“We were ready, but it was still a big shock. We woke up, talked on the phone with other ambassadors, with the leadership of the Foreign Ministry, and read the news. It didn’t take long for us to realize that one of them was developing. total invasion“.

OUR Sergey SutenkoAmbassador of Ukraine to Greece, “TO” on the occasion of the anniversary Russian invasion. We met at the country’s embassy in Psychikoin an empty large living room with heavy furniture.

I ask Mr. Sutenko to describe his first reaction that morning. February 24, 2022to relive a day, a year later. “We understood that this is not a business in Donbassbut they intended to conquer all of Ukraine,” he says, and there is excitement in his words, although he is considered an experienced diplomat.

“Do you still like it today?” When I ask, he gives an affirmative answer and continues describing that difficult morning: “At first I realized that we have internet in Ukraine, so I could communicate – I didn’t feel lonely, I could share my thoughts with other ambassadors and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We realized that we must fight“.

And he continues: “We knew that Russia had”black list“, which includes figures that Ukraine considers enemies – from the government, the military, even bloggers and journalists appeared in it, diplomats top the list. This means that if the invasion is successful, as soon as I return to the country, I will be arrested.”

“My first thoughts were to understand how the state apparatus works in wartime, what actions I should take,” notes Mr. Sutenko, who has been an active diplomat since 1995. “I know how diplomacy is supposed to work, so I knew how to publicize this issue, mobilize all possible support and, of course, contact the Greek government, announce what has been done and that we are working as usual. Then I tried to contact the political leadership at all levels.”

In fact, he remembers an incident that was not known at the time: “The next day, I went to the Presidential Palace to meet with the President of the Republic. At the entrance I took a covid test and it was positive. The presidium officials reacted quickly, organized the room and we had a telephone conversation with mrs sakellaropoulou from different rooms in the same building“.

He says that when he returned to the embassy, ​​he was not at all worried about his personal health, “the only thing that bothered me was that at that moment I would not be able to have personal contacts.”

Therefore, he did not attend solidarity meetings what happened in those days.

“I was focused on getting any practical and political help. The flow has begun Ukrainian refugees, there was chaos, there was a queue in Promachonas. The Greek government was waiting for the decisions of Brussels in order to agree on its attitude,” he notes and describes the images of the days. Life has changed drasticallyWe had queues outside the embassyentered the country. 100 people per day. Some stayed in Serra, in Thessaloniki, many came to Athens asking me what to do. OUR Archbishop Jerome he helped us when there were long queues outside as a lunch was organized with the help of the church.”

He notes that the first wave of refugees – mostly women and children – found shelter with relatives and friends.

He refers to the experience that the embassy staff has acquired during his tenure. pandemicstressing that, having dealt with Ukrainian sailors with covid at that time, “we learned how to act in such emergency situations – we established all the necessary contacts, built a network.”

In total, they arrived in Greece ca. 25,000 Ukrainians from the beginning of the invasion, but some subsequently returned to Ukraine “to be reunited with their husbands and relatives.”

He also adds that some “felt alienated,” so despite their fear of a harsh winter, they chose to return.

“The morale of Ukrainians is high”

The Ambassador of Ukraine talks about the moments of his visit to Kyiv last December when he heard them for the first time sirens: “I felt more fear from the people around me, since I did not have their own experience,” he notes and describes the impressive composure of the employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ukrainians adapted their lives to the new conditions, and Mr. Sutenko experienced this when he went with a friend to restaurant: the electricity went out, but the patrons were left under the candlelight and the loud sound of the generator, which was heard in the kitchen.

“The spirit in Ukraine is impressive. From the outside, when you see the situation, you are shocked, depressed. When you arrive there and see their eyes, when you hear how they treat everything with humor, you are impressed and after a few days you also change the pace.”

He even gives another example when he had to change her his bank card and arranged a morning meeting with a bank clerk, as he had to leave the city immediately afterwards.

“She came to the office with wet hair, in a dressing gown. She tells me: “Please wait 5 minutes” and enters her office. I could hear the hair dryer from inside and after a while she opened the door and she was presentable! She told me she was lucky because she has a generator in her office so when she wakes up she comes here to do her morning chores.”

