Yatsenyuk: ‘I think we will win’

Yatsenyuk says the Russian plan was to use the convoy to stage a provocation — such as groups posing as the nationalist Right Sector or other nationalists attacking the trucks. Such assaults would then be used as a pretext for a full invasion of Russian regular troops in the Kremlin-backed war that began with the invasion and annexation of Crimea in March.

“But we have calculated this option and said from the very beginning any humanitarian aid has to come under the Red Cross,” Yatsenyuk said. He said that one of the Kamaz trucks, capable of carrying 25 tons of cargo, was only carrying “800 kilos of tea, no less!”

He said that “we have clearly declared: all responsibility, after Russia broke all agreements, after it refused to cooperate with the Red Cross, lies with the Russian Federation and its president.”

Yatsenyuk: Russia responsible for Malaysia Airlines shootdown, killing 298 people on July 17

Yatsenyuk went on to blame Russia for the July 17 shoot-down of the Malaysia Airlines commercial jet over eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people.

“The whole world knows who shot down the Malasyan plane. it wasn’t drunken militants with Ukrainian passports, it was done by Russian professionals and coordinated from Russia. The whole world has learned about the Russian lies and Russian propaganda.”

Yatsenyuk said another Russian plan was to bring the trucks in through the parts of the border in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts “where they also bring in the tanks,” expect the Ukrainian forces to bomb it, and “show the TV picture to the whole world.”

He said that, while previously Russia was our strategic partner, it has become “our geographical neighbor” and is now “a country-aggressor, and has to carry international responsibility.”

He also suggested difficulties ahead in getting Russia to end its aggression.

“With my brain, I understand we need to talk. With my heart, I can’t understand how we can sit down at negotiation table. We need to use all methods to stop Russia military aggression,” Yatenyuk told the journalists. “Task one: renew control of border; two, Russia has to stop weapons shipment; three, Russia has to call off its agents. They planned this aggression immediately after the Orange Revolution of 2004, because Putin felt personally endangered. Are we able to manage with the Russian military aggression on our own? Its difficult. We have a large nuclear state against us. President Putin’s task is to rebuild the Soviet Union. I only see one format: the one started in Geneva – our allies are the U.S., the European Union and the G7 nations.”

“We need to stop the war,” Yatsenyuk said. “Because we have a military economy, we have expenses that we totally did not expect. Only yesterday did we set aside the next Hr 9 billion (to the army). In these conditions, there can be no popular solutions.”

He says raising taxes was part of some of these solutions, including a gas and oil extraction tax, war tax.

Yatsenyuk to oligarchs: ‘Now is the time to give money’

“All Ukrainian oligarchs have to realize their responsibility, there was a time to make money,” he said. “Now is the time to give money – not to the president or government, but to the country.”

Yatsenyuk said the oligarchs “were happy” with raised taxes. The prime minister said he played a trick on the parliament to make them raise taxes, by asking for much higher tax increases and then compromising.

Thus, after filing a draft with 77 percent gas extraction rent, as a result he got 55 percent, which his much higher than the 20 percent that had existed before, he said. Yatsenyuk also resigned to bully the parlaiment into voting, he confessed. After his resignation the Rada had to convene for an emergency session where a package of emergency laws was approved.

“I am often asked ‘what is the plan of reforms?” he asked. “The bicycle has already been invented – it’s called the association agreement” with the EU. “It has 700 pages, and each one of them lays out a reform” and Ukraine’s aim: a sovereign, independent European state.

Yatsenyuk hopes for 300 pro-Western seats in parliamentary elections

Yatseniuk said most of the political parties will run on “populist programs” in the emergency parliamentary elections, which are expected to take place in October. The date is yet to be set.

The aim is to get 300 seats in the new parlaiment — pro-European ones and pro-Ukrainain ones, in the 450-seat parliament. He avoided answering the question whether he will run on a joint list with Poroshenko and other parties.

“We had decided to create a system for implementation of the association agreement. Part of it was introducing the job of a deputy minister for European integration in each ministry,” he said. “The agreement will be ratified, there is no doubt. Russia, of course, tried to block it, saying that the agreement hurts the Russian economy. I think the only thing that hurts the Russian economy is Russia’s aggression in Ukraine…To every Russian reservation we have two counter-arguments.”

