As a member of an international committee of the VNG (Association of Dutch Municipalities), Deputy Geert Gabriels regularly visited Ukraine, where he worked on democratization projects. In addition, he used to be a tour guide in Russia.
Gabriels speaks Russian and has contacts in both Ukraine and Russia. He notices that many Russians know nothing about the war because the state media is spreading censored information from within the Kremlin. “Some of my friends speak up, others don’t dare yet.”
benefit
Gabriels had not expected that Putin would invade Ukraine after the recognition of Donetsk and Lugansk as people’s republics, with so many victims and destruction. The Commissioner is very emotional about it. “Yesterday I attended a benefit concert in the Salvius Church in Limbricht, an ode to the city of Odessa. I often visited that city privately. A beautiful, cosmopolitan city. A free city on the Black Sea. A popular holiday destination for Russians too. It’s hard to imagine that Putin probably sends his army there too.”
Hospitality
Ukraine as a country means a lot to Geert Gabriels. “The country is hospitality, worked on its construction. I also visited an LGBTI project there and gay prides myself. That would absolutely not be possible in Moscow.”
Refugees
Because he speaks Russian, Gabriels is also approached now that more and more Ukrainian refugees are coming to the Netherlands. “A friend of mine who lives alone with two children is now taking in six Ukrainians. I have a lot of admiration for that. Because the language does form a barrier, she has now asked me if I can come and talk to the refugees. to express themselves in their own language.”
West
Gabriels has also been involved in the elections in Moldova as an observer. Residents of that country fear that Putin will also invade their country. “Moldova also wants to become more Western.” As a deputy, De Wetenaar is a politician himself. Gabriels does not dare to make statements about whether and what the West should do in Ukraine. “I just don’t know enough about that.”