In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, Update on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: The View From Parliament, John Milewski, Moderator of the Wilson Center NOW series, interviews Kira Rudik, Member of Parliament of Ukraine, First Deputy Chairwoman of the Parliament Committee on Digital Transformation, Leader of the Golos Liberal Political Party, and Vice-President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). Rudik has spoken with the Wilson Center twice before, as the onset of the war and at its one-year anniversary. This NOW interview centers on updates on the war, the role of government and allies, and the continued resolve of the Ukrainian people.

Selected Quotes:

On the state of the Ukrainian people and the toll of the war given the recent attacks on Kiev:

I urge you to imagine that almost every night around 1AM you hear the terrifying sound of an air siren. The sound of the air raid siren which means a couple of things: first, you need to wake up, wake up your family, and go to a safe place; second, you need to take it seriously because we have seen people killed by the recent attacks, because of the fires caused or the fractures of the missiles hitting people; and third, it means is that you cannot feel safe anywhere, even if it is in your own bed.

Recent research showed that every Ukrainian has either lost someone or knows someone fighting at the front. I believe this is true because we are all so connected to each other. It has been such a massive volunteer effort from people to go and fight for their country, so that when we are talking about counter offensive, it means that somebody that you love so much and that you pray every day for, will have to get out of the trench and march forward towards the minefield and towards the enemy.

Of course, the war is exhausting. Of course, constant life like this is terrifying. Of course, the emotional toll that’s being taken is just unbelievable. But recently we had a very good check on where we are in terms of morale. The check was another terrifying event: the terrorist attack on Nova Kakhovka dam, where in one moment, thousands of people have lost their homes, and a huge ecological catastrophe happened to our country. It happened early in the morning and then during the same day, thousands of Ukrainians, exhausted Ukrainians, tired Ukrainians, terrified Ukrainians, went down to the coastal region to offer their help to the refugees, to become rescue workers to help to fight for every life–every human life, every animal life. Just make sure that we are all standing together.

Our emergency service workers have been incredible, and they have performed so many things that nobody is counting as heroic, but they have been heroic. For example, if you remember last winter when the attacks of our critical infrastructure were almost daily and we lost more than 50% of our energy infrastructure they were fixing things like same day, something that we never could have wished even during the peaceful times. The emergency service workers have worked so diligently because they really care and they feel they are executing on their duty to the country and the nation like the ones on the front lines are executing their duties. 

The role of Parliament and Parliamentarians during wartime:

For the 10 minutes that we were desperately clicking our buttons [Parliamentarians were allowed in the chambers for 10 minutes to vote on declaring martial law] calling for the world to help us, to save us, and announcing martial law, we were holding hands and the singing national anthem. It was one of the most emotional moments in my life. We made a vow at that moment that no matter how long it takes and no matter how painful it will be, we will stand united and put our political differences aside because we have a bigger thing to fight for—a common goal.

There is no university in the world that would teach you how to be a Parliamentarian at the time of war. So, as a Parliamentarian, you do the same thing that all your fellow citizens do–you do the best that you can. One of the things that we are proud of is that last year we got candidacy for the European Union. It was an amazing breakthrough, and it was super uplifting and motivating.

On the importance of allies and the ability to keep fighting even when hearing the word “no”:

I cannot say it enough, we would not be able to fight and be at the point where we are without the support of our allies. We are very clear about that. There are basically two key points that have gotten us to where we are: the bravery of our army and our men and women and then weapons and support from our allies. 

We have learned during the past 16 months one thing: to hear the word “no” to everything. So many times. No to heavy weapons. No to tanks. No to patriot missiles. No to some sophisticated wide-range missiles. We learned to push through that. We learned to work with that. We learned to hear “no” as just another steppingstone. And so right now, when we hear from NATO that they are not giving us the invitation yet, we are able to say ‘okay’ and keep moving on.

On the importance of female leadership:

One of the things that I’m really passionate about is female leadership. Being a woman myself, I’ve gone through all the struggles and all the issues of being a woman leader. I made it my goal to make sure that for the next generations, it would be much easier [for girls and women] to achieve their dreams; and that our daughters would have the same possibilities and opportunities as our sons. Vice President Kamala Harris said we are all women standing on the shoulders of women leaders before us and I like to add to that we should work to be very strong shoulders for the next generation. Better representation of women in parliament and government adds a different viewpoint, a different angle, and shows that there are different solutions to the same problems.