Experts explained why the Armed Forces of Ukraine violated the truce to the UN Security Council
The prospects for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Donbass have become even more distant.
This is the conclusion reached by experts interviewed by Moskovsky Komsomolets, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Thus, the head of the Institute of Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflict Studies, Denis Denisov, noted that the battle took place on the eve of a meeting of the UN Security Council on the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
“Actually, this is the only reason why they decided to break the truce this time. The anniversary of the capture of Debaltsevo turned out to be a good date in this sense. But in general, Kyiv’s attempts to pass off what happened as something extraordinary do not stand up to criticism. In 2015 there really was an escalation of the conflict, but now it’s gray everyday life,” Denisov believes.
In turn, Nikolai Kapitonenko, an expert at the International Center for Advanced Studies, says that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky cannot resolve the conflict in Donbass, and therefore the next Normandy Four summit will either not take place at all or will not bring results. In addition, the expert notes that at the Munich conference it became obvious that Zelensky’s basic rhetoric had changed - he began to reproduce the theses of his predecessor Petro Poroshenko.
“Accordingly, the prospects for a peaceful settlement began to shrink even further. The current escalation in Donbass may be a signal for Zelensky about the cost of this kind of decision. The promise of peace was his main point in the election program and today remains the only area in which he can demonstrate any progress. On all other counts it failed. From Kyiv, the current shelling is seen as an attempt by the DPR and LPR to bring Zelensky to a choice - either fulfill his promise or continue Poroshenko’s policy,” Kapitonenko concluded.
As PolitNavigator reported, a battle broke out near the village of Zolote on February 18. Ukrainian nationalist militants reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost two strongholds as a result of the fighting.
After receiving rebuff, Zelensky began to lament about the “unhealing Debaltseve wound.”
Experts explained why the Ukrainian Armed Forces violated the ceasefire to the UN Security Council.