"We are trying to bomb in a very delicate way"
Morand Fachot
Freelance journalist, media analyst - Independent Contractor BBC Monitoring
Russian ambassador to the UN Office in Geneva
(English translation of interview for French-language Swiss public channel RTS)
"We are trying to bomb in a very delicate way, without harming the civilian population." Gennady Gatilov, Russia's ambassador to the UN Office and other International Organizations in Geneva told Swiss channel RTS on 21 March (19:30 CET). According to him, Russia is not invading Ukraine but only fighting neo-Nazis.
Asked about the massacre of civilians, women and children in Ukraine, the ambassador, who belongs to the Kremlin's first diplomatic circle, turns the argument on its head: "We are in favour of stopping the massacre, but you have to look at the real situation: the massacre is perpetrated by the other side, by Ukrainian radicals and neo-Nazis. We are not invading Ukraine, we are conducting limited military operations, because it was not possible to tolerate more suffering for the Russians who have been living in the Donbass for eight years.
Distorted information
When faced with damning accounts of the bombing of Mariupol, Gatilov downplayed the facts presented: "I invite you not to look only at the information you get from Western media, because it is distorted in many ways."
According to Gatilov, the Western media is not balanced. "You should also look at what Russian television is broadcasting. We are not fighting Ukrainians or other people, but neo-Nazi battalions, and we are attacking military facilities. That is why this operation is taking so long.
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Not doing what the Americans did
According to the Russian ambassador to the UN, the reason the operation is still going on is that Russia is trying not to do what the Americans did in Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq, by bombing civilian areas on a large scale. "We are trying to do it in a very delicate way, without harming the civilian population. We have an information war. A lot of 'fake news' is shown on TV screens.
Q: Russia will be left with a destroyed Ukraine, a reinforced NATO and very tough European sanctions. Hasn't the country lost everything? "
"Of course, we are suffering from the sanctions," Gatilov acknowledged. "But we have to finish with the neo-Nazis, because this creates a threat not only for Russia, but you will see in the future, if it continues, it will create a threat for the whole of Europe, and it will create a new Cold War," he warned.
Asked if Russia intended to "denazify" other European countries. "This is not our goal. Our goal is to save the Russian people in Ukraine first and foremost," Gatilov replied.
More (in French) with link to full 21-min interview from https://www.rts.ch/info/monde/12959213-nous-essayons-de-bombarder-de-facon-tres-delicate-affirme-lambassadeur-russe-a-lonu.html