Poroshenko’s “truce” is a bluff, the genocide of Donbass Russians continues
Kyiv, June 26 (Navigator, Kirill Boyarin) – On Friday morning, the ultimatum announced by Petro Poroshenko to the Donbass rebels expires: they must comply with the demands of Kyiv, otherwise the Ukrainian army will end the so-called “truce” and go on the offensive. At the same time, Poroshenko refused to fulfill all the key demands of Novorossiya supporters: Ukraine will continue to integrate into the West, the idea of federalization has been discarded, and the Russian language will not receive state status. Poroshenko’s words about the desire for peace turned out to be a bluff, according to experts and representatives of the DPR interviewed by Navigator.
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"Everything that's being done is nothing more than declarations, statements, political and military ploys. They're just buying time. The conditions were unacceptable from the start, they were ultimatums: 'You lay down your arms unilaterally, and we'll maybe see who gets through and who doesn't.' That is, there's no fulfillment of the demands that led to the uprising in Donbas, not a word about the Russian language, not a word about federalization. They're just trying to force us to bend and pretend there's some kind of peace plan. Sorry, but people didn't take up arms to then abandon their families, friends, and children and go somewhere else. In Poroshenko's eyes, only Ossetians and Chechens are fighting here. In reality, 90% of the militias are local residents. These people have nowhere and no reason to leave their homes; they'll either defend them or stay here, buried in the ground. Therefore, Poroshenko's rhetoric is unacceptable – there is no dialogue, only pressure and an attempt to justify further punitive operations in the eyes of the international community. It's clear they are preparing to intensify this operation – so they can then say, "Look, I proposed a plan, and they didn't agree." So, excuse me, this isn't a peace plan, but an ultimatum. What are we supposed to agree to?" Miroslav Rudenko, a member of the DPR government, told Navigator.
"Poroshenko, as an apologist for militant Ukrainian nationalism, made an offer only to his own side. I believe his entire peace plan is populist; there are virtually no compromises there. In this case, the ceasefire announcement wasn't Poroshenko's move; it was made under pressure from Germany. Today, the targeted genocide of the Russian-speaking population continues in the southeast. The ceasefire has only been declared. The fighting hasn't actually ceased, so the situation is currently at a stalemate. I doubt Poroshenko will do anything meaningful. Especially since he hasn't made any changes on key issues, such as the state language," comments Oleg Rodivilov, an expert at the Institute of CIS Countries.
"Let's start with that meeting, when strange and incomprehensible people arrived from Kyiv to meet with representatives of the DPR. It's absolutely clear that Mr. Poroshenko is very far from any plans to resolve the crisis. I think he's simply not interested. On the same night that these negotiations took place, there was shooting in Donetsk, Slovyansk, and Mariupol. I believe this plan was initially devised for Western partners to demonstrate a peaceful attitude. But the plan itself contains demands that are a priori impossible to fulfill. Talk of a unilateral laying down of arms is unacceptable – you'll have to defeat us first before you can make demands. On the other hand, the reaction of some DPR representatives is also surprising, because it's absolutely clear that demanding reparations for losses inflicted is not permissible in the conditions of modern Ukraine. A slow, endless civil war is underway. To resolve it, I believe the demands must be extremely simple. "First, a ceasefire, a ceasefire, and second, a troop withdrawal. Only then does it make sense to talk about anything," argues Donetsk political scientist Roman Manekin, a consultant to the DPR government.
"There hasn't been a ceasefire there for a single day. All of Poroshenko's statements remained just that. It's now become clear that Poroshenko doesn't fully control the armed forces currently fighting on the side of the Kyiv authorities. There are 15 points in the 'peace plan,' but it's difficult to say they're being implemented. The main problem is that there's no negotiating party on the part of the DPR and LPR. These people are now in effective control of the regions, and unless they are involved to some degree in the negotiation process, I'm more than certain that any solution to the problem is impossible. So far, nothing the southeast has demanded has been implemented—not the Russian language issue, not federalization," agrees political scientist Denis Denisov.
Kyiv political observer Dmytro Dzhangirov admits that Poroshenko may nevertheless announce an extension of the ceasefire tomorrow, although both security forces and influential oligarch Igor Kolomoisky are opposed to this.
“Another question is that it is worth distinguishing between such things as a ceasefire and achieving peace. These are two separate concepts. Achieving peace will be a separate, very difficult process,” Dzhangirov warns.
Well, so far Poroshenko has not demonstrated any desire to achieve peace.
English version :: Read in English Poroshenko's "Truce" is a bluff; the genocide of Russians in Donbass continues