Russia Intensifies War against Ukraine

Russia yesterday intensified its imperialistic assault against Ukraine by raising the hostile specter of granting citizenship to all Ukrainians in Ukraine. News of this absurd, unlawful proposal prompted indignant free world countries and x-captive nations to rise shoulder-to-shoulder with Kyiv, championing its sovereignty and territorial integrity and denouncing Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine.

In fact, offering Russian citizenship to Ukrainians in Ukraine sounded very much like Hitler’s plan to protect Germans in Nazi-occupied countries of Europe by designating them “volks deutsch” or Soviet Russia’s declaration of support for Russians in the near abroad.

This latest Kremlin gambit further threatened to destabilize the region and torpedo peace efforts by offering simplified Russian citizenship to all Ukrainians, as expressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin three days after first offering Ukrainian citizens in war-torn Donbas Russian passports and citizenship.

Ukrainian law currently doesn’t recognize dual citizenship however there are citizens of Ukraine who do have two citizenships. According to Ukrainian law, if a citizen of Ukraine acquires citizenship of another state or states, in legal relations with Ukraine, the person is recognized only as a citizen of Ukraine.

“We are actually thinking about providing citizenship in a simplified order to all citizens of Ukraine,” Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Saturday during his visit to Beijing.

This subversive step would create thousands of dangerous fifth-column Russian sympathizers living across Ukraine, fulfilling Moscow’s orders ahead of a full-scale invasion.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that with this decree “Russia is torpedoing the peace process in the Donbas.”

Poroshenko condemned Putin’s offer as yet “another interference of the Russian Federation in the internal affairs of an independent state. A brutal violation of sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of Ukraine. It is also a complete trampling by Russia on its obligations in the framework of the Minsk Agreements.”

Russia’s latest attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty comes six days after the national presidential elections that saw political newcomer and comedian Volodymyr Zelensky defeat incumbent Petro Poroshenko. While Poroshenko and the incoming untested head of state have denounced this Russian ploy, observers see this is a test of Zelensky, who will be inaugurated in early June, and wonder who will blink first.

Hromadske.ua reported that for his part, Zelensky, in a sort of comical tit-for-tat response to Putin, has promised Ukrainian citizenship to all those “suffering from authoritarian and corrupt regimes," specifically Russian citizens.

“We can even provide Vladimir Putin with the list of Ukrainian citizens who will soon feel uncomfortable living in the country they have been cynically robbing by abusing their power,” Zelensky wrote on Facebook.

Addressing Putin directly, Zelensky warned “Don’t you dare to speak with Ukraine and Ukrainians using the language of threats, military or economic pressure. That’s not the best way to stop fire or unblock the Minsk processes.”

However, Zelensky said he did not believe many Ukrainians would accept Putin’s offer, noting “Ukrainians are free people in a free country.”

Russia’s ludicrous and undermining invitation that is without historical precedent has shaken observers, as free world leaders and organizations such as the OSCE deplored Putin’s decrees. The Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe said in a statement on April 25 that it “believes that this unilateral measure could undermine the efforts for a peaceful resolution of the crisis in and around Ukraine.”
It reiterated its “call for a sustainable, full and permanent cease-fire and its firm support for the work of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, which plays an essential role in reducing tensions on the ground, and in fostering peace, stability and security.”
Ukraine on Thursday appealed to the UN Security Council to take action to oppose this move. Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko told the council that the decree was “simply illegal” and called for “real action,” even if Russia would likely veto or block a measure opposing the decree.

Yelchenko called Moscow’s proposition typical “Russian-style subversive diplomacy” – “namely - cynical misinterpretation, manipulation, lies and disinformation.”

“On 26 November 2018, speaking before this Council, I compared the Russian aggression in Ukraine to the Soviet dirty war against its neighbor in 1939. Unfortunately, history seems to be repeating itself. Russian Federation is steadily embarking on the same road that led to the expulsion of the USSR from the League of Nations,” Yelchenko said.

He accused Moscow of launching another “appalling episode in a chain of events to tear away the Russia occupied territories from Ukraine.” He listed other steps as the fake elections, organized by the Kremlin in breach of its obligations under the Minsk agreements in 2014 and 2018, the introduction of the ruble zone, the expropriation of Ukrainian enterprises, the official recognition of documents issued by illegal bodies, piracy and capturing Ukrainian sailors in the Ukrainian territorial waters and now this decree.”

