‘I want to fight’: Ukrainian journalist in Kyiv says Russia is using ‘terror tactics’
With a firsthand account of what's happening on the ground in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, a Ukrainian journalist is speaking out to News Channel 3.
Victor Tregubov, who is also a political activist and an armed forces officer, said the battle for Ukraine is a struggle for his country's survival and dignity.
Click here for how foreigners can help Ukraine.
Tregubov spoke with us Tuesday from his apartment in the north district of Kyiv, closest to the front line of a 40-mile-long convoy of Russian military vehicles bearing down on the city.
News Channel 3's Jake Ingrassia asked if he's in any danger right now: "There is theoretical chance that my home will be hit by a rocket, but [the chance is] not really big," Tregubov said. "Kyiv is big and they don't have so many rockets. ... So yes, there is some risk but I cannot say that I feel myself really in danger."
Tregubov said he noticed a shift in Russian tactics after Monday's negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegates.
Russian forces had prior posed as liberators of Ukrainians from their government, he said, while they steered clear of harming civilians. But now, he said Russia is using "terror tactics."
"They don't care if they hit civilian infrastructure or not; in some cases they deliberately attack civilian infrastructure," Tregubov said.
After the 2014 Russian invasion of the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine, Tregubov said his people are now prepared to fight back, as many regular citizens join the Ukrainian military to defend the country.
"That emotion, that frustration creates hatred, and hatred creates a will to fight, and a will to be prepared for the next attack," he said.
"I feel that if we will win, we will change everything. Ukraine tried to throw away Russian influence for generations. We want at last to get rid of all of our toxic heritage," Tregubov said. He hopes "that Ukraine may become part of European union and maybe NATO... We just want to be part of European family again we just want to be part of west again."
