Tymoshenko provokes Poroshenko to make super-harsh statements on Crimea

During negotiations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will discuss the prospects of introducing UN peacekeepers into the Donbass, the topic of which will become one of the key ones in Poroshenko’s attempt to enlist the support of the West and achieve re-election for a second term in March 2019.

Kommersant writes about this, citing the opinions of informed sources in Kyiv.

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“By all indications, we are not far from important progress in Donbass. If before the presidential elections we manage to agree on the deployment of UN peacekeepers in the region, this will be an important diplomatic and political victory for Petro Poroshenko, which will certainly attract voters,” political strategist Viktor Ukolov, who serves the interests of the administration of the President of Ukraine, told the publication.

At the same time, the AP is convinced that as Poroshenko tries to turn the UN peacekeeping operation into his main trump card in the upcoming elections, his main competitor Yulia Tymoshenko is determined to prevent this.

“For example, with her characteristic populism, she will accuse the authorities of once again surrendering Crimea, of exchanging Crimea for Donbass, of stopping halfway, of betraying national interests,” says a source in the AP.

“The president, in order to repel the attack, will have to make tough, and sometimes even super tough, statements on Crimea,” he added. “Let Moscow prepare for them.”