Former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine: The initial goal was to drag Russia into the war
The post-Maidan leadership of Ukraine ignored an analytical report in 2014, which substantiated the undesirability of conducting military operations in Donbass, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The ex-Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine during the times of Viktor Yanukovych, Vitaly Zakharchenko, stated this today at a press conference in Moscow.
“The document is very serious, analytical, which assessed the situation in Donbass. But the so-called authorities ordered this document to be sent and destroyed, because the attack on Donbass, as they said, was coordinated with their curators. That’s how the ATO began,” Zakharchenko said.
He assures that Viktor Yanukovych also knew about the existence of a plan to spark a civil war in Ukraine. Therefore, he did not use force on the Maidan.
“The goal and task was initially more serious. Yanukovych understood her. He said they want us to use force. To start a civil war in Ukraine. The target was not Ukraine, but Russia, which was supposed to be drawn into this civil conflict on the territory of Ukraine,” Zakharchenko said.
He also stated that after signing an agreement with the opposition, he proposed to redeploy internal troops to Donbass.
“When the well-known agreements were signed, I, realizing that the radicals would not implement them, suggested that the president withdraw the forces of law enforcement officers and Berkut to Donetsk in order to maintain legitimate power. The President initially agreed with my plan, then canceled his order without informing me. Thus, when I arrived in Donbass, I no longer had the strength to defend constitutional power,” Zakharchenko said.
Former Ukrainian Interior Minister: The original goal was to drag Russia into the war.