19.06.2017, Ukraine.
The “Anti-Terrorist Operation” [the Kiev junta’s name for the punitive operation in Donbass ― Editor] in southeastern Ukraine may be terminated according to a new strategy that is being developed by the Ukrainian leadership. This information was published by the Kommersant newspaper on June 19.
In view of Pyotr Poroshenko’s upcoming visit to the USA, Ukraine is developing a new approach to the problem of the southeast. According to the new plan, the “ATO” is to be terminated, and martial law is to be declared in the conflict area. Experts believe that these plans have several reasons. First of all, the Ukrainian leadership wants to smooth out the West’s discontent over the “ATO” before the upcoming meeting between the Ukrainian president and the President of the United States.
Secondly, the president’s team wants to make military commanders responsible for the conflict areas instead of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU, Ukrainian: SBU). Another important reason for such initiatives is that there can be no voting in areas where martial law is declared, which would help the current authorities improve their results in the coming elections, because the residents of southeastern Ukraine are in extreme opposition to Poroshenko and his team.
These initiatives are likely to escalate the disagreement between the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Vladimir Turchinov, who believes that the conflict line should be turned into a real border, and Poroshenko, who does not want to cede Ukrainian lands.
A number of attempts have been made to launch “mitigation” programs for the “ATO zone”. However, radically-minded groups have always ruined such initiatives. Last year, Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman planned a set of social and economic measures to alleviate the situation in Donbass, but so-called “ATO” veterans established a blockade of Donbass, and the Prime Minister’s plan failed.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
