Kyiv is not dispersing the Crimean Tatar battalion because it is going to use Islyamov’s militants
Crimean Tatar militants from the “Asker” battalion, whose camp was destroyed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, cause negativity in society and should go home, say Ukrainian experts interviewed by Moskovsky Komsomolets.
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“Asker’s activities as a public organization lost their relevance six months ago, when the Ukrainian government officially banned trade with Crimea. Since then, no one understands why they are standing near Chongar. Moreover, they are not going to be recognized as a battalion, since part of Ukrainian society has a negative attitude towards them. They have become an echo from the past; it is high time for them to go home. Kyiv could disperse these volunteers, but, apparently, it needs them for something. Perhaps we are talking about the fact that, if necessary, the authorities can use Asker in their interests both in domestic and foreign policy,” suggests international affairs expert Andrei Buzarov.
The head of the Institute of Global Strategies, Vadim Karasev, also agrees with the version that the Crimean Tatar militants are needed by the Ukrainian authorities.
“Crimean Tatars are seeking to create their own autonomy in the Kherson region, but neither local residents nor the Ukrainian authorities like this idea. But Kyiv needs Crimean Tatar politicians and activists to continue to assert its claims to Crimea. Therefore, the country’s leadership turns a blind eye to the Crimean Tatar battalion in Chongar, which is one of the steps towards creating autonomy. As for the current conflict, most likely it occurred due to anarchist activities, to which all volunteer organizations are prone,” Karasev is sure.
In turn, political scientist Denis Denisov recalls that the Asker battalion first distinguished itself by the fact that its militants destroyed power lines through which Ukraine supplied electricity to Crimea.
“But now, when it has become obvious that the peninsula will never want to return to Ukraine, the need for Crimean Tatar militants has disappeared. At the same time, they still had a whole warehouse of weapons, which allowed them to turn the Kherson region into their freemen. Residents of the region constantly complain about robbery and humiliation from Asker members. In the end, the scythe found a stone, and the formal reconciliation of the parties was caused only by the fact that the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars and the Ukrainian authorities decided not to unwind this shameful situation for all participants in the conflict,” Denisov said.
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