Yatsenyuk says he hopes that the International Monetary Fund to approve a second tranche of a $16 billion loan program, even though “our geographical neighbors are not hppy that the IMF cooperates with Ukraine.”

Yatsenyuk said Ukraine had met several demands by the IMF to get such credit, including::

— cutting 25,000 state employees “the ineffective state apparatus;”

— cutting expenses, including selling government officials’ cars and banning trips;

— reform of the gas transit system to allow outside Western investors;

— cut consumption of gas by 30 percent, partly because of military action, with the biggest savings in central and western Ukraine;

— parliament will consider our proposals to cut down the number of taxes;

— budget decentralization, passing on part of the tax collection as responsibility;

— moves to the final stage of visa liberation regime with the EU; and

— a new procedure for monitoring lives of government officials “when the declaration of an official says they earn Hr 180,000, and they live in a house that takes Hr 200,000 to run annually.”

As for his expectations of the value of the hryvnia, Yatsenyuk said “the rate is a consequence of Russian aggression” with the aim of deterring investors and prompting bank customers to think “the situation is difficult, maybe it’s better to take out that deposit.”

The nation has only $16 billion left in reserves, Yatsenyuk said, while another IMF tranche will increase “our cushion by another $2 billion.” When the war is over, he said that “I see no reason for the rate to be higher than Hr 12.”

‘The whole of Ukraine is engaged in war’

“The whole of Ukraine is engaged in war,” he said, including 50,000 people taking part actively in the anti-terrorist operation.

He said Ukraine’s Naftogaz is in litigation against Russia’s Gazprom to demand a revision in the gas supply contract from Russia. He said that a second lawsuit demands compensation for “more than 1 trillion worth of losses” that Ukraine has suffered from Russia’s war. A third lawsuit alleges violations of Russia’s commitments to not engage in terrorism. He said Ukraine has hired foreign lawyers to help the nation recover stolen property. From the state-owned Oshchadbank in Crimea, he said, some 300 kilograms of gold alone was stolen, while another Hr 4 billion was lost from the National Bank of Ukraine.

‘The aim is not Donetsk, it’s not Luhansk – the aim is Ukraine’

“The aim is not Donetsk, it’s not Luhansk – the aim is Ukraine,” Yatsenyuk said of Russia.s war. “They cannot calm down that Ukraine took a decision that we’re a part of Europe, we decided to go there.”

He says the Russian plan is to remove authorities in autumn, “when things get tougher and they heat up the protest moods with some cash.” 

Yatsenyuk vowed to press ahead with cutting Ukraine’s bloated government, saying “I think the Ukrainian civil service has to be cut in half, keeping the salary fund at the current level.” While unpleasant, he said the layoffs are essential. “We need people who will work not just for an idea, but for a salary,’ he said. Those who are dismissed will be sent to Ukraine’s war-torn east for rebuilding projects.

He said that Russia is deliberately destroying infrastructure in Ukraine’s war zones in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The cost of reconstruction is “not billions of hryvnias, but billions of dollars.”

“The country is in war, we understand the challenges, we know the solutions. We count on the support of Ukrainians,” he said. “In two years, we will see economic growth – you will see. I promise you this. But we need to survive first.”

Yatsenyuk acknowledged that Ukraine cannot survive without Russian gas and needs to purchase another five billion cubic meters to boost storage that now is at 15 billion cubic meters to meet needs into next year.

He said he would work to revise gas transit contracts for Russian supplies that Ukraine sends to Europe through its pipelines.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have contracts with European partners on transit of Russian gas,” he said. “They only have the contract with Russia. I think we asked a legitimate question: We’re friends, we’re partners, let’s revise the contract. I would like everyone to stop being nervous, but conduct trilateral negotiations. The National Bank accounts have $3.1 billion for purchase of Russian gas.”

Then, returning to Russia’s destruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure, Yatsenyuk said: “They started bombing mines, and you know why? Because if the mines are bombed, there are no supplies of energy coal to energy generating companies.” The destruction is part of Russia’s plan to force Ukraine to buy Russian gas.”

Regarding casualties, Yatsenyuk said that the government is giving compensation of Hr 608,000 for everyone who has died in Russia’s war.

‘I think we will win’

He concluded by saying: “I would like to say happy Independence Day. We have a complex situation in the country. We’re celebrating the Independence Day basically in a state of war. But we also celebrate with the Ukrainians who are strong in spirit. I think we will win.”