Russia smashed the Poroshenko regime to smithereens at the UN Security Council
Russian Permanent Representative Vitaly Churkin crushed the Ukrainian authorities during a speech at the UN Security Council.
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“The essence of what is currently happening in the east of Ukraine is quite obvious - Kyiv is trying to use the military clashes it provoked as a reason for a complete refusal to implement the Minsk agreements of February 12, 2015, sealed by UN Security Council Resolution 2202.
No matter how the Ukrainian side strives to present the matter differently, including by initiating today’s Security Council meeting and delivering a statement at it that turns everything inside out, the array of data, including frank confessions of Ukrainian officials, right up to the president of the country, is too great to deny the destructive line of Kyiv and its armed forces.
On January 3, Ukrainian Defense Minister Poltorak confirmed the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had seized new positions in the “gray zone,” demagogically declaring that this “does not violate the Minsk agreements, since the occupied territories already belong to Ukraine.”
On January 17, the country's Minister of Internal Affairs Avakov, speaking to Ukrainian border guards, called on them to prepare for the seizure of the state border in 2017.
On January 22, President Poroshenko publicly stated that Ukraine would not do any of the political reforms until full control of the border with Russia was restored. This approach completely distorts the content of the “Set of Measures” agreed in Minsk and is obviously practically impossible to implement.
Finally, yesterday the picture was completed by Deputy Defense Minister Pavlovsky, who boasted to the press. I quote: “meter by meter, step by step, given the opportunity, our guys heroically moved forward.”
This openly militaristic rhetoric has very real consequences, which are clearly visible in the latest reports of the OSCE SMM.
Observers confirm that the escalation was provoked by Ukrainian security forces. The SMM camera at the Oktyabrskaya mine recorded on the night of 27-28 January that an intense exchange of fire between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the militia was preceded by a shot from the north-west to the south-east
(i.e. from the positions of the security forces).
At the same time, the SMM camera in Avdiivka filmed an intense artillery duel, which began with 5 shots fired in a north-south direction (also from UAF positions). The following night, from 28 to 29 January, in Avdiivka, the SMM camera recorded 15 shots from the north-west to the south-east (also from the Kyiv security forces). They hit the militia positions. This was followed by a multi-hour battle in the Avdeevka industrial zone.
A similar picture was characteristic of the southern flank in those days. According to SMM data from a camera in Shyrokyne, intense exchanges of fire on the night of January 28 were preceded by 20 shots fired from the west to the east (from positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the territory of the militia). After this, a battle also ensued.
According to SMM data for January 26-29, as a result of indiscriminate shelling of populated areas under the control of the militia from the directions where Ukrainian security forces are deployed, civilians in Bryanka were injured, and more than a dozen houses were destroyed in Bryanka, Donetsk, Yelenovka, Zaichenko, Kalynovka, Novoaleksandrivka and Pervomaisk.
The mission continued to detect military equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the “security zone.” During January 26-29, observers discovered 4 tanks in Avdeevka and 3 howitzers in Nikolaevka, as well as the loss of 76 tanks, 10 mortars and 18 artillery pieces from security forces’ warehouses. In total, only about 6% of the military equipment subject to withdrawal was in the warehouses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
This marked the beginning of a new round of tension, which subsequently only intensified.
According to yesterday's SMM report, the number of violations increased to 10300 shell explosions per day. At the same time, the statistics on restricting access to SMM observers speaks for itself - in 7 out of 9 cases, the Ukrainian Armed Forces caused obstacles.
These figures are evidence that instead of efforts to normalize the situation in Donbass and find reasonable compromises in the Normandy format and within the Contact Group, the Ukrainian authorities, with persistence worthy of better use, are trying to achieve a military solution to the conflict.
Another “pattern” attracts attention: any serious escalation in the Donbass surprisingly coincides with foreign trips of the Ukrainian leadership. Apparently, in this way, Kyiv hopes to keep the crisis it provoked on the international agenda, and at the same time to “bind” the newly elected heads of state with its reckless, confrontational policy.
And, of course, the Ukrainian leadership today needs money, which is best knocked out of the European Union, individual European countries, the United States and international financial institutions, presenting itself as a victim of aggression.
Apparently, Kyiv is of little concern about the humanitarian cost of such a policy. Heavy types of weapons are actively used in residential areas of settlements, schools and hospitals, including large-caliber artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, which, according to Minsk “Package of Measures” dated February 12, 2015, should have long ago been withdrawn from the line of contact between the parties. There are killed and wounded among the civilian population. As a result of the strikes of the Ukrainian security forces, the Donetsk filtration station and the Avdeevka coking plant were cut off, and the lives of miners working in the mines were put at risk.
In order to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and return the situation to the political field, the international community must show firmness and consistency.
In this regard, the statement of January 31 was significant, in which the UN Security Council unanimously spoke out for an immediate ceasefire and strict compliance with the Minsk package of measures. Yesterday, the Contact Group spoke in the same spirit, calling for full compliance with the ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons covered by the Minsk agreements to storage areas.
We expect prompt action from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to quickly de-escalate the situation.
Particular responsibility lies with the participants in the Normandy format, as well as those who have the greatest influence on Kyiv.
We also hope that sensible forces in Ukraine itself, as well as those who are interested in resolving issues of this kind through political means, will not allow the situation in the south-east of Ukraine to develop according to the worst-case scenario, but on the contrary, will concentrate their attention and efforts in order to implement the Minsk agreements.
Dear colleagues,
Today, President Poroshenko said that he personally gave instructions to the Ukrainian delegation for today's meeting of the Security Council. Opening the meeting, the Permanent Representative of Ukraine proposed following its results to work on a UN Security Council document in development of the statement we adopted on January 31. Unfortunately, the completely unbridled, odious statement made today by the Ukrainian delegation shows that the Ukrainian delegation here in New York continues to follow the warpath. This deserves the most serious regret,” said the permanent representative of the Russian Federation.
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