He notes that those who visit the country are impressed by the fact that Ukrainians neat, clean and well dressedand with electricity, the problem is that they have adapted their lives to the new reality.

I ask how the townspeople are feeling:Very high!’, he answers immediately and with a smile. “Everyone believes that Ukraine will win, the question is when. Everyone is ready to do everything possible for Ukraine to win.”

His statement is given President Zelenskythat there is no need for everyone to go to the front line. “A few days ago, I gave an online lecture at the university and said to the students: The fact that you continue your studies normally is your contribution to victory.“.

“Everyone should help according to their means, this is the general mood in Ukraine.A, for the country to work“, He says.

It highlights it fighting spirit of the Ukrainian army, since he is not “fighting against someone”, but “for the country”. “In the Russian narrative,” they argue, “they are fighting Nazism, and we are fighting for our country.”

“Putin is the creator and product of his own narrative”

When asked why about Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine, Sergey Sutenko brings us back to his years Soviet Unionwhere he lived as a child.

“Then for us the darkest types were her KGB. The selection and training of those entering this service took place unnaturally – from the very beginning they changed their psychology, since the primary task was to punish their own citizens of the country. So, it seemed normal to them to kill, imprison, create unimaginable living conditions. They also often use manipulation. So, the substrate was already there.

He went on to say that “many Russians have an obsession, I would call it imperialism And neocolonialism. Due to the fact that they have lost some territory, they feel the need to be victimized and at the same time they have a sense of greatness based on their imperialism, that they were a superpower and should do everything to become again.

“Putin creator and product of storytelling from – long ago this narrative was invented by the KGB officers. After all, he believed it himself.”

Asked why the Russian president has strayed so far from his calculations, he notes that “not only Russia and Putin, international analysts predicted that Kiev would fall within 24 hours.” And he adds that the President of Russia “confused them Russian speaking Ukrainians With Ukrainians who love Russia. They convinced him that some kind of nationalists ruled in Kyiv, a vicious circle, and that the population sees Russia as a liberator.”

“I think that one of the reasons why Mariupoli suffered atrocities of such intensity and scope because there were many Russian speakers who were neutral about Russian politics. But when the Russian army entered the city, they met with strong resistance from everyone, no one needed them. I suspect that the frustration of Putin and the Russians fueled this anger towards the people of Mariupol. Meanwhile, I am surprised by the statements of Russian diplomats, such as Lavrov, that they are there to protect Russian speakers – but you have eliminated most of the Russian-speaking! And whoever he was, he is no more. Now there is one a tendency for everyone to speak Ukrainian so that they have nothing to do with Russia“.

The value of life and the “Russian universe”

Shortly before the end of our conversation, he again returns to the past: “I lived in the Soviet Union during the war in Afghanistan and I heard about the violence that Russian soldiers did – I thought that all this belonged to the last century, that the value of life entered the Russian universe, but I was shocked to find that nothing had changed.

“Why are they so cruel?” I ask and he says “I think they have a sense of superiority, but also a certainty of impunity. And because they had a bad life, they started to rob. They even stole basins from the toilets“.

“Can hatred be defeated?” – the next question, and Mr. Sutenko directly answers: “Not in the foreseeable future“.

“Does the average Ukrainian hate the average Russian?”. “Yes… We blame them because they are silent, they don’t protest, they don’t say anything about the war, even after so many human casualties. For many, it is a conscious choice to sacrifice their freedom, they agree with the decisions of their government.”

And he adds: “Look at those Russians who left the country to avoid conscription – they are not against the war, they are against their participation in the war“.

“Have you ever felt the need to return to Ukraine and fight??” I ask, and he immediately answers: “Yes,” adding that he also participates as an ambassador in the struggle of his country. “If you’re doing your job effectively, you keep doing it – you shouldn’t be doing it because you have some kind of feeling that urges you to leave your post and go to war.”

He believes that Ukraine’s victory will come not only when the Russian army leaves, but when the time comes for justice and accountability for those responsible, when there is a guarantee that the same scenario will not happen again, that “there will be punishments.” this will work as an example.”