Here is article written by two unian journalists – Konstantin Goncharov and Tatyana Urbanska about what Ukraine has passed through in course of this year.

One year ago after disorder organized in the East not without presence of Russian ‘green men’, the first ever full scale anti-terrorist operation started in Ukraine.

Unian correspondents asked experts what lessons has Ukraine learned from 365 days of undeclared war.

On April 14, 2014 Speaker of the Parliament and Acting President Alexander Turchynov signed a decree on carrying out anti-terrorist operation in Ukraine with involvement of regular units of Ukrainian Armed Forces. Then the corresponding decision of National Security and Defense Council came into effect.

Circumstances forced Kiev to take this step – Crimea was occupied and violence in Eastern Ukraine was escalating led by Russian curators.

People from the bordering country used all means to heat and destabilize situation in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Meanwhile in the capital the new government couldn’t fully realize depth of separatist moods on the border with Russia.

Having lost thousands of lives and economic stability in this war, Ukraine and international community still do not abandon attempts to regulate situation peacefully. However, Minsk agreements (both first and the second) aimed at de-escalation of conflict are still violated. In addition, they do not give response to question: what do we have to do with Donbas and who will pay for its restoration.

Endless ATO or undeclared war

According to Ukrainian diplomat, former consul in Edinburgh and Istanbul Bogdan Yaremenko, one cannot win in war he doesn’t participate in and one cannot have ATO for one year.

‘The biggest loss of Ukraine is that it course of year it hasn’t got enough courage to call war a war and treat it correspondingly by mobilizing all necessary resources for victory… On the positive side, of course, we manage to stop Russia, although with huge losses. This can be considered if not victory then at least a success’, – the expert says.

The diplomat believes that today one cannot speak about any victories taking into account that this year Ukraine has lost both Crimea and part of Donbas. ‘What is the worst is that we don’t see neither end of active phase of the conflict nor some plans on its regulation’, – Yaremenko explained.

In addition, Yaremenko sees part of decisions adopted by Ukraine on the diplomatic front as failures.

In particular, the fact that Ukraine allowed to recognize DNR and LNR as members of negotiations on conflict regulation on the international level is a failure according to Yaremenko. DNR and LNR are included in the list of additional four working groups within the framework of trilateral contact group.

According to diplomat, expert of ‘Maidan of foreign affairs’ Alexander Khmara, Kremlin idea of institutionalization of dialogue of Kiev with terrorists found its reflection in documents signed in Minsk. Moreover, this idea was called the one that demands immediate realization. According to Khrama, currently Russia and Germany promote idea of necessity to launch ‘political regulation’ despite the fact that implementation of first demands of Minsk agreements and set of measures on their realization, in particular full ceasefire, withdrawal of military equipment and access of SMM of OSCE, can hardly be called fulfilled.

The other unfavorable thing is that Ukraine has taken responsibility for restoration of Donbas on itself. Although, it is not clear today whether we have money and political will of people to pay for this. In addition, we have adopted a number of political commitments on changing of constitutional order or law of Ukraine within the framework of crisis regulation, but not country reformation. ‘So that, probably, diplomatic side of conflict looks better that military one’, – Yaremenko said.

Read continuation of this article here Relative victories and real refeats

Source: unian.ua