Pyotr BOROVOY – Independent analyst and researcher

The anti-terrorist operation announced by Kiev has immediately turned into a punitive action against peaceful civilians. As the airport in Kramatorsk was being captured, peaceful demonstrators were fired at. There were civilian casualties. It could not have been otherwise, because there are no regular foreign military units to counter the Ukraine’s army.

The Ukrainian servicemen could see it for themselves as they came to Slavyansk and Kramatorsk protected by armor units. When the situation became clear, they refused to carry out the order to put down the protests and went over to the other side.

It should be kept in mind that the Kiev regime was ready for bloodshed when it ordered the punitive action to start. One should give credit to the Ukrainian servicemen; it’s their merit that mass extermination of civilians has not taken place as yet. They have refused to carry out the criminal orders.

The actions of Kiev regime sparked mass protests in the Donetsk and other regions. Actions of civil disobedience are to take place in Odessa. People realize they have nowhere to go and nothing to lose. Defending the right for self-determination is a point of honor for them, the same way the victory over fascist chasteners was a point of honor for their grandfathers and great-grandfathers 69 years ago. I have seen hundreds of amateur and professional video footages and talked to scores of people before arriving at the conclusion. They are adamant to stand up to the Kiev-based regime and will never retreat.

The interim rulers in Kiev should stop; otherwise the resistance will spread around. There is a risk of full-scale civil war. That’s what President Putin emphasized talking to United Nations Secretary General and some Western leaders on April 15.

The brutal actions undertaken by the regime have made a dismemberment of the country a possible option. A territorial restructuring of the large East European state with hypothetical involvement of great powers will give rise to aggravation of tensions in Central and Eastern Europe and provoke new international security challenges. The Ukrainian crisis has already worsened the relationship between the United States and Russia. It’s a sad fact because global stability to great extent depends on the state of Russia-United States relations…

The idea of Ukraine becoming a federal state is vibrantly going around enjoying vast support. That’s what plenipotentiary representatives of the south-eastern civil movement insist on. They speak on the part of eight regions and 20 million of population. They still cherish a hope that the Kiev’s interim government will meet their lawful demands to maintain the unity of the Ukrainian state.

Equal and constructive dialogue between Kiev and South-Eastern Ukraine is possible only in case the following conditions are observed:

– the escalating use of force against the South-East is to be stopped and excluded in future;

– the dialogue’s agenda is to include lawful demands of people related to constitutional reform, including the right of federal administrative territories to secede;

– Russian is to become the second official language.

The aspirations of the people who live in South-Eastern Ukraine should become known and heard. The legally chosen representatives of this part of Ukraine should have the opportunity to bring the message across to the international community and the leaders of world leading states. They should take part in the forthcoming talks. The Kiev regime grabbed power as a result of coup. This part of Ukraine refuses to recognize it, as well as its sovereignty over the south-eastern lands.

The world must hear what these people have to say.