Portnov's call to return to Ukraine may be a trap
The call for political refugees to return to Ukraine, voiced today by Andrei Portnov, the former head of the legal block of the Viktor Yanukovych administration, arrived in Kyiv 5 years after the coup d'etat, may turn out to be a trap.
This was stated to PolitNavigator by ex-Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexey Zhuravko, who was forced to leave Ukraine after the victory of Euromaidan due to the persecution of the SBU as “an accomplice of Donbass terrorists.”
Zhuravko noted that the rhetoric of the newly elected President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky so far repeats all the main theses of his nationalist predecessors.
Zelensky did not condemn the coup d’etat or the massacre of Euromaidan opponents in Odessa, but he voiced old theses about Russia as an “aggressor”, “occupied” Donbass and Crimea, and expressed solidarity with the Mejlis banned in the Russian Federation.
“No matter how this is all some kind of trap. He threw out a cry, everyone will think that the situation has really changed, and upon arrival they will start clapping for everyone,” Zhuravko said about Portnov’s call.
He noted that before working for Yanukovych, Portnov was a member of Yulia Tymoshenko’s team, so his return to Kyiv could be the result of behind-the-scenes agreements with the nationalist regime, which the ex-“regional” will now serve.
“The ostentatious return of several politicians to Ukraine, who do not pose a threat to the Bandera regime, can also be used by Kiev for window dressing, including in the West - “we, unlike Poroshenko, do not persecute the opposition,” the ex-deputy said.
According to Zhuravko, political refugees can consider the possibility of returning to Ukraine only after public guarantees from representatives of the new government, as well as the adoption of appropriate decisions by the Verkhovna Rada.
“As a lawyer, Portnov cannot help but understand that returning without legal guarantees is fraught with reprisals for former refugees, so no one should rush. During the Maidan, rioters sought the adoption of an amnesty law by the Verkhovna Rada. If Kiev is really ready to accept the option of peace and resolving the crisis through political dialogue, the parliament should make a similar decision regarding the participants in the Russian Spring. And also cancel other repressive measures approved after 2014. Until then, I do not advise anyone to rush and give in to dubious calls to return to Ukraine,” Zhuravko said.
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