By Svetlana Gomzikova, published on Svobodnya Press, Wednesday, Sept 22, 2015, translated to English by Fort Russ
Petro Poroshenko is either himself confused or he wants to confuse his overseas “curators”. Anyway, he has explained the goal of the recently-erected road and trade blockade against in such an intricate way that any hopes in the good judgment and common sense of the head of “independent” Ukraine, alas, are gone.
Let us recall that on September 20th, Ukraine suspended the supplying of food to the Crimea by blocking three main roads leading to the peninsula through the border crossings at Chongar, Kalanchak’ and ‘Chaplinka in the Kherson region. The organizers and ideologues of the action were “old friends” of the Crimean people and regular Russophobes of the U.S. State Department–Refat Chubarov and Mustafa Dzhemilev. The necessary force was provided by militants from the “Right Sector” as well as the Interior Ministry battalions of the ‘Kherson’ and ‘Dnepr-1’ regiments.
So far, the main achievement of this “armed team” are eight heavy trucks, stationed at the Ukrainian border beginning Monday morning. Each day of downtime means millions in losses for Ukrainian food producers. And big losses of earnings for truck drivers, among whom, as reported by border guards of Crimea, a rebellion is now brewing.
But all this seems to be of no concern for the president of Ukraine. To him, these victimizations seem justified. He made that clear in Lvov, where he was in the company of NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg opening military exercises at the Yavoriv training center.
According to Poroshenko, tons of food are rotting on the border with Crimea, the purpose of which is to bring the peninsula back under the sovereignty of Ukraine. That is, at first, by using bombs and shells, the Kiev authorities tried to make Ukraine attractive for the residents of Donbas. Now, the Maidan regime beckons the Crimean by means of hunger…
What kind of policy is that? How can people want to return to the country, whose authorities are dreaming of starving them to death or killing them?
“There is nothing to be surprised about. Poroshenko was installed in power to make Ukraine an anti-Russian state,” says Igor Shishkin, deputy director of the Moscow-based Institute of the CIS.
“It is clear that it is impossible to instill the love of Bandera by bombing Donetsk and Lugansk. But it is quite possible to break the resistance of the people. After all, after all these terrible acts, including the burning of people in Odessa and in other regions of Ukraine, the Russian movement virtually withdrew from the political field.
Svobodnya Press: From the political field, yes. But not from the underground.
“Yes, it was driven underground, that’s right. And Poroshenko achieved this. At the moment, they are seriously discussing the installation of a monument to Bandera in Kiev. Therefore, it is impossible to say that he has completely failed to carry out the tasks he was entrusted with. He failed to clean up the Donbas, unable to erase all Russian there.
“But he has achieved something. That is why his masters in the West turn a blind eye to all his unseemly acts. Because Poroshenko can cope with the tasks assigned to him by his “senior comrades” better than anyone else. He does it better than Turchinov, and better than Yatsenyuk. There is much more blood on him.
SP: And the fact that he often seems inadequate? Does it suit his Western comrades?
“He can look anyway he likes – it’s such a small thing … His fate does not depend on some people thinking he is crazy. His fate depends not on the Ukrainian voters. His fate is decided not even in the U.S. Embassy in Kiev. It is decided in Washington. Only based on decisions made there could he be removed at any moment.
“There is no reason to do it now. He is doing all the necessary things. This blockade is another reason to aggravate relations with Russia.”
SP: In Russia, people are not overly concerned with this, considering it as yet another whim, not more …
“Yes, however, another “coin” has been cast into the anti-Russian piggy bank. Yes, now we witness a virtual cessation of hostilities in eastern Ukraine. It is necessary to do something again to spur the confrontation with Russia. The blockade serves this purpose. Also, the goons from the “volunteer” battalions must somehow be occupied with something.
In fact, here Poroshenko kills two birds with one stone. He has announced that in Ukraine, the fate of the entire European civilization is being determined. He shows that he continues to resist the “barbaric aggression of Russia” on the border with Crimea. At the same time, he keeps busy all these thugs from the “Right Sector”, who are also dangerous to him.