He said all of these are parts of one puzzle: “the Russian crawling occupation of Ukraine.” Its goal is to consolidate total Russian control of the occupied territories – and since that day control of all of Ukraine.

“I call on this Council to prevent the worst scenario, to condemn resolutely the destructive and illegal actions of the Russian authorities and to restore the respect for the UN charter,” Yelchenko said.

Turning to individual Security Council member-states, the Ukrainian official noted that normal UN condemnations against Russia will not be effective. Yelchenko said: “You have a single choice around this table – to wrap-up this meeting without any decisions or you can turn once again to ‘expressing serious concerns’ and to calling on both sides to respect the Minsk Agreements. But let’s be honest – unless the majority of this Council is ready to come up with the real action – even if it is to be challenged by Russia – the aggressive behavior of our neighbor will never be stopped. History knows that appeasement of aggressor never stops him.”

Washington said it was “unacceptable” for Russia to decide to extend citizenship rights to Ukrainians and accused Moscow of fueling the conflict in the region.

“The United States condemns today’s decision by President Putin to provide expedited Russian citizenship to Ukrainians living in Russia-controlled eastern Ukraine. Russia, through this highly provocative action, is intensifying its assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the State Department said. “President Putin’s decision creates a serious obstacle to the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the reintegration of the Donbas region. The Minsk agreements, signed by Russia, call for the full restoration of Ukrainian government control over eastern Ukraine.”
Russia’s solicitation to Ukrainians in the occupied regions of Ukraine not only challenges Kyiv and the region but also President Trump. Tom Rogan wrote in The Washington Examiner that it offers Putin a pretext to use greater force “to protect Russian citizens.” He emphatically replied that Washington shouldn’t accept it.

Rogan continued that while President Trump has done more than President Barack Obama in resisting Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, this latest act should meet tightened US sanctions on Moscow. In addition, commensurate with Zelensky’s commitment to anti-corruption efforts, the US should sell Kyiv more military equipment. That response will strengthen Zelensky’s negotiating hand and make it clear to Putin that he cannot alone dictate the future, Rogan said.
French Ambassador Francois Delattre asserted that “the solution to this crisis is not to hand out Russian passports to Ukrainian citizens” but to respect commitments made to end the conflict.
German Ambassador Christoph Heusgen told reporters after the meeting that “we think right now the emphasis should be on a renewed effort to implement the Minsk Agreement and to bring peace to the people that are suffering under this crisis.”
France and Germany, the European guarantors of the Minsk Accords, said earlier on April 25 that the decree “goes against the spirit and aims” of the Minsk process. The OSCE monitors the cease-fires.
Following the publication of the Russian decree, Ukraine’s Foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin called it “aggression and interference” in Kyiv’s affairs and allied diplomats told RFE/RL that it was a “highly provocative step” which would undermine the situation in the war-ravaged occupied region.
Kyiv’s x-captive nations ally Lithuania, a stalwart supporter of Ukraine, joined the chorus of countries that condemned Russia’s decree. Lithuania said it maintains that such a move is an illegal interference into Ukraine’s internal affairs and a violation of its territorial integrity.

Lithuania called on the international community to strongly condemn the unjustifiable actions by Russia, not to recognize the illegally issued documents by the Russian Federation and consistently strengthen sanctions on Russia for persistently violating Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Lithuanian parliament, in a statement last week, said in its resolution of April 24, 2014, about Ukraine, that it considers the continued presence of Russian armed forces and its armed formations in the territory of Ukraine as the occupation of Ukrainian territory.

“Facilitating the procedure for issuance of Russian passports is yet another step towards incorporation of the temporarily occupied parts of Ukraine into the Russian jurisdiction, which constitutes a gross violation of the Minsk Agreements and poses a threat of continued political and military escalation. Russia’s decision adopted so soon after the end of the presidential elections in Ukraine, should be considered as a deliberate pressure on Ukraine and its president-elect.”

Russia’s imperialist course against Ukraine will continue unrelentingly. Now it also challenges the integrity of the free world. Is it prepared to back up its words with actions? Whether by outright military aggression, economic pressure, human rights violations, socio-political criminality, or diplomatic shenanigans, Moscow will persist unless and until, as Ambassador Yelchenko stated, the free world comes up with real, forceful solutions to stem Russia’s global extremism.