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Gorbachev: ‘Shocked by Ukraine War’ – His Interpreter Shares His Final Thoughts

THE Mikhail Gorbachev despite his age he continued to follow international developments and when he learned that the outbreak of war in Ukraine “He was shocked,” his interpreter told Reuters.

Specifically, Mr Pavel Palazchenkowhere worked with Gorbachev for 37 consecutive years and was next to him at the numerous summit meetings, spoke about the last thoughts of the former leader of the USSR.

“It’s not just the (special military) operation that started on February 24, but the whole development of relations between Russia and Ukraine over the last few years that was really, really a big blow to him. It really crushed him emotionally and psychologically,” Palazchenko said in his interview.

Pavel Palazchenko between Gorbachev and Reagan

“It was very clear in our conversations with him that he was shocked and confused by what was happening (after Russian troops entered Ukraine in February) for a number of reasons. He believed not only in the closeness of the Russian and Ukrainian people, but also that these two nations were interconnected.”

In photographs of 1980s summits with US President Ronald Reagan, the mustachioed Palazchenko with his characteristic alopecia always appears at Gorbachev’s side, leaning in to listen and translate every word.

Palazchenko, now 73, was in a position to know the late politician’s state of mind in the period before his death, having seen him in recent months and been in contact with Gorbachev’s daughter, Irina.

Gorbachev, who died Tuesday at the age of 91, had family ties to Ukraine, Palazchenko said in an interview from the headquarters of the Gorbachev Foundation in Moscow, where he works and where Gorbachev had his office in it held a large photograph of his late wife Raisa, whose father was from the Ukraine.

Source: News Beast

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