PRESS RELEASES AND NEWS

27.02.2018

Embassy's Comment on the Donbass reintegration law

Q.: How would you assess the absence of the official reaction of the UK as regards to the “Donbass reintegration law” that has entered into force?

A.: We cannot speak for the British side, but the scandalous law on so-called “reintegration of Donbass” is a consequence of the destructive policy of the Ukrainian government over the past four years since the coup d’etat in February 2014. It is commonly known that the UK and other Western countries have been supporting for all these years the authorities in Ukraine by financing, delivering weapons and sending military advisers to train Ukrainian military. So it comes as no surprise that London keeps total silence on this issue.

We believe by adopting this contentious law Kiev has confirmed it is trying to deal with the civilian conflict in Ukraine by military means.

By signing the law, Ukrainian President Poroshenko has virtually annulled the Minsk Agreements and set loose the war hawks. Apparently, any direct dialogue with the authorities of the self-proclaimed republics, de-escalation of confrontation and a search for ways of achieving a political settlement are out of the question. On the contrary, the document creates favourable conditions for the heavy-handed seizure of territories of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions that are not controlled by Kiev and legalises the use of the Ukrainian military might against civilians.

There remained a feeble hope that President Poroshenko, who had personally helped draft the Minsk Agreements three years ago and later regularly stated his commitment to the accords, would, nevertheless, change his mind. But no miracle happened. With the stroke of a pen, the Ukrainian leader has virtually signed a verdict for the Package of Measures under the Minsk Agreement.

Curiously enough, this law coming into force has coincided with another anniversary of the coup d’etat staged by Ukrainian nationalists in February 2014. The conclusions are obvious: the current authorities in Kiev that gained power through an armed putsch profess no methods other than violence.

The practical implementation of this law is fraught with the serious escalation of the situation in the East of Ukraine. We hope that its Western curators realise this and will be able to use their current influence on Kiev to prevent a scenario that might prove ruinous for Ukrainian statehood and which is rife with unpredictable consequences for European stability and security.

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