Proroshenko is not wasting any time as there is none to waste. He told Putin that as far s Yanukovych being the legitimate president of Ukraine that no one had asked Putin or any other Russian to interpret the Ukrainian constitution. And our Foreign Minister in response to Russian (Putin and Lavrov) continuous calls to "cease the violence in eastern Ukraine" suggested that they could blow that idea out the orifice of their choice and sent a protest note regarding Russian Border Service continually allowing heavily armed Russian terrorists to cross the Ukrainian border. Their response: We didn't see anybody.
Proroshenko has also doubled down on the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO). Pro-Russian terrorists made the mistake of getting separated from their civilian shields by capturing the Donetsk Prokofiev International Airport (rebuilt for Euro 2012). The Ukrainian army blasted them out of there in a hurry, killing as many as 45, destroying an open truck load of terrorists on their way to reinforce their bandit brothers (Ukrainian version) or a closed truck with a Red Cross loaded with wounded on their way to the hospital (Russian version).
The Ukrainian military also wiped out a terrorist training camp in Luhansk, just a few hundred meters from the Russian border and potentially covered by Russian anti-aircraft guns and missiles.
Since the ATO has been as careful as possible about civilian deaths, the Kremlin backed terrorists are helping them, randomly shelling homes with mortar fire and randomly shooting civilians to create footage for Russian TV which can then be blamed on the fascist Ukrainian army.
Russian propaganda may have to look for a new theme, at least outside of Russia. As the picture below illustrates, the Far Right did not do well in the Ukrainian election while in many European countries it took 20% to 25% of the popular vote for the European Union Parliament. The European Nationalist Parties are very scary people who solidly support Putin's Russia, where Right Wing Nationalists actually are the government. Timothy Snyder writes that Ukraine might be the solution to Europe's fascist problem.
Meanwhile back in the USSR...I mean Russia, they have banned a film about Stalin's deportation of the entire Chechen nation in 1944 on the grounds that it is "anti-Russian and a falsification of history". Meaning it tells the truth, I suppose.
The West has put travel bans on a handful of Oligarchs but Putin has banned international travel for as many as 5 million Russians and the number may continue to increase.
Ukraine's problems are not going away any time soon as "The Survey Says"... A recent Pew Research Center poll in Russia shows that 61 percent of Russian citizens think that parts of neighboring countries rightfully belong to the Russian Federation. And Paul Goble, quoting historian Yuri Felshtinsky, “Putin’s Ukrainian complex can be compared only with Stalin’s Polish complex and Hitler’s Jewish complex.”
The sad legacy of all this is that Ukrainians seem to becoming infected with "Russian Disease", of “intolerance, aggression, militarism and chauvinism” in response to Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk. I need to watch myself in this regard.
Proroshenko has also doubled down on the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO). Pro-Russian terrorists made the mistake of getting separated from their civilian shields by capturing the Donetsk Prokofiev International Airport (rebuilt for Euro 2012). The Ukrainian army blasted them out of there in a hurry, killing as many as 45, destroying an open truck load of terrorists on their way to reinforce their bandit brothers (Ukrainian version) or a closed truck with a Red Cross loaded with wounded on their way to the hospital (Russian version).
The Ukrainian military also wiped out a terrorist training camp in Luhansk, just a few hundred meters from the Russian border and potentially covered by Russian anti-aircraft guns and missiles.
Since the ATO has been as careful as possible about civilian deaths, the Kremlin backed terrorists are helping them, randomly shelling homes with mortar fire and randomly shooting civilians to create footage for Russian TV which can then be blamed on the fascist Ukrainian army.
Russian propaganda may have to look for a new theme, at least outside of Russia. As the picture below illustrates, the Far Right did not do well in the Ukrainian election while in many European countries it took 20% to 25% of the popular vote for the European Union Parliament. The European Nationalist Parties are very scary people who solidly support Putin's Russia, where Right Wing Nationalists actually are the government. Timothy Snyder writes that Ukraine might be the solution to Europe's fascist problem.
 |
| Britain's UKIP took 27%, I believe. |
The West has put travel bans on a handful of Oligarchs but Putin has banned international travel for as many as 5 million Russians and the number may continue to increase.
Ukraine's problems are not going away any time soon as "The Survey Says"... A recent Pew Research Center poll in Russia shows that 61 percent of Russian citizens think that parts of neighboring countries rightfully belong to the Russian Federation. And Paul Goble, quoting historian Yuri Felshtinsky, “Putin’s Ukrainian complex can be compared only with Stalin’s Polish complex and Hitler’s Jewish complex.”
The sad legacy of all this is that Ukrainians seem to becoming infected with "Russian Disease", of “intolerance, aggression, militarism and chauvinism” in response to Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk. I need to watch myself in this regard.
Stay safe and keep posting. You are the real voice of the Ukraine. I rely on your updates far more than the news media.
ReplyDeletethe best to your wife and family
the Ol'Buzzard
Thanks, O'B. Glad someone gets some benefit from my blog.
DeleteTroubling times, but I'm glad it's "so far, so good" with Proroshenko.
ReplyDelete- "So far, so good," said the optimist as he fell past the second floor...
One day/floor at a time.
ReplyDelete