Michael Headon

When Putin seized Crimea, both Europe and America were quite openly making calls, holding meetings, and sending signals to the Ukrainians who were in power at the time that there should be no escalation – let's just keep things friendly and leave things as they are for now. And we lost Crimea. After that, we lost part of Donbas. But the shooting in the east continued. There was no peace. People think we were always helped. That is not true. Help started coming after the full-scale invasion, but that was after eight years of Russia occupying our territory. That is a long time to figure things out and understand that Putin has no intention of giving anything back to us. At one point, some Europeans asked me: “Why do you think that if you withdraw from Donbas, he will go further?” And I answered: “Because at the beginning of the war, he wasn't seizing Donbas. He came to the capital. He seized parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, Kherson itself, and Kharkiv region.” We have retaken a lot of territory, but he had seized different parts of our country. And now they want us to give them something because they are unable to seize it. We may have a smaller territory, less money, and fewer weapons, but we still have more dignity than many others. We will do everything we can to end this war, but it must end in a way that preserves our dignity. From an interview with ZDF. (2/3)

The Russians carried out a complex, massive attack overnight, aimed primarily at our critical infrastructure. And the main target was energy – power generation facilities and substations – in the Odesa, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Chernivtsi, Chernihiv, and Rivne regions. In many cities and communities, emergency and unscheduled power outages are ongoing. In Kharkiv, the Russians directly struck a city clinical hospital. Seventy-three people were injured, and the cardiology department, where people were receiving treatment, was damaged. A rescue operation has also been underway since yesterday in Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia region. Tragically, the death toll has risen. Russia has killed 29 people. My condolences to their families and loved ones. Five people were injured. There are still people under the rubble. Rescue operations continue as far as the security situation allows – there is a threat of Russian double-tap strikes, as they always so wickedly do. Overnight alone, the Russians launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles, and 59 cruise missiles. And even now, the air raid alert continues, and there is a threat of new Russian missile and drone attacks. It is very telling that all of this is happening on the day of the U.S. congressional elections. The Russians believe that America will not notice this signal from them. But such terror must be noticed and stopped. Ukraine must be helped to defend its skies, otherwise Russia will never stop its missile strikes. It is essential to help build peace honestly and reliably, and America can do that. Thank you to everyone who will not remain silent about this Russian attack. Thank you to everyone who supports the defense of Ukraine.

We are not inviting Putin to Kyiv. They came to us without an invitation in 2022. But that’s not why there’s no point in inviting Putin to Kyiv. It’s because he won’t come. The same goes for inviting me to Moscow. What Russia is doing is destructive. It’s simply spitting in the face of the whole world that wants this war to end. That’s why no one will support going to Moscow. As for a phone call, Russia will use it as an excuse to avoid any further meetings. And we understand this game. It leads nowhere. It would just be a very formal, dry phone conversation where I would once again have to listen to a history lecture from the leader of the Russian Federation, rather than hear about real steps to actually end the war. If we want to end the war, we have to meet and take the first step: a ceasefire. From answers to journalists’ questions in Berlin.

An utterly horrific Russian attack on the settlement of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region. Since this morning, the settlement has been hit several times by aerial bombs. The strikes targeted a school used for humanitarian purposes – people were receiving humanitarian aid there. After the first aerial bomb strike, there was a double-tap strike with nine more bombs, specifically targeting the shelter where people were taking cover. Tragically, 18 people have already been reported killed. My condolences to their families and loved ones. Five people have been injured. A rescue operation is underway at the site, and the search for people continues. It is extremely difficult. Military forces, first responders, and special services are involved. The Russians could not have been unaware that every week, local residents who had remained in Komyshuvakha received humanitarian aid at that very location. And this is further proof that Russia wants no de-escalation and no real justice. After the humanitarian operation in Oleshky, there was a moment when the next steps could have shown that progress toward peace was possible. With these killings, Russia is sending an entirely opposite signal: Russia is counting on more killings. There must be a response to this – a response from the world. A strong and tough response. A response to Russia. And support for Ukraine. We must protect lives. Thank you to everyone who is helping!

We have intel that Russia is preparing a new massive attack on our country – primarily targeting energy and logistics. The assumption is basically that tomorrow the world will be watching the American midterms, and what is happening here in Ukraine, along with our difficulties with air defense and Patriot missiles, will be overlooked. We need signals from the world to Russia that will make them feel that terror is no good, that it will bring no gains, and that as long as this war continues, their oil will burn, and they will not be able to make money doing business with the world. We must not play games with Russia’s oil or gas revenues. We must put pressure on Russia in such a way that it has no alternative but to end this war. America can do this.