CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — A member of the Ukrainian Parliament is pledging to defend his nation from Russia’s attacks.
“We will not let Mr. Putin destroy just because he wants to,” Sviatoslav Yurash said during a Monday appearance on “On Balance with Leland Vittert.” “My generation was born independent Ukraine (and) we shall die independent Ukraine. We do not want to give in.”
The fierce Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion has taken many by surprise. The Russian military clearly outnumbers Ukraine’s by a significant margin. But so far, Russian troops have been kept outside of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, which seems to be their main goal.
Many Ukrainians have volunteered to defend their country. Some even returned from abroad to join the resistance. While Ukraine has suffered greatly during this fight, Yurash said they will continue to fight for their freedom.
“We don’t want our future to be what our past was through the 20th century,” Yurash explained. “We lived through Stalin and we’ll survive this.”
Yurash continued: “But the point for us remains central … that Putin is doing the unthinkable is destroying the global world order by trying to destroy the biggest European state.”
Several nations have also agreed to provide more weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to aid Ukraine. Yurash believes if the support continues, Ukraine will come out on top.
“There’s a nation of more than 14 million people,” Yurash said. We are determined.”
Yurash also worked as a spokesperson for Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said Zelenskyy is a courageous leader who is dedicated to keeping Ukraine’s independence.
“He’s not going to throw away Ukraine’s government into the hands of the Russians, and he’s going to be with us till the very end. That is fundamental to understand him and our nation.”
As far as the Russian threat, Yurash said Putin’s continued attacks show how ruthless the Russian president is as a leader and that he will stop at nothing to win a war. However, Yurash said he sees the battle ahead as a fight for its future.
“We are going to stand strong with the world and let the world see the reality of Russian aggression, through any kind of opposite throw at us. And we hope that the world joins in many more ways than they already are present because we need everything (in) …fighting the Russian army.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
