Russia is continuing its attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure using missiles and drones, and about two-thirds of the country’s critical infrastructure has been destroyed, which is why the international community must ensure that Ukraine is supplied with modern air and missile defence systems, Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokeperson, Oleg Nikolenko, told N1.

N1: I said in my opening that your government for the first time in eight months was forced to impose reductions on the use of electricity because over the last several days in those kamikaze drone attacks across Ukraine, Russians have destroyed almost 30% of your electrical network and facilities. What's the latest, and can you describe to us how you feel over the last 10 days or so since these attacks started?

NIKOLENKO: Yes, indeed. The Ukrainian government announced today that because of the damage to our critical infrastructure caused by Russian missile attacks and drone attacks, we have to save energy. We have to allow our technicians to repair damaged infrastructure so the electricity can be supplied to households. That's why starting today, people in Ukraine are trying to consume less electricity, and we are trying to adapt to the new situation. Russia is continuing its attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure using missiles and drones. And of course, as you rightly said, two-thirds, 30% of critical infrastructure has been damaged. And that's why we are talking with our partners regarding the supply of modern air and missile defence systems. So we can protect our civilians, first of all, and our critical structure. So as we approach the winter season, depriving people of basic services like heating, electricity, and water, will be devastating. So we think it's high time to take necessary decisions in Europe and across the Atlantic, so Ukraine can have those systems because we critically need, need them now.

N1: We have a case here in western Balkans, the only country who still didn't impose the sanctions on Russia and that is Serbia who's saying, yeah, we should do that, we should align ourselves with European Union, but we have our own policy. What is Kyiv of reaction to that situation? We also know that the BiH is not entirely online with sanctions because we have objections here, but at least we are voting in United Nations always on the Ukrainian side. But what is your comment about Serbia?

NIKOLENKO: So I would say that Russia's war against Ukraine is not merely against Ukraine, it's actually the war against the fundamental principles that Europe is based on, which are democracy, rule of law, respect of human rights. And if we go back to late last year, we can see that Russia started to higher the gas prices well back in December and it started to blackmail Europe with even higher prices even back then. And if we talk about the EU sanctions against Russia, they started to come in February, the beginning of March. So this is hybrid warfare that Russia is launching, not against Ukraine but also against Europe. And the only difference is that Russia attacks Ukraine with missiles and tanks and it attacks Europe with high gas prices and propaganda. So I think we are in the same boat and we must support each other, not only militarily but also in diversifying the energy resources. So in that context, we are talking with Serbia explaining why it's important to support Ukraine in this fight against Russia because it'll serve Serbia's own interest. It's not a charity, it's an investment in your own security. So the gas cannot be used as a weapon. It cannot be used as a tool for blackmailing. And of course, we would like to see
a more proactive role of Serbia in supporting Ukraine, adapting its legislation towards EU sanctions policy.

N1: What are your contacts with Bosnia? Do you have any connections with Bosnia when it comes to that situation with sanctions and everything else?

NIKOLENKO: Of course, we have contacts with Bosnia. We are working with them on different platforms, including in international organizations. Your country voted in favour of the resolution. We know that your country adopted I think seven packages of EU sanctions. Of course, we think that your country has to align its policy was the EU sanctions policy and we're talking with them about that.

The full interview can be seen in the link above.