Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Volodymyr Havrylov, a retired major general, was sent to London to push for only a military solution. He was interviewed today by Sky News Security and Defense Editor Deborah Haynes. His message:
No peace talks without Russia leaving Crimea and all of Ukraine: “There is a decision inside the society in Ukraine that we are going up to the end. It doesn’t matter what kind of scenario is on the table. People paid a lot of blood, a lot of efforts to what we have already achieved. And everybody knows that any delay or frozen conflict is only the continuation of this war against the existence of Ukraine as a nation.”
He offered the “black swan” possibility of a regime change in Russia, when asked about the retaking of Crimea: “It’s only a matter of time and, of course, we would like to make it sooner than later.… I think Russia can face a black swan in their country, inside Russia and it can contribute to the success of us with Crimea.” He gave the example such an otherwise rare “black swan” event as Putin getting very ill or dying, or as a change in government.