Ukraine Crisis – INTERSECURITYFORUM

Mothers of Ukrainian Soldiers Demand Impeachment of Poroshenko

EDITOR — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 06:34:52 +0000

In the near future Ukrainians could expect neither positive changes nor stability. In the course of last month, more and more Ukrainians clamoured for impeachment of Poroshenko. Specifically, women representing the movement “Mothers for Poroshenko’s Impeachment” gathered at the building of the presidential administration. They rally under the slogan “Poroshenko is killing our children”. The activists chained themselves with handcuffs to the gates of the presidential administration building stating they would stay on until the Ukrainian president resigned.

The leaflets spread by the activists read: 20,000 of our children have been killed so far in Donbass. Poroshenko and his government officials earn by dint of the war. So as long as Poroshenko is in power, the war will not end. Poroshenko and his henchmen plunder our country, make money on weapons, using which then kill our children and their own people!

The main demand of the protesters is to stop the war in Donbass. Women who lost their sons in the so-called antiterrorist operation (“ATO”) zone are sure that the war will continue as long as Poroshenko is in power. According to activists, the president and his team plunder Ukraine by warmongering.

Interestingly, three years ago, when the “ATO” was just beginning, the mothers of potential Ukrainian soldiers never protested against the war in Donbass. On the contrary, all women’s protests were related to the demand of purging operation in Donetsk and Lugansk and the supply of lethal weapons to the Ukrainian military. As coffins filled with Ukrainian soldiers’ and officers’ dead bodies have been regularly coming in the capital from Donbas, mothers came to their senses and began to oppose the war. “ATO veterans” who came to the building of the presidential administration joined the protesters and they all began to chant “Impeachment!”

However, there is no law allowing the legitimate “dismissal” of the president in Ukraine. But does it embarrass anyone? Once during Maydan in 2014, the same “peaceful protesters” demanded impeachment, and then they were shooting at Yanukovych. This scenario may possibly repeat itself.

Natalia Don, head of the movement and member of the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers, considers that the Ukrainian authorities and the head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasily Hrytsak for some reason see in their movement “the hand of Moscow”. Apparently, those in power in Kiev believe that the real patriots will remain silent, whatever the authorities do with the country and its people.

The people are gradually beginning to understand that the so-called “revolution of dignity” was a political bluff which led Ukraine to a destructive civil war. Now the state, which is in fact under external control, cannot expect anything better. The crisis in the country is due not only to costly military operations, but also to poor management of the state system, which leads to an actual default, external economic and thereby political dependence. All this has transformed the life of ordinary Ukrainians into a desperate battle for existence.

While the degree of destruction and degradation of the state is steadily growing and moving to a critical level, the social atmosphere grows tense. But even if the situation in the state becomes threatening and the discontent with government come up ceiling, next coup will not take place without the will of external players who have their own idea in mind, which is far from Ukrainian national interests. It is possible that the patrons will have a desire to “renew their control of power” in Kiev again, entrusting it to a more effective figure. And the current president of Ukraine is very afraid of it.

Petro Poroshenko is trying to lead a “double game”, but it turns out badly. On the one hand, he tries to persuade the West that the Donbas region will soon ask to return back to his control, and that heavy military losses are not a defeat, but an innovative military strategy. On the other hand, he perfectly understands that it is high time the war finished. In any case, Poroshenko is unlikely to be able to keep his hold on power.

It is not easy to keep the power in a situation where crowds of armed aggressive radicals who have fought in Donbas present to the authorities an account of their “heroism” and assert their claims. Poroshenko has to solve an almost impossible problem: to disarm the battalions of thugs who do not obey anyone. Of course, he will seek to “distract” them with a new rush to the front.

All this scabrous political card game indicates that in the near future the Ukrainian people can expect neither positive changes nor stability.

US Experiments over Ukraine

EDITOR — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 10:37:06 +0000

Washington decided to turn the Ukrainian people into an object of political study. Projects aimed at researching the causes of social unrest are implemented in the country. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Institute of Media Law, US in the nearest future are going to “conduct experiments”, the object of which is the population of Ukrainian regions, bordering Russia. The goal is to develop and test methods of creation of a revolutionary situation in those regions.

All projects, in fact, are aimed at studying the possibility of controlling the masses, through the expression of dissatisfaction with their situation. The practical goal of these “scientific studies” is to organize protest movements and create a revolutionary situation, which are in the interests of the state-initiator i.e. the USA. Those who are interested in the Ukrainian conflict, of course, drew attention to the statement of the US Vice-President Joseph Biden, which was made during his visit to Kiev in December 2015. It was he, who called all what is happening in Ukraine, “experiment”.

It is clear that all American “experiments” are aimed not at the welfare of Ukrainians, the prosperity of the country and the fight against corruption, as many people would like to believe. Their results are of value primarily for the American hegemon, otherwise they would not have the slightest sense. It is worth noting that the first object of such American experiments became an European state, not an African or Asian country. The scheme of the color revolutions was already tested in other countries. However, the model of relations between Ukraine and the United States is unique: a country in Central Europe, with 42 million people, comes under the complete control of Washington.

