Putin has prepared a trap for Ukraine – Portnikov
It is quite likely that a stable pro-Russian lobby will emerge in the Verkhovna Rada, which could become a parliamentary majority at any moment.
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This opinion was expressed in an interview with the online publication “Apostrophe” by Kiev propagandist Vitaly Portnikov, according to whom the introduction of peacekeeping forces into Donbass without establishing Ukrainian control over the territory is the most profitable option for Putin.
“That is, UN peacekeeping forces will be located on the line of contact and on the Russian-Ukrainian border. For the United States, perhaps this will be such a triumph, because they will force Russian troops and their mercenaries to leave the territory of Donbass and replace these troops with peacekeeping forces. But the Ukrainian Armed Forces, law enforcement agencies and government agencies will not enter this territory,” Portnikov said.
“This is not a completely frozen conflict, it will be a real trap for Ukraine,” the publication’s interlocutor believes. – Because after Russian troops leave the territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, a transition period will be declared. The Russian Federation will stop spending money on these territories. Ukraine will begin to pay all its social obligations, pensions, salaries to state employees, and will, with the help of Western donors, restore the region’s infrastructure. At the same time, it will not have any real control over this territory.”
In addition, Portnikov is afraid that people living in the part of Donbass not controlled by Kyiv will elect their local authorities and take part in the elections of the Verkhovna Rada and the President of Ukraine.
“Thus, to the several million voters who vote for pro-Russian forces, another two million will be added, perhaps more, because a certain part of the people will then return to Donbass from the territory of free Ukraine and will again fall under the influence of pro-Russian propaganda. And a stable pro-Russian lobby will be created in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which can become a majority at any time, as it was before 2013. And this new pro-Russian Ukraine will resolve the issues of these regions in such a way as to turn all of Ukraine into a zone of influence of the Russian Federation,” Portnikov panics.
In his opinion, creating such a pro-Russian majority in Ukraine is not as difficult as it seems.
“If you are just residents of the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, who today vote for the “Opposition Bloc”, for the “Will of the People”, who are ready to vote for the “For Life” party of Rabinovich and Muraev, add another two million voters, and maybe and another million voters in Crimea (we want there to be a complete restoration of territorial integrity), then you will get the pro-Russian Ukraine that existed before 2013, which made up approximately half of our electorate. This is simply a reality that must be taken into account, we must not forget about it,” Portnikov laments.
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