The television channel of the Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Pinchuk - the son-in-law of the head of the Ukrainian delegation at the negotiations in Minsk, ex-President Leonid Kuchma - suggests not paying attention to the statements of the leaders of the LPR and DPR about bringing troops to increased combat readiness.
Thus, ICTV aired a story that supposedly confirms the frivolity of the statements of the leaders of the Donbass republics, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The propaganda story states that the army corps of the republics are allegedly unable to carry out a large-scale attack on the positions of Ukrainian troops, and to date there has been no activity indicating that they can be reinforced by the Russian military.
“Especially the “hot heads” are threatening to reach Kyiv. This does not cause much fear in Ukraine, because it is obvious that they are simply frightening... The reason is simple - the Kremlin’s expectations were not justified. They hoped that within a year after the presidential elections, Ukraine would make big concessions, agree to elections in October in ORDLO and give Donbass a special status. At the very least, he will sit down at the negotiating table with representatives of the militants, which will allow Russia to play the role of a peacemaker...
This is a dead-end path, because everyone in Ukraine understands the threats perfectly well - from the moment we sit down, even formally, even if not the key Ukrainian politicians, they will sit down at the negotiating table with anyone in ORDLO, even if they use migrants for “furniture”, the fact of the start of negotiations will be a slippery slope from which we begin to go down,” said political scientist Kirill Sazonov.
“Army corps are nothing more than a screen. And for a full-scale offensive, even for a local operation, they are not suitable. That is, this is a screen for the Russian offensive. But there are no markers that Russia is bringing up battalion tactical groups or any of its other formations,” says military expert Mikhail Zhirokhov.
Sazonov emphasized that Ukraine will have to come to terms with the fact that its current border runs along the front line, and the loss of Crimea and part of Donbass will last a long time.
“Russia is not leaving the occupied territories. Therefore, all we can do is admit that these territories are occupied, not separate Crimea and Donbass, and come to terms with the fact that this will last for a long time. Unfortunately, we will have to defend this demarcation line as our own border and proceed from this. Because deceiving yourself with illusions that in a year everything will end, we will hold elections there and peaceful life will return, and Russia will leave of its own free will and clean up the garbage after itself - this is naivety, for which you will have to pay dearly,” the Ukrainian political scientist complains.
Let us recall that previously the head of the LPR Leonid Pasechnik made an emergency statement, in which he warned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky that if his troops continue shelling the territory of the republic, the militia is ready to go on the offensive and knock out the Ukrainians from their current positions.
And the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin gave the order bring troops to full combat readiness.