Polish ambassador in Kyiv: Ukrainian people expect the state to continue the fight

Russian attacks using more than 100 missiles have killed at least 26 people across Ukraine since Monday, when President Vladimir Putin ordered what he called retaliatory strikes against Ukraine for an explosion on a bridge.

Poland's Ambassador to Ukraine, Bartosz Cichocki, spoke in TVN24's "Rozmowa Piaseckiego" about the situation in Ukraine after recent attacks carried out by Russia.

"One doesn't feel any moods of resignation or any attempts to force any concessions on the government. On the contrary, any rumour posted on social media or any information regarding secret talks or negotiations triggers plenty of aggression," he said.

He added that "the society is actually expecting the authorities to continue the fight". "Such suggestions, that maybe it would be good to start discussing a compromise, are coming in from the outside ... this reactions show that if the Russians think they can cause some sort of resignation, spread some sort of defeatism, then this will not happen. Ukrainians have lost too many relatives, too many Ukrainian people have lost their homes to back down now. They have nowhere to back down to, you can sense a very patriotic mood in the air," the ambassador stressed. He also assured the Ukrainian people were not lacking determination to push the Russians back.

"What's interesting is that after 2014, that is the annexation of Crimea and Russia's incitement of separatistic moods in parts of Donetsk and Donetsk regions, proposals would appear saying 'let's leave Crimea out of the equation for now', 'let's talk about a transition period and organising elections in these territories', and now the Russian aggression led the Ukrainians to say: 'enough with these deals', 'we want return to the internationally recognised state borders, regain Crimea, push the Russian behind the border," Bartosz Cichocki said.

The ambassador also spoke about the everyday life in the capital city of Ukraine. "Life in Kyiv has been changing since late-February, first the city was deserted and it really stayed that way until May, more or less. And now, apparently, the residents of the capital city have somewhat developed resilience - I didn't see any significant outflux of people after Monday's attacks," he said.

"This certainly wasn't the last twist in this conflict, everyone here are worried with the upcoming winter and potential troubles with electric energy," ambassador Cichocki added. He also cautioned that if the Russians repeat their attacks, "Kyiv might also encounter troubles with water and heating, and life in the city might then change in some other way".