Uladzimir Matskevich: Kremlin has lost its fight for Ukraine

photo by zn.ua

However, Ukraine will continue destabilizing the situation at the east of Ukraine through stimulating actions aimed at disrupting of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

On May 25 the president election was held in Ukraine. “We can state that the election took place around the whole country, and the Ministry of Justice says that there were no violations to fix the lections”, - announced Pavlo Petrenko, Minister of Justice of Ukraine after the end of the voting.

Some time afterwards Central Election Commission of Ukraine also confirmed that the election in the country took place.

Will the newly elected president manage to put an end to the undeclared war? What is to become of the self-declared Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics? Will Kremlin give up its attempts to plunge Ukraine into a chaos?

These questions EuroBelarus Information Service put to Uladzimir Matskevich, the head of the Board of the International Consortium “EuroBelarus”.

- According to all-Ukrainian TV exit poll Petro Poroshenko gained 57.3 per cent of votes, and his next main election rival Yulia Timoshenko garnered only 13.13 per cent. It means that there will be no second voting…

- Presidential election in one round is a very good sign. It is hard to imagine what could have happened between the first and the second voting; what would collaborators in the east do.

Now it is still important that the voting takes place in the east of Ukraine in as many cities as possible.

And the new president is facing very serious tasks now. Everything is just starting.

- It is for the first time in Ukraine’s history that the election didn’t place across the whole country: the election process came to be blocked at the occupied territory in Crimea and in the area of the anti-terror operation in Donbas. How it will influence the acknowledgement of the president election?

- It makes it very hard to resolve the issue of the election’s legitimacy. However, the election took place in most regions with few violations, which makes Poroshenko a resolute winner.

But separatists still have their benefit – it is not their authorities and it is not their president. They explained their actions in Donetsk and Lugansk regions in this way; but they didn’t take any legal actions to make Lugansk and Donetsk regions not a Ukraine’s territory. That gives the newly elected president a green light to establish order and supremacy of law at the territories occupied by the terrorists.

- What is to become with Donetsk and Lugansk “People’s Republics”?

- Let’s start with the fact that no “Donetsk People’s Republic” and no “Lugansk People’s Republic” exist neither de jure nor de facto. Self-proclaimed “majors”, “governors” can in no way be acknowledged. And the so-called “referendums” or social polls by no means can be acknowledged.

Illegitimate band groups are acting there, and the new authorities have every right to bring them to account.

- The President “elected by Ukrainians at this election has all possibilities and all leverages as well as all instruments of power to immediately stop the war and satisfy the expectations of Ukrainian people”, - stated Yulia Timoshenko. Do you share her optimism about the ability of the new president to stop the war?

- I share the aim though I don’t share the optimism. The legitimacy of the elected president doesn’t mean that he will be recognized everywhere. It will be extremely hard to run the country with the carelessness of the executive authorities, sabotage in defence and law enforcement agencies and with loose local authorities. The new leader will have to work hard before he can restore the legitimacy and control over the country. Poroshenko won’t be able to end neither the crisis nor its consequences in short order. Let’s hope he has enough time during his president term.

- Further Ukraine’s development depends much on the Kremlin’s position. Will Moscow recognize the president election in Ukraine? And will this election stop the undeclared war?

- Moscow has no legal and actual reasons to disclaim the election. Putin himself has publicly announced that Ukraine needs president election.

However, Kremlin will continue demanding from Lugansk and Donetsk regions to abstain from president election – it will be an excuse, though poor, for further destabilization of the situation in Lugansk and Donetsk regions.

I see no signs that Kremlin will give up; Moscow will continue destabilizing situation at the east of Ukraine by disrupting the territorial integrity. Though it is already obvious that Kremlin has lost its fight for Ukraine, and it should start thinking about the ways to disentangle and save face at the same time.