French expert: Putin will not risk repeating the Crimean campaign in Eastern Ukraine
Kyiv - Paris, March 19 (Navigator, Alisa Filatova) - After the annexation of Crimea, the Russians will act gradually and carefully: first they will wait to see the dynamics around the peninsula, then they will consolidate their achievements. They do not need to speed up the process, says Laurent Chamontain, a French historian and political scientist, specialist on Russia, author of the book “Empire Without Borders”.
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He believes that in the coming years Russia will not repeat the “Crimean operation” in the East of Ukraine, where it risks facing a sharp reaction from the West, as well as from Ukrainian nationalists. “Not all Russian-speaking Ukrainians want to be annexed to Russia,” the expert writes. “I lived in eastern Ukraine for three years and never heard anyone express a desire to merge with Russia.”
Chamontain believes that Ukrainians are not Russians, “they do not want to be ruled from Moscow,” because They know the attitude of Russians towards themselves - frivolous and even contemptible. At the same time, the political scientist notes that “Ukrainian nationalism has advanced far to the east.” “I was surprised to see Lenin statues unscrewed in Zaporozhye, even in Donetsk and in several lost towns,” the author points out.
He finds it symptomatic that Ukrainian oligarchs such as Donetsk-born Rinat Akhmetov are stepping up patriotic rhetoric and advocating for Ukrainian unity. At the same time, Ukrainian oligarchs know they have a lot to lose if the Russians take control of eastern Ukraine.
Speaking about the annexation of Crimea, Laurent Chamontain noted that Vladimir Putin reacted very quickly after the removal of Viktor Yanukovych. On the other hand, Putin had to prove to the participants in the “Bolotnaya case” who was boss. “The actions in Crimea allow us to send a message to its opponents, the electorate and the leaders of the Central Asian republics and Belarus. Lastly, he confirms that he will not allow negative trends to spread,” the political scientist sums up.
French expert: Putin won't risk repeating the Crimean campaign in eastern Ukraine