AFTER the anschluss of Crimea, the Kremlin went to the second stage of the war on Ukraine. They started a covert operation in the country’s East.
They stick to the same routine as in Crimea. First – deploying professional military and mercenaries on Ukrainian territory. Second – paying local radicals and criminals to pose as “pro-Russian forces”. Third – trying to make it look like a turmoil coming from within.
But it doesn’t look like that at all. Unlike the December-February Euromaidan in Kyiv, it’s not a domestic uprising, but a full-blown foreign aggression on Ukraine.
There are valid proofs of “special-ops groups” being deployed on the ground. These are not Ukrainians. These are professional Russian mercenaries waging a war on Ukrainian territory.
Some of the faces have been recognised from Crimea. Some of the faces are familiar from Georgia-2008. Saboteurs with Russian citizenship are being apprehended throughout the country. These and other things, including intercepted radio traffic confirm: these are foreigners, invaders.
Ukraine is fighting back. It cannot allow the Russian-equipped, Russian-paid and Russian-deployed special-ops units spread fear among the Ukrainian people. The population in Eastern Ukraine is scared of strangers in green uniforms coming and ruining their daily lives. Stopping them, protecting own people is the direct obligation of Ukraine’s government. And in doing so it’s entitled to count on global support.
Russia thinks it found a foolproof way to conduct a war – not calling things by thier names and flatly denying the truth. But a lie is a lie and aggression is aggression – no matter what Russia calls it and how much smoke gets blown by the Russian propaganda machine. The world must see it. The evidence is all over the place.
On April 13 Russia called a UN Security Council meeting to “express concern” about the situation they, in fact, created themselves. Remarkably, they didn’t call any Security Council meetings when thousands were killed in Chechnya. But this time around – they claim to be “concerned”.
Well, if they are, then there are three simple steps that would solve the problem: (1) stop doing what Russia has been doing in Ukraine for the last two months, (2) start immediately a settlement process and (3) return to the boundaries of international law.
On April 17, 2014 the Geneva meeting on the situation in Ukraine agreed on initial concrete steps to de-escalate tensions and restore security for all citizens.
All sides must refrain from any violence, intimidation or provocative actions. All illegal armed groups must be disarmed; all illegally seized buildings must be returned to legitimate owners.
It was agreed that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission should play a leading role in assisting Ukrainian authorities and local communities in the immediate implementation of these de-escalation measures. The US, EU and Russia commit to support this mission.
The Ukrainian side highly appreciates the constructive position of the Republic of Cyprus that supports Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. We are interested in further developing mutually beneficial comprehensive cooperation between our countries based on trust and understanding between friendly Ukrainian and Cypriot peoples.