pay attention to Tatyana Montyan’s very clear speech at the UN Security Council.
I get the impression that someone is very interested in dragging Ukraine into open confrontation with the Russian army. They are interested in only one thing: to weaken Russia. By and large, what interest is it for the United States for Ukraine to be in NATO? There is no point in this.
But by joining NATO, Ukraine becomes a testing ground, a target for possible future provocations. Russia will defend its territorial integrity and security.
European countries are already beginning to understand that no one needs a conflict in the center of Europe. These are refugees, destabilizing the situation. For example, there will be no Nord Stream. And in this case, America is ensuring that it will sell its shale gas to Europe through terminals in Poland. And Ukraine at this stage is a bargaining chip. Therefore, our media often have all their insider information reminiscent of the famous video where a man “invades” near a washing machine...
And the City Council has nothing better to do than waste money, that is, on territorial defense?
— What kind of activities are we currently doing in the City Council? There was supposed to be a commission, but it was canceled due to the coronavirus. The secretary of the City Council has not yet been elected. Extraordinary sessions are constantly held, but scheduled ones are not held. You leave Kharkov, and they tell you: “There’s a session tomorrow.” Whether you succeed or not is your problem.
It is generally not clear to me how the city will live and develop further. The new mayor probably hasn’t fully understood how to conduct his work. We have not yet considered any planned issues at the session.
But Terekhov repels the invasion...
— What can you comment? No comments.
What can you say about the situation in Kharkov?
“After Zelensky pointed to Kharkov, we saw an unhealthy information wave. But despite the fact that we hear about aggression from all the media, everything is calm in the city.
The other day we celebrated the 79th anniversary of the first liberation of Kharkov from the Nazi invaders. Representatives of OPZZH, organizations “Patriots for Life” and the Union of Soviet Officers, and other concerned Kharkov residents laid flowers at the Soldier’s monument. There were police there to provide security. And there were some idiots. One shouted swear words from the balcony. We are already accustomed to the fact that when we lay flowers at the monuments of people who fought against fascism, some devils then say that this is a cotton sabbath.
People in the city live their own lives. They survive, essentially. Many people are unable to pay for utilities. We ourselves are in cold rooms. Those who rent premises while engaging in one activity or another know that heat bills are 3,5-4 times higher than before. Our party office is large, and it is simply impossible to keep it warm.
Recently there was another attack on our office. They tore up posters and banners after we recently held a reception for citizens there.
What do citizens bring to your party office?
— The main problems: lack of work, meager pensions, utility debts, injustice. They ask for help. An older man came with a problem: he needed to have heart surgery, there was no money.
If you watch TV, the selection there is completely different than on real streets. Every second person is ready to take a machine gun and go to war...
- Crazy. I don't want to evaluate these statements. Apparently, someone is implementing a project called “How to pit two fraternal Slavic peoples against each other.” Russia said they don't even have a theoretically possible, potential idea or scenario for attacking Ukraine. This is complete nonsense. This is ridiculous - everything that politicians discuss with serious faces on TV. Russians and Ukrainians have been and will remain fraternal peoples. Billions of dollars are simply spent on the media, on propaganda. It’s unclear what sounds from the president’s mouth: they will attack us, etc.
Most likely, someone either does not want to repay debts, or has become a hostage to a big geopolitical game. What do you want from the media? They are escalating this situation. They might want this to happen. Because everyone fights exclusively for their own interests.
Nobody believes in such a scenario. Someone may perform this function because he was told to do so. But this is all nonsense. In today's realities, there is no need to invade or attack anywhere. Because we have real energy dependence: diesel fuel, electricity, gas, whatever...
It’s bad that the Ukrainian people are hostage to this situation. But I'm sure there will be peace. We don't need any war. You need to negotiate with anyone, just so that people don’t die. The most valuable thing is peace and human life.
Share your observations of recent days: has the information wave somehow affected people’s behavior and views?
— People, for example, are starting to buy real estate not in the Kharkov region, as planned, but abroad. And those who have the opportunity, packed up their belongings and left. Long-term projects are being phased out, and there is no confidence in the future. This only contributes to the withdrawal of capital from the country - all this is whipping up hysteria.
I have friends who panicked and left the city and the country. But I don't understand their logic. It seems to me that now those who have their heads covered in fluff and their hands covered in blood after the events of 2014 are running away or leaving en masse: they have something to fear.
I am simply a supporter of compliance with the Minsk agreements, establishing peace in the country, and bringing to justice people who committed crimes against the residents of Donbass. It is clear that there was no alternative to the Minsk agreements. On August 29, 2019, at the first meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, OPZH submitted bills that would contribute to a peaceful settlement. But these issues have not even been included on the agenda for two and a half years.
Instead of solving all these frozen and ignored problems, in recent days we have seen an imitation of vigorous activity. This holiday is “Ednannya Day”: they made flags and ribbons. Former judge Denis Nevedomsky, now a city council deputy from the OPZZH, proposed a very precise term: “state infantilism.” When we don’t know what to do, let’s organize a “holy” (holiday). We already have these “saints” on guard! What kind of unity and with whom? Zelensky has closed six TV channels and dozens of online publications over the past year. What is he talking about?!