The “Ukrainian experiment” is distinguished by the fact that the US force many European countries not only to support this expensive idea (only its first step – the Maidan, according to Washington, cost five billion USD), but also to provide vital information and political support. The heads of EU member states, as if on command, welcomed the “European choice” of Ukraine, not caring what price is paid by Ukrain-ian people for this choice. Thanks to American experiments, the country actually lost sovereignty and succumbed to external control. Such a model of puppet state, created in Ukraine, is represented by the US as a European standard. But this state became absolutely ineffective, because it was deprived of its managerial and financial leverage. The country cannot comply well enough even the orders of its overseas patrons.

Carrying out new experiments, the Americans seek to destabilize the situation at the borders with Russia, creating “hot spots”. Integrating a new member state in the EU, half-destitute, externally manipulated and completely out of control Ukraine, Washington probably do cunning maneuver in the great political game that will help to eliminate unnecessary political and economic rivals and retain its status as global hegemon. The result is palpable: the European Union has implemented a policy of confrontation with Russia nearly for two years, referring to alleged ‘Russian involvement’ in Ukraine as a pretext. Brussels uses at a loss the tool of sanctions, which, however unpleasant for Moscow, has not yielded the effect expected by the West. The West does not require much from Kiev: Ukraine just needs to be a “bad country” with many problems, it must wage senseless war against its own people, humbly beg for loans to pay the bills and ignore the Minsk agreement. But the main thing in this drama is to hate Russia as much as possible, inculcating this feeling in each Ukrainian citizen. A logical question arises: will Ukraine remain the single platform for the European experiments of White House?

US Drives Europe in a Vicious Circle of anti-Russian Sanctions

EDITOR — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 06:16:34 +0000

Blackmail and force pressure remain the primary tool of American diplomacy. The U.S. continues to pressure the EU on the ‘necessity’ of sanctions against Russia. However, with the passage of time an increasing number of European countries are resisting the imposition of U.S. policy toward Russia.
The Greek leadership is clearly aware that anti-Russian sanctions, to which Washington force them, cause enormous damage both to the Greek economy, which is in deep recession, and to the long-standing, historical relations between Greece and Russia. But all this does not matter for Washington, which is accustomed to dictating the policy terms to its European partners, forcing them not to follow their national interests, but the American ones. The unbending US policy is causing growing discontent in Eastern Europe. The leaders of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Slovakia, FYR of Macedonia do not hide their irritation due to the pressure exercised by Washington, seeking to make them puppets instead of leaders of sovereign independent states, The US steadily drives them to compliantly execute any order from the State Department.
It is clear that the United States of America have no significant trade or investment relations with the Russia Federation. Therefore, unleashing the economic and financial war against Russia, America is not particularly at risk. But for Europe and for Ukraine, this multi-faceted war, economic and otherwise, surely spells disaster.
Russia has been for long years the guarantor of stability of the European energy market. It supplies almost half of the oil and a third of the total gas consumption of these energy resources to the EU. Certain European countries totally dependent on Russian gas supplies. In the case of freezing of funds in foreign accounts of Russian state-owned companies and trade embargo, the EU will come to a total collapse of its economy.
A significant amount of investment and loans also binds Europe with Russia. In the case of continuing economic warfare these assets will also be lost. This will lead to falling profitability and bankruptcy of a number of companies and banks, to falling European stock market, hence rising unemployment.
Thus, sanctions and trade war against Russia benefit only the U.S., which kills two birds with one stone, deciding their goals both towards the EU and towards Russia.
After all, it is important to understand what Ukraine, the ‘unsuccessful younger brother’ is for Europe. Kiev faces enormous challenges. Deep recession puts the national economy in a precarious position.
In addition, the European financial stability mechanism is not designed to load in hundreds billions of euro into the Ukraine. If Brussels decides to save the Ukrainian economy from total collapse, the task will be overwhelming. Such an eventuality will not in the least please the governments of the Euro-zone member states.
As a result of such assistance to Ukraine, which is not even an EU member, it is estimated that EU economies will recede further by 15 to 25 per cent. And this can lead to a withdrawal of a number of southern European countries from the EU (Greece is the first likely example of such a situation). The collapse of the Euro-zone and consequently of the entire EU is a nightmare scenario – an affront to the many enlightened European statesmen who have been building the ideal of a single Europe in the past decades. Such a nightmare is in danger of becoming a reality – because of the ill-conceived Washington propelled policy on Ukraine.
Is it worth pulling the fate of the European economy into the Ukrainian card being played by the US? Europe, if left alone to decide, will probably answer no. Would it not be better Europe and Russia take joint steps to stabilize the situation in Ukraine? Primarily through the formation of responsible government in Kiev, capable of ensuring peace and observance of its commitments.
It is prudent to give the Ukraine an opportunity to live and develop, to be a stable and predictable partner than to turn the central European terrain into a ‘black hole’ that undermines Europe’s stability and economy, and also becomes a handy tool serving the U.S. for confrontation with Russia.