The cry of Svidomo: The Russian spring in Odessa and Kharkov was temporarily strangled
Separatist sentiments in Kharkov have not disappeared, but only lay low, waiting for an opportune moment, which is connected, first of all, with the figure of the mayor of the city, Gennady Kernes, and with his entourage, which includes many people recruited by the FSB.
“Honored Journalist of Ukraine” Vladimir Chistilin stated this during the forum “Security of the East in the Conditions of a Hybrid War,” a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Is it possible for similar events to happen again? I think yes. We know well that Putin has not given up on the seizure of Ukraine and the destruction of our state. We know how much equipment is located on the borders of the Kharkov region - in particular, forty kilometers away in Belgorod - how many battalions.
We have all seen maps of the so-called Novorossiya, where Kharkov is the capital of this entity. We know history well. Without Kharkov it is impossible to capture the East of Ukraine and our state as a whole. Therefore, the Kremlin has such thoughts, and they do not abandon them.
Is it possible for similar situations to repeat today? I think there are at least five reasons why this is real. The first reason is our mayor Kernes, he is, perhaps, one of the main reasons. “Little Yanukovych” is still in power and, despite the fact that in Kyiv they think that they have him on the hook, we know how politically experienced, cunning and unprincipled a person he is,” Chistilin said.
Among other reasons, the business elite of Kharkov were named, who can maneuver from the Ukrainian to the Russian pole depending on the benefits, the lack of investment in the media that would promote the ideas of “United Ukraine”, the presence of pro-Russian “revanchists” who have not disappeared from the city and they are preparing provocations ahead of the elections. The propagandist also noted the church factor and the indifference of Kyiv due to the lack of a majority of the electorate loyal to it.
“This is a traditional question; Kharkov has never been interesting in the capital. This was the case in the 90s and in the 2000s... “Our main electorate is Central and Western Ukraine.” Meanwhile, they said the same thing about Donetsk, Lugansk, and Crimea. And we see what happened,” the “honored” one emphasized.
Alexander Ostapenko, “a scientist and public figure from Odessa,” also spoke about risks for Ukraine.
“I absolutely agree that the social base of separatism has decreased, as have the opportunities. But the reaction remained the same as before. What threats remain tangible? Discrediting reforms is the main direction. There are attempts to inflame anti-Semitic and anti-Romanian sentiments, and this can be seen in the way intelligence operates, publications appear, how they are reprinted, including in our publications and in Romanian ones. The growing weight of socio-economic levers and the emphasis on impoverishment, betrayal and everything like that. The systemic discreditation of government institutions is very noticeable. And the preservation of the discourse of “soft autonomy,” the Ukrainian patriot laments.
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