Unchain Ukraine
Scotland's recent independence referendum was a showcase for democracy around the world and, for the most part, the campaign was conducted with great passion and good humour without the slightest hint of menace or violence, barring one or two unpleasant incidents.
Contrast that spirit with what has been going on in Ukraine in recent days as armed separatists set about partitioning even more of the country, aided and abetted Russian forces which have already annexed Crimea.
Poll charade to seal Ukraine split
Bojan Pancevski - The Sunday Times
Children wave the flag of the Donetsk People’s Republic (Mikhail Pochuyev)
IT IS a one-horse race organised by armed thugs, but the election taking place today in Ukrainian territories controlled by Russian-backed militias will formalise the country’s partition.
Pro-Russian militants are organising elections in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions that will lead to the establishment of a new statelet — Novorossiya, or New Russia — which will be recognised only by Moscow.
The development means that the war between Ukrainian forces and separatist militias backed by Russian troops, which has killed more than 4,000 since April, will end without a formal peace treaty.
The new entity, Novorossiya — a reference to the territory’s name during tsarist times, which was first mentioned by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in April — will resemble Transnistria in Moldova or Abkhazia in Georgia, both Russian satellites unrecognised by the rest of the world. Kiev and western capitals have denounced the elections as illegal, but the Kremlin has said it will accept the outcome. Politicians from both camps are secretly negotiating a demarcation line.
Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, is negotiating with Putin, as well as with the Russian leader’s confidant, Vladislav Surkov, according to Ukraine government sources.
Simultaneous talks are talking place between Sergei Ivanov, Putin’s chief of staff, and Boris Lozhkin, his Ukrainian counterpart. The Russian military is also taking part in negotiations, even though Moscow denies any involvement in Ukraine.
The talks aim to establish a new border between the separatist-held territories and those under Kiev’s control, along with a 10-mile buffer zone free from artillery bombardment.
In Donetsk, the regional capital that had more than 1m inhabitants before the war, the only candidate actively seeking the post of president is Aleksandr Zakharchenko, a local electrician turned warlord. Zakharchenko, 38, leads the paramilitary separatist group Oplot and is the prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
He took over in August from Alexandr Borodai, a Russian, in order to give the separatist authority a veneer of local involvement.
“These are historic times — we are creating a new country! It’s an insane goal,” Zakharchenko told a rally recently.
At another rally he said that under his government elderly voters would be able to “travel to Australia at least once a year to shoot a dozen kangaroos on safari”. Zakharchenko’s two token rivals, Yury Sivokonenko, a martial arts instructor, and a businessman, Alexander Kofman, are virtually unknown to voters and have not campaigned.
A hastily assembled electoral commission has been struggling to maintain a semblance of legality in an attempt to avoid the international derision that followed a chaotic referendum in May, which involved armed militants stuffing cardboard boxes with ballot papers.
“Our job is to legitimise the Donetsk People’s Republic,” said Roman Lyagin — the Donetsk election commissioner, who is accompanied by an armed escort at all times.
IT IS a one-horse race organised by armed thugs, but the election taking place today in Ukrainian territories controlled by Russian-backed militias will formalise the country’s partition.
Pro-Russian militants are organising elections in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions that will lead to the establishment of a new statelet — Novorossiya, or New Russia — which will be recognised only by Moscow.
The development means that the war between Ukrainian forces and separatist militias backed by Russian troops, which has killed more than 4,000 since April, will end without a formal peace treaty.
The new entity, Novorossiya — a reference to the territory’s name during tsarist times, which was first mentioned by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in April — will resemble Transnistria in Moldova or Abkhazia in Georgia, both Russian satellites unrecognised by the rest of the world. Kiev and western capitals have denounced the elections as illegal, but the Kremlin has said it will accept the outcome. Politicians from both camps are secretly negotiating a demarcation line.
Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, is negotiating with Putin, as well as with the Russian leader’s confidant, Vladislav Surkov, according to Ukraine government sources.
Simultaneous talks are talking place between Sergei Ivanov, Putin’s chief of staff, and Boris Lozhkin, his Ukrainian counterpart. The Russian military is also taking part in negotiations, even though Moscow denies any involvement in Ukraine.
The talks aim to establish a new border between the separatist-held territories and those under Kiev’s control, along with a 10-mile buffer zone free from artillery bombardment.
In Donetsk, the regional capital that had more than 1m inhabitants before the war, the only candidate actively seeking the post of president is Aleksandr Zakharchenko, a local electrician turned warlord. Zakharchenko, 38, leads the paramilitary separatist group Oplot and is the prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
He took over in August from Alexandr Borodai, a Russian, in order to give the separatist authority a veneer of local involvement.
“These are historic times — we are creating a new country! It’s an insane goal,” Zakharