Amid uncertainty over EU aid, Vitalii Kim insists Ukraine has no choice but to fight for motherland

François Picard is pleased to welcome Vitalii Kim, Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine. “If Europe will not support us, we also will fight because it's our motherland,” says Kim, insisting that Ukraine's determination to resist Russian aggression will endure regardless of the outcome of negotiations over European financial assistance. Yet behind this assertion of national resolve lies a more complex reality: a country confronting not only the immediate pressures of war, but also its mounting psychological, social and institutional consequences.

Speaking to FRANCE 24's François Picard during a visit to Paris for discussions with French defence officials, Kim describes a conflict increasingly defined by attrition. In the southern city of Kherson, civilians face relentless bombardment and attacks by inexpensive, short-range drones, while repeated Russian strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure are taking a cumulative toll. “People just get tired,” he acknowledges, offering a rare glimpse into the tensions between public resilience and the exhaustion generated by prolonged warfare.

The interview also highlights the formidable challenge of reintegrating Ukraine's growing veteran population. With an estimated 1.5 million veterans already requiring support and projections of substantially higher numbers in the coming years, Kim outlines plans to simplify administrative procedures, expand mental healthcare and draw on French expertise. The implications extend beyond individual rehabilitation to the future capacity of the Ukrainian state to meet the needs of a society profoundly transformed by war.

Against the backdrop of uncertainty over a €90 billion European aid package and renewed diplomatic speculation surrounding Donald Trump's efforts to bring the Russian and Ukrainian presidents together, Kim remains unequivocal about Ukraine's commitment to its own defence. Asked about the prospect of presidential talks, however, he offers a notably restrained response: “I  need to be politically correct to answer this question. I have no reaction. I have only my job to do.”

His remarks reveal the central paradox of Ukraine's prolonged resistance: a determination to continue fighting, even as the human and material resources required to sustain that resistance come under growing strain.