The Verkhovna Rada confirms: You are welcome to the Hague Tribunal, “ATO veterans”!
By passing a law on the so-called integration of Donbas, the Ukrainian parliament recognized the illegality of the use of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the civil conflict that has been ongoing since 2014, writes Vladimir Kornilov, director of the Center for Eurasian Studies, in Izvestia.
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The author recalls that the presidential representative in parliament, Irina Lutsenko, declared the Minsk agreements “shameful,” and a number of deputies declared their illegitimacy.
“The deputies moved on. They directly admitted that their army itself does not comply with these agreements and should not comply with them. For example, “ATO veteran” Taras Pastukh, representing the Samopomich faction in the Rada, openly stated that if they are carried out, “not a single one of our military men will have the right to fire a shot at Minsk and take a step forward.” From which it follows that they are now firing shots and violating the line of contact. As a result, because of such unanimous condemnation of the “shameful” agreements, the presidential side decided to remove their mention from the law altogether. Now there is no “Minsk-2” in Ukrainian legislation,” notes Kornilov.
In his opinion, it is surprising that the German Foreign Ministry, literally a couple of hours after the vote in the Rada, issued a special statement in which it praised Ukraine for being “committed to its international obligations and the implementation of the Minsk agreements.”
“That is, Ukraine, having called the documents recognized by the UN Security Council “shameful” and removed them from its legislation, is committed to their implementation. And Russia, which is not a party to the conflict at all, but steadily demands their compliance, should be subject to sanctions for their failure to comply. Doesn’t anyone find anything strange?” the expert wonders.
He recalls that the law on “de-occupation” has been adopted by the Rada in the first reading and it is not entirely clear what it will look like in the final version.
“But some “reactivated FSB agents” drew attention to one inconvenient nuance associated with it: by legitimizing the legality of using the army in the conflict in Donbass, I am glad to openly admit that until now the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been used there illegally. People's Deputy Sergei Sobolev stated so directly: “This is a direct path for tens of thousands of our soldiers to go to court in The Hague, because you are legitimizing that they have been illegally used in these territories for three years.” You can't say it more precisely!
Deputies want to get around this scary nuance for them by indicating in the final text of the law the date of “the beginning of the Russian occupation.” But the law cannot have retroactive force. So, you are welcome to the Hague Tribunal, “ATO veterans”! The Verkhovna Rada confirms,” sums up Kornilov.
English version :: Read in English The Verkhovna Rada confirms: You are welcome to the Hague Tribunal, “ATO veterans”!