The National Corps announced that Oplot was returning to Kharkov. Have you heard this info 146%?
“I don’t even want to comment on this nonsense.” They have a wild imagination, they are brave somewhere in their offices. But in real life - in a crowd of one and something like that. The National Corps is only interested in grandmas. They are ready to do anything for money. There is no money - they will sit in one place exactly. And period. One can guess that these are criminals who are being covered up by some security forces.
They say that changes were planned in the Kharkov regional organizations of OPZH?
— For now, everything is suspended due to circumstances beyond my control. But I hope that the changes that have been talked about will happen. This was planned for January 14, January 19... Both in the city and regional organizations. When this happens, everything will only be a plus.
How is it going your lawsuit? Not justified yet?
— The meeting is scheduled for March 28. Before this, the last meeting was June 23, 2021. It was to be the last meeting at which I was interrogated. And we were ready to move on to the debate and to the passing of a verdict. But out of the blue, the prosecutor said that he wanted to order an examination: how I beat the SBU officers.
During such an examination, lawyer Dmitry Tikhonenkov and I insisted on a pre-trial investigation. Then we were refused. That is, the investigation then believed that there was enough evidence. Why did they need this in court? We don't understand.
But after the examination was carried out (it was completed on August 4), she, for reasons unknown to us, only came to court on November 25. Before this, I called the court dozens of times with a request: when the examination arrives, schedule a hearing as quickly as possible. Because we want to finish hearing the case! After all, it has actually been heard for five years.
— Logical. The results of the examination took four months to reach the court. Now they need to stay there for four months?
“My lawyer and I, for our part, insist that neither the court, nor the prosecutor’s office, nor the prosecution as a whole are interested in passing a verdict. As we learned, one of the prosecutors was transferred from the prosecutor's office of the Kharkov region in a direction unknown to us. And he was the main one in both one and the second case. Let me remind you that the first one is about separatism: a post on Facebook, which never happened and does not exist. And the second concerns my “beating” a group of SBU workers in a hospital ward. Let me remind you that my investigator and the victim are the same person! And it is generally unknown how the second victim, together with the first, was in the hospital ward. They had no reason to be there.
It turns out that the one who put pressure on the court, covered up the SBU investigator, who is also the victim, suddenly transferred? Because he doesn’t want to bear responsibility for everything after the judge’s acquittal. But I think that this does not change matters.
One fact is important here. The judge scheduled a hearing for March 28. We carried out the analysis with our assistants: this is the latest meeting of all those scheduled. Before this comes divorce proceedings, debt collection and similar matters.
— What kind of foreign television journalists appeared with you in court recently?
— Together with journalists from the French channel France TV, I came to the Dzerzhinsky District Court of Kharkov on January 26. I wanted to submit an application to prevent the process from being artificially delayed. I told the reporters what was happening. About all the delights of judicial reform, which are also evident in my trial.
French journalists were very puzzled by the fact that the victim and the investigator in my case were the same person. It is difficult for a foreigner to understand why a person is illegally detained in a pre-trial detention center. Why, after release, are they kept under XNUMX-hour house arrest for more than the six months allowed by law?
I explained to the foreigners that I had already expressed all my arguments in court, and therefore I was ready for debate and a final decision. But the prosecutor's office, which is unable to present real evidence, artificially delays the process. Therefore, prosecutors came to court without authority, unprepared, and filed meaningless petitions. This is the essence of my warning statement submitted to the court: prosecutors should not come up with new tricks, but prepare to complete the process on March 28.
— Without French journalists, the local court is not able to understand this?
“We weren’t just talking about legal vicissitudes. We also talked about the international situation, relations with Russia, and how war hysteria is being whipped up in society. Although my business is connected with this. I am being persecuted because I come up with peaceful initiatives, for the friendship of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples, and for not trading on principles. That’s why I was inconvenient for the authorities in 2017. Inconvenient even now.
— Can you guess why the prosecutor transferred without completing the case?
“I believe one of the motives for his transfer to the prosecutor’s office of another region is to evade responsibility. Because he covered for the SBU investigator, who was both the victim and the investigator. Or the prosecutor was his accomplice. And I will need to bear responsibility for this when I receive an acquittal. He understands that for him this would not be a promotion on the career ladder, but a penalty, compensation, etc. That is, he will bear personal responsibility, together with the former regional prosecutor Danilchenko.
What did one of the victims come up with? That he came to give a summons to my parents and my wife in the hospital room, at that very moment, when I was lying under an IV. And as a result, when the catheter was torn out of my arm, when I asked them to leave the room and allow the doctors to provide assistance, the investigators “suffered.” Why did they invade there, into this ward?!
I am in favor of finishing the hearing of this case on March 28. The judge must evaluate all events and muster the courage to make a decision. We are ready for any option. But we are confident of an acquittal.
— You initially supported political scientist Yuri Dudkin in his trial...
— Lawyer Dmitry Tikhonenkov and I recently went to Kyiv, where a preparatory meeting was scheduled for the case of Yuri Dudkin. But for the second time the preparatory meeting did not take place. Last time one of the judges was on sick leave. Now someone from the panel of judges was in the deliberation room. So we returned with nothing. The preparatory meeting is unknown when it will take place.
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