In the New York Times, Shmuel
Kaminezki, the chief rabbi of Dnipropetrovsk (Eastern Ukraine), shows today how
Russian media is far from the reality of life in Eastern Ukraine and indeed in
Ukraine more broadly. Rabbi Kaminezki’s 85 year old mother, who lives in New
York, calls everyday to ask if the pogroms have happened yet. He has to assure
her that they have not. He says clearly, that the Russian TV is only telling
lies, but ‘Jews are not in danger in Ukraine’. He reaffirms that Ukraine is not
run by fascist, neo-Nazi extremists.
NATO, the EU and
the US have all responded to the actions of pro-Russian groups in Eastern
Ukraine. While Russia may want to use unrest in Eastern Ukraine as a pretext for military intervention (similar to
Crimea), John Kerry stated today that ‘it is clear that Russian special forces
and agents have been the catalysts behind the chaos of the last 24 hours’.
The Russian Foreign Minister,
Lavrov, denied any Russian involvement in Ukraine. Yet the Ministry continues
to accuse Ukraine’s government of embedding nationalist militants from the
group Right Sector, and now private American mercenaries, from a company called
Greystone, in its forces in the east.
In Donetsk,
demonstrators have built a tire barricade in front of the administrative
buildings. However, the self-proclaimed people’s republic of Donetsk disbanded
today after it became clear that their demands and future proposals were
unclear.
Therefore, there
is uncertainty over whether the
objective of the blockade and occupation is to protect the so-called People’s
Republic of Donetsk, to merge Donetsk with Russia or simply to gain more
autonomy for the region. The protestors here, unlike Maidan, seem dominated by
elderly people nostalgic for the Soviet Union and downtrodden young men.
The Ukrainian
Interior Ministry said that local authorities
will hold off on trying to storm the occupied administration building.
Moreover, they will focus on undermining the resolve of those inside. They have
made it clear that the occupants will face criminal charges with sentences of
up to 15 years if they continue in their actions.
Contrary to Russian media
reports, the separatists do not have broad support in the Southeast of Ukraine.
According to an article by Taras
Klochko, (Espreso.TV, Ukraine), The number of participants in the pro-Kremlin rallies rarely
exceed 1,000 people. This is a small proportion of cities with populations of a
million such as Donetsk and Kharkiv and also for Luhansk, which has a
population of almost half a million. Therefore, the “massive” pro-Russian
rallies in Donetsk on average attract 0.1% of the population. Protests
numbering 1,000 to 1,500 participants point to large-scale provocations rather
than a broad popular movement. Klochko further explained that Putin’s plan for
a “Russian Spring” in the entire Southeast has apparently failed. This failure is
the reason why the separatist demonstrations are concentrated only in three key
areas that have become a sort of Russian springboard for further Russian
advances: the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv oblasts.
The European Union announced
plans to set up a special support group to help Ukraine stabilize its
precarious economy and political situation.
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