'I will return home, dead or alive,' says Ukrainian pilot on trial in Russia
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I accept neither guilt, nor the verdict, nor the Russian court. If I am found guilty there will be no appeal. I want the whole democratic civilised world to see that Russia is a country with a totalitarian regime and a petty tyrant-dictator, where human rights and international law are spat upon.
It is an absurd situation when those who abduct people subject them to torture then act as if they have a right to judge them. How can one talk about a fair trial? In Russia there are no trials or investigations – only a farce played out by Kremlin puppets. And I find it superfluous to waste time in my life participating in it.
This is what will happen: after the verdict I will continue my hunger strike for 10 more days, until the verdict comes into force. In 10 days I will begin a dry hunger strike [refusing both food and water], and then Russia will have no more than 10 days to return me to Ukraine, where they abducted me.
And I don’t care how they justify it. I have heard that [Ukrainian president] Petro Poroshenko is quite adept at diplomacy. I hope his diplomatic skills will suffice to reach agreement in Russia – after all, he promised my mother that I would be home in time for the May holidays in 2015.
And while they are bargaining over me, my life will be draining away and Russia will return me to Ukraine in any case – dead or alive.
During this time, day and night, my sister will be standing at the jail gates. She will wait and see whether they release me or not.
And if you put her in jail, my mother will come and take her place. She is 77, will you put her in jail, too? In that case my friend will take her place, and after her – Ukrainian after Ukrainian.
And while my compatriots are standing there, decent Russians living nearby will bring them hot tea, sandwiches and warm blankets, because each one of them understands that tomorrow their child could be in my place, in this prison of all people called Russia.
That is how Maidans [the revolution in Ukraine] start. Do you need that? You fear it like the plague. So it would be better for the Kremlin to return me to Ukraine as soon as possible – alive.
And those in the world with democratic values ought to learn their history lessons before it’s too late and remember that there was a time when
Europe was tolerant toward Hitler, and America wasn’t decisive enough, and this led to World War II. Putin is a tyrant with imperial manners and a Napoleon and Hitler complex put together. The [Russian] bear doesn’t understand human language, he understands only the language of force. Therefore, unless we become more decisive and determine the right priorities on time, we will soon have World War III.
As a politician now, I won’t shake Russia’s hand in the diplomatic arena. It is not right to extend a hand to someone who kept you in handcuffs and your people in chains. But every time I make a political decision I will think how it would affect ordinary people, both in Ukraine and Russia. Because in Russia, in spite of everything, there are many honest, kind, and decent people.
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