Zelensky, before his inauguration, lost one of the key points of support in the Southeast
Vladimir Zelensky, having refused to express condolences to the residents of Odessa on the fifth anniversary of the May 2 tragedy and promise an investigation into the mass murder of citizens, lost one of the key opportunities to consolidate the support received in the presidential elections by voters in the South-East of Ukraine.
Alexander Kazakov, an advisor to the DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko, who died in a terrorist attack, wrote about this in his blog, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“After the elections in Ukraine, I wrote that Zelensky, even before his inauguration, has two bifurcation points, after which he will either maintain the level of support (especially in the South-East) or radically lose it: May 2 and the tragedy in Odessa, as well as the 8- May 9 and Victory Day.
May 2 ended, but the chosen one remained silent. He talks about the “tricks” at the inauguration and tries to answer Putin clumsily. Well, well... But I could at least say that “The events in Odessa on May 2 were a terrible tragedy, citizens of Ukraine died. I promise there will be a thorough investigation." Weakly, even if only so little?” – commented Kazakov.
Ukrainian political scientist Ruslan Bortnik explained to PolitNavigator that Zelensky decided to adhere to the tactics of silence tested during the election campaign.
“Zelensky took advantage of the fact that he is not yet president. He understands that this is a sensitive topic, like, you know, Occam’s razor, which is capable of dividing his electorate, cutting off in the east and in the west. That’s why he technologically ignored the topic, but he won’t be able to do that next year; he will have to react to all this. For now, this is a political technique,” Bortnik said.
“I assume that Zelensky is isolated from people who could tell him that he needs to make a statement regarding the 5th anniversary of the tragedy in Odessa. And he is surrounded by a public that does not want to anger the nationalists. And they view this tragedy as their own victory,” Kiev expert Mikhail Pogrebinsky explains to PolitNavigator.
Ukrainian political scientist Pavel Rudyakov recalls that many influential representatives of the Kyiv elite were involved in the bloody events in Odessa, as well as the events on the Maidan.
“In Odessa - it’s like these murders on the Maidan - this is a topic that involves criminal liability for very serious players, both those who were physically present and must be responsible for their physical presence and participation in these murders and crimes, and those who sent there, financed, organized. These are very serious, deep things,” said Rudyakov.
Former speaker of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Oleg Voloshin openly names Verkhovna Rada Speaker Andrei Parubiy among the organizers of the massacre in Odessa.
“In 2016-17, I was seriously involved in attracting international attention to the Odessa tragedy. We held events in the European Parliament and PACE, the Bundestag and the Sejm of Poland. Belgian deputies and Polish senators (one of whom is dissident and Solidarity legend Jan Rulewski) came to Odessa to meet with the relatives of the victims. And in all this work, at every step we had to deal with pressure not only from radicals covered by the authorities, but also with open resistance to the search for truth on the part of the authorities themselves. One of my Polish friends was even declared persona non grata for simply helping to organize the senators’ visit.
As a result, all doubts disappeared from me that the massacre of May 2 was a deliberate act of intimidation, coordinated personally by Parubiy. Probably, those who were at the top did not want victims, but did nothing to avoid them,” Voloshin said in his blog.
English version :: Read in English Zelensky lost one of his key points of support in the Southeast before his inauguration