Mr. Oleksandr Merezhko:

I thank Deputy Brady for all of the questions which are all important. I have discerned six major questions from these.

I will start with the final one in respect of the statement by the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. I understand this statement in an open way. He meant that the US has communication with Russia but these communications are not negotiations in the specific meaning of this word. When the US representative to the UN came to Kyiv today, she said very specifically that it is up to Ukraine only to decide whether there are negotiations, when to hold them, and with whom. Basically, our partners - the US is our closest friend, ally and partner - have said many times officially that it is the sovereign right of Ukraine to decide the issue regarding negotiations. What was also important in the statement of the US representative to the UN was that she said the US will abide by the principle of "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine". The US will not decide the fate of Ukraine without Ukraine itself. This is a very good sign because the US, as our friend, respects our sovereignty and continues to do so regarding negotiations.

At the same time, we know that there is a difference in diplomacy. Direct negotiations are one thing and contacts or communications are something different. In order to make a swap or exchange of prisoners of war, for example, one needs some kind of communication. To reach a grain deal, one should have some kind of communication with mediators. That is a different story and a different aspect of this. Most importantly, I reiterate that others do not impose upon Ukraine whether to conduct any kind of negotiations. That is very important to us and we value very highly and respect their position on that.

Deputy Brady’s first question related to energy and the energy crisis. To tell the truth, I do not remember the exact figures. I know that the situation with energy is critical in Ukraine because, as I said before, Russia deliberately targets and destroys power plants. Luckily, due to the heroism of our people, we have managed to restore our power plants. Of course it is difficult and it takes time. Each time we are bombarded, when Russia uses Iranian drones or cruise missiles to destroy us, it is becoming more and more difficult for us but we are coping with this. Right now, the situation is under control even though it is very difficult.

On a further question regarding nuclear blackmail, everything Russia is doing is being done for a certain reason and with a goal in mind. Putin’s final goal is to destroy Ukraine in any way possible: militarily and economically, using propaganda, and sowing the seeds of distrust among our partners with all kinds of actions. As for the use of nuclear weapons, to me it is an act of blackmail on the part of Putin. In this way he may give some arguments to politicians in the west who are sceptical about Ukraine and want to find arguments to stop helping Ukraine. These politicians might argue that the prospect of Putin resorting to nuclear weapons against Ukraine, or the whole of Europe, means that we should prevent what they call the escalation of the conflict, but this is rubbish. Putin can only be dealt with from a position of strength. Each of his crimes should be met with a more powerful response on the part of the whole civilised world and all democratic countries. This is the only solution because what provokes the aggressor? Weakness - not being resolute or decisive enough - is what provokes him. We should be very resolute and decisive when we respond to each of Putin’s crimes.

A further question was raised about the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Right now, it is under Russian control and occupation and our citizens working at this plant are also working in difficult conditions of occupation. Putin may use this for his provocative goals and as a sort of nuclear weapon. There were examples of this when the Russian army deliberately targeted the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and such cases were registered. Unfortunately, Putin can do this again. There is no need for him to use nuclear weapons when he can use a nuclear reactor as a nuclear bomb, such as the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. This is also a very dangerous situation. That is why we need to demilitarise and to do everything we can to make Russian troops withdraw from the territory of the plant. Perhaps we need the help of the international community, including the International Atomic Energy Agency. This can be done under the aegis of this international organisation. The point is to prevent Putin from provoking and blackmailing us because it is the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe. If Putin resorts to this provocation, the consequences may be much more serious and destructive than the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

On the further question of war crimes, our prosecutor general's office in Ukraine has an international team of experts who are helping us to document and collect the evidence. If I am not mistaken, more than 20,000 cases of such war crimes have already been registered. I am a professor of international law and I know that there are four categories of such international crimes. War crimes and crimes committed by the Russian army, violations of laws and customs of war, and violations of international humanitarian law have been registered by our office of the general prosecutor and by the international team of experts. There are also thousands and thousands of crimes against humanity, in other words, crimes against civilians and civilian objects. When we liberated our territories, such as recently when we liberated Izium which is a town in our territory, we discovered many mass graves.

We can see mass graves in the occupied territories via Sputnik. From areas near to Mariupol they are growing. There are tens of thousands of victims. I am afraid to think of what we will discover when we liberate Mariupol and how many victims we will see. That is why it is important for all democratic countries to help us document and register evidence not only for the International Criminal Court but for future court cases dealing with the crime of aggression. Acts of genocide have been committed by Russian troops. There is a lot of evidence of genocide committed by Russia against the Ukrainian population and nation.

We are now working on the creation of a special international tribunal on crimes of aggression and trying to persuade other countries to support us in doing so. This is important because, unfortunately, the ICC does not have jurisdiction in this regard. That is why we need a separate court. The crime of aggression is relatively easy to prove because the evidence is on the surface. It is a so-called leadership crime. It is crime committed by the Russian leadership, including Vladimir Putin himself, his entourage, inner circle and supporters, basically the Government of Russia. It is important because we need to bring to justice all perpetrators and war criminals. It is important to treat Putin as a war criminal because he is commander-in-chief and the person responsible for all of the war crimes committed by his army and the acts of genocide.

The next issue is the grain deal, if I am not mistaken. We should remember that Russia is trying to create a blockade on the shores of Ukraine and destroy us economically by preventing us from exporting our grain. In this way, Russia is pursuing two goals. The first is to destroy Ukraine economically and the second is to cause an artificial famine in the world, especially in the countries of Africa and Asia. Putin understands what he is doing. He is doing it deliberately because he might use this artificial famine for propaganda purposes against Ukraine. Russia has made an attempt to withdraw from the grain deal but luckily, under pressure, including from Turkey, Russia had to return to the deal. We should keep constant pressure on Russia to prevent it from withdrawing from the grain deal because it will cause serious problems and casualties, not only in Ukraine but also in the world. I have tried to answer the questions.