An adviser to the Kherson mayor and public activist, Kateryna Handzyuk, has recorded her first video address from hospital where he has been treated after an acid attack on her on 31 July.
The clip was published online by Hromadske TV.
“Hello to all of you, friends. I’m not allowed to talk much so I will not talk too much. First, I would like to thank all of you for being alive. I would like to thank you for your good words, they motivate me a lot. And I would like to thank you for bad words, they motivate me even stronger to leave the hospital as soon as possible. Yes, I know that I look bad now. At least, I’m being treated. Ukrainian doctors treat me well. And I know for sure that I look better than fairness and justice in Ukraine. Because no-one is treating them, today,” she said.
Handzyuk said she does not know who had ordered the attack on her yet. Neither does she know who ordered and carried out attacks on other activists in Ukraine.
“I still do not know the name of the person who had ordered the attack on me. Handzyuk is not just my last name. It is one of 40 other last names of people who suffered from attacks over the past year. There have been 40 attacks on public activists in Ukraine over the past year. None of those who ordered them has been named. The worst part is that I personally know half of this list. This scares me most,” she said.
“Why are we encouraging people to do public work but cannot protect them? The problem is that all of these questions became rhetorical. But I believe that all the perpetrators will be found, punished and convicted. And that every one of us will be free. And there will be no fear in our hearts,” she