Публікація на The Starting Point

On Thursday, July 30, 2020, Ukrainian President Vladimir* Zelensky appointed former president of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk, to head the Ukrainian delegation of the Trilateral Contact Group to represent Ukraine in the so-called Minsk “peace talks”.

Much has been said about the appointment of the 86-year-old former president of Ukraine to the position of lead negotiator. But what is virtually absent from the discussion are his damning connections to political actors compromised by Russia, and his questionable political track record.

We warned that Zelensky was an oligarchic political project whose presidency would represent a pro-Russian revanche in Ukraine that would invite back many compromised figures of Ukraine’s past into its present. And indeed, many of Ukraine’s corrupt “old guard” are enjoying a revival of their influence in the country under Zelensky. Kravchuk is the latest addition to the considerable list of old faces under the president who promised Ukrainians he would replace old elites with fresh new faces.

Kravchuk’s appointment as Ukraine’s top negotiator in Minsk reveals that Zelensky is taking the pro-Russian revanche in Ukraine to the next level.

Публікація на BRE Special Issue on Ukraine

In his statement at President Trump’s impeachment investigation, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor said: ”If Ukraine succeeds in breaking free of Russian influence, it is possible for Europe to be whole, free, democratic, and at peace. In contrast, if Russia dominates Ukraine, Russia will again become an empire, oppressing its people, and threatening its neighbours and the rest of the world.”

Despite recognition of Ukraine’s geopolitical importance, western states have failed to adequately support Kyiv in its defence against Russia’s unprovoked and undeclared war. The core of this failure is the resistance to formally recognize that Russia is waging interstate war on Ukraine. Without recognizing Russia as the aggressor, the West cannot avail itself of the tools under international law that could ensure that its aggression is repressed for a just peace in Ukraine.

Russia is responsible for an almost six years long multi-vectored war effort against the entirety of Ukraine which includes its covert and overt military aggression in Crimea and Donbas, as well as a host of other aggressive operations, through economic pressure, terrorist and cyber attacks, hate propaganda and disinformation, political subversion and assassinations, interference in electoral processes, etc., in areas outside the zone of military conflict. Moscow’s single objective is to destroy Ukraine’s political independence and territorial integrity.