“My dream is to unite the Ukrainians of Germany”

We have seen a rise in foreign assistance to Ukraine in the course of the revolution and the war. One of the assistance centers is Hamburg, Germany. In addition to the fact that, under an interstate agreement, five Ukrainian soldiers are being treated at a Hamburg military hospital and 15 in Berlin, Koblenz, and Ulm, the Ukrainian community in Germany organizes the transshipment of humanitarian aid, activists purchase the things soldiers need, etc. Diplomats are also doing their bit. The Day has interviewed Ukraine’s Consul General in Hamburg, Yurii YARMILKO, about the details of the Ukrainian community’s activity abroad, the protection of Ukrainian interests on the interstate level, and informational myths. As the interview is going on, some pro-Russian activists are shouting about “fascism” in Ukraine in front of the consulate. They are as many as… seven. This amply proves that German Putin-Versteher constitute a “vast minority.”

How did the revolution change the life of the Ukrainian community in Hamburg?

“This community has always been very strong in Hamburg. There are 10   or so Ukrainian organizations here in the north of Germany, and they are very active. They are mostly based in Hamburg and also in Hanover, Kiel, etc. But the revolution and the war in Ukraine have radically changed the situation in the Ukrainian community – its activity has gone up incredibly. Woe has knit us together. There were a lot of rallies and demonstrations during the Euromaidan. When the war began, virtually everybody began to show activity in the field of humanitarian aid. On the one hand, it is a very spontaneous movement, but it perhaps cannot be different. An organization, Feine Ukraine, has been established, whose statute provides for rendering humanitarian aid. Our activists and we do everything together.

“When I came to Germany as a consul, I first got acquainted with all the organizations. My great dream is to unite all the Ukrainians of Germany. It is very difficult to do so for some well-known reasons, including the traits of our character. But this would be wonderful. Let us not compare ourselves with the Turkish minority which numbers millions, has a very powerful lobby in parliament, in the government, and at all levels. But if we managed to set up a closely-knit entity, it would be a covering organization that could lobby Ukrainian interests at the governmental level.”

What is needed for this?

“What are needed are goodwill, desire, and good financial support. When I worked in Munich, I also broached this subject. But, as you know, we say ‘yes’ until the moment when it comes to deciding who will be in charge of all this. Yet we shall do this, and our Ukrainian voice will be ringing louder.”

And what about information work? For it is necessary to smash stereotypes and myths about Ukraine.

“We are spreading information in all the possible ways. I also take part in debates in order to say the truth about Ukraine. I was recently invited to a panel discussion on Crimea and the events in Ukraine from the viewpoint of international law at the Bundeswehr’s Helmut Schmidt Military University. In general, I feared there would be provocateurs or something like that. But I saw a different thing: there were three pro-Russian professors sitting on the podium next to me. This was enormously unexpected for me. But I was speaking and trying to persuade them, and I saw the audience changing their mood. This is both difficult and interesting.

“Besides, I must say that the myth about fascism in Ukraine is on the decline. While at first this theme was high in the air, now almost all the serious interlocutors and audiences are viewing this claim as Russian propaganda. No more and no less. While earlier I had to persuade people, now I don’t need to do so. Just look at the results of our latest parliamentary elections.

“But we are also trying to use other, not only informational, instruments, such as, say, serious legal agencies. We negotiate with them, for there are a number of questions about the Black Sea, territorial waters, and Crimea. We attempt to get in touch with serious German law firms that specialize in international law. This concerns the Crimea and Black Sea situation in the light of new realities. There are a lot of questions, and, unfortunately, there will be more of them as far as the Crimea problem is concerned.

“In general, all that concerns aid campaigns, medical treatment, protection of Ukraine’s legal interests and the rights of Ukrainian business here is our absolute priority. The economy is also a very important point. As long as the situation remains unstable, it is very difficult to attract a new investor to Ukraine, and our goal is to keep back those who are there. For example, the company Hamburg Port Consulting GmbH has become the largest investor in the Ukrainian economy. No cataclysms have affected their intention to go on working. It is also our direct responsibility to support Ukrainian business on the German market, even though it is a difficult job.

“I think our final European choice – the EU Association Agreement – will promote a gradual advent of our new capacities to the German market. Take, for example, exhibitions. We can see that, in spite of the events and difficulties, more and more Ukrainian firms are coming here to exhibit. In the last while, there have been a wind power (a very important issue for us) and a shipbuilding exhibitions, when five Ukrainian firms came to take part in them. We worried about a company from Kerch, but it positioned itself as a Ukrainian entity. As for the coming of German businesses to the Ukrainian market, the current climate is not exactly favorable, but the ones that have been working still continue to do so in spite of some problems.

“Before the current events, I was not aware of the extent to which the German economy is tied up to the Russian one. Yes, we all knew about the 37-percent dependence on gas. But it is also about such industrial giants of Germany as Siemens and RWE. This is a very serious economic factor.

“Another interesting moment: Hamburg is twinned with Saint Petersburg. To tell the truth, it is not a formal but a very active process which includes years of culture, exchanges, etc. Of course, the German side is now taking a more cautious approach to this. On the contrary, the Russian side has opened in Hamburg a bureau of such a semi-mythical organization as Russian World. It is in fact an idea rather than an organization, but still it has a structure of its own and they have set up a branch in this city.”

Why do you think there are Putin-Verstehers in Germany? They are present in the informational space, but are there really many of them?

“I would not say it is a widespread phenomenon in Germany. I confess I have almost never come across these people. It is partly a myth and an exaggeration. The entire world has now fallen hostage to the Russian leadership’s inadequate actions. And sound-minded people know this.”

Do you think the German political leadership has already understood that the conflict in the east concerns not only Ukraine, but also the rest of Europe?

“I think it has. This is not a domestic Ukrainian or a Ukrainian-Russian conflict. It poses a threat to the world as a whole. The system established after World War Two has proved to be imperfect and failed. As a matter of fact, the world community has turned out to be short of the instruments that could put an end to the conflict. Yes, there is the Budapest Memorandum, whereby Russia (!) is a     guarantor of Ukraine’s territorial security. But we must not equate all the Russians with the Russian leadership. Let me give an example: we ran into difficulties while carrying out a project of sending aid to the battle area, and we publicly announced that we needed a warehouse to stock up these items. A German firm responded. But then we came to know that this firm was in fact run by the Russians who helped us in an absolutely friendly manner.”