Ukraine’s First Deputy PM Urges West: Enforce Consequences on Russia Before It’s Too Late
Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko, has delivered a sobering message to Ukraine’s international partners: the time for hesitation is over. In a statement posted to X, Svyrydenko called for urgent enforcement of the consequences promised to Russia, as civilian deaths mount under an intensifying wave of missile and drone attacks.
Her warning comes exactly two weeks after Ukraine’s closest allies publicly demanded that Russia halt its attacks on civilian targets—or face serious repercussions. That line, Svyrydenko asserts, has already been crossed.
In the meantime, the scale of attacks has grown. Residential blocks, schools, and hospitals across Ukraine have been hit in recent days. A photo published with her post, showing a village engulfed in flames, captured the scale of destruction. It was taken by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
“Civilians are being killed in their homes. Children burned alive. Doctors and rescue workers buried under rubble—a methodical campaign to break Ukraine by destroying its people.”
Svyrydenko describes the campaign bluntly: genocide. And she makes clear that the slow pace of Western response is no longer tolerable.
“We need more air defense systems now—not when process allows, but when lives depend on it. And they do.”
With only eight Patriot systems in the entire country—two of which are not fully operational—Ukraine lacks the capacity to simultaneously shield its critical infrastructure, front-line positions, and civilian population. Recent strikes in Kharkiv and Dnipro have highlighted the deadly cost of that gap.
Svyrydenko warns that the consequences of inaction won’t stop at Ukraine’s borders.
“If we reach the point where Ukraine can no longer hold, the consequences will not stop here. Russians will advance—not from boldness, but because we failed to stop them when we could—and we CAN.”
Her final words strike with clarity and urgency:
“Action must be now. Or be forced to act later—at a much higher cost.”
Her call echoes a broader strategic warning from defense analysts, including Dr. Jack Watling of the UK’s RUSI, who has noted that Russia’s attacks on civilian targets reflect its long-standing doctrine of crushing resistance through fear—seen previously in the Second Chechen War and now revived in Ukraine.
With UN estimates of civilian deaths ranging from 13,000 to over 40,000, Svyrydenko’s message is not merely a policy request—it is a demand rooted in the daily reality of war.