SP: – But such a policy, above all, has a negative impact on the Ukrainian producers. Those drivers that have been blocked at the border are ready to strike …
“And Poroshenko does not care that Ukrainian farmers or truckers suffer damages. After all, the current Kiev authorities have embarked on a complete rupture of relations with Russia. The minister of economy of Ukraine makes announcements in which he describes as a great achievement the fact that the Ukrainian economy is no longer dependent on the Russian market. Yet this means huge losses, closed factories, laid off people. But Poroshenko apparently does not consider the citizens of Ukraine as his own.
SP: – In this case, it is a big mistake. After all, elections will be held soon?
“Was Poroshenko elected because people suddenly fell in love with him? He was actually appointed by the U.S. The fate of Poroshenko does not depend on how the people vote. Do you remember last year’s elections to the Rada? In just two weeks, Yatsenyuk created his political party which received the most seats. Today, its rating is zero per cent.
“If need be, they will write any number of votes, and the entire West will be applauding ‘the most democratic elections in the world’. Just the same way they were applauding after the presidential election of Poroshenko. At a time when his rivals (Oleg Tsarev, for example) were freshly defeated.
“Yes, some presidential candidates were defeated, and the entire West was enthralled how well the elections were organized.
“Therefore, do not think that people will be disappointed with Poroshenko and will not go to the ballot boxes. Voters have long been disappointed. But if it is to the advantage of the West, Poroshenko will receive as many votes as required. And those who will dare to question the fairness of the elections will be quickly subdued. The regime has already shown how to deal with dissenters.”
SP: – Well, what does this blockade mean for the Crimeans?
-“The fact is that the bulk of trade flows has always been to Crimea via Ukraine. The Kerch ferry crossing make things logistically more complicated. A bridge to ensure uninterrupted supply to the Crimea has not been built yet.
“There are problems with electricity supply. Russia was forced to sign an agreement to supply electricity to Ukraine at very low prices in exchange for the arrangement that Kiev will supply electricity to the Crimea. But despite these difficulties, no one would surrender. The Crimeans have chosen their own destiny.”
According to the Crimean writer and publicist Platon Besedin, we should not look for deeper meaning in the statement of Poroshenko:. “He just had to say something to justify this stupidity. So he said it. Meanwhile, we all understand that this blockade is just a redistribution of business. Like the shooting in Mukachevo in August. It’s just the redistribution of the spheres of influence and interests under very convenient political slogans.
“Of course, this is a serious blow to the agricultural sector of the Kherson and Zaporozhia regions. Previously, quality products were primarily shipped to the Crimea. Where to now? All I can say that certainly not to Europe, where farmers do not know what to do with their own milk, fruit and meat.”
SP: – When Poroshenko “entices” the Crimeans with hunger, does he not understand that he is talking nonsense?
“The logic is definitely there. First, he had talked with the NATO Secretary-General in Lviv. Secondly, it is clear that all of this is controlled by Western curators. What is their logic? When the Crimean residents will see their living standards deteriorate, it is likely they will remember the times when they were a part of Ukraine and think about how to get back. And, of course, the blockade somehow will harm Crimea.
“But they are wrong. They think that if they destroy the social and economic life on the peninsula, or try to destroy it, the Crimea will appeal to them eager to negotiate …
“However, the return of Crimea was not a socio-economic act. It was ideological; I would even say a metaphysical act. That is something they just do not seem to understand. They do not see the true causes of the historic reunification of Crimea with Russia. They come from a purely materialist matrix of Western, American thinking. And from their point of view, it is quite logical. They are trying to destabilize the life on the peninsula to make people nostalgic of some drowsy satiety. But this will not happen.”
“Crimea, by the way, is quite capable of becoming a self-sufficient region. And it was the fault of the Kiev policy that artificially made it subsidized.”
Read also:
Crimea’s prosecutor general says Ukrainian blockade of Crimea is unlawful, West-inspired, RT.com, Sept 25, 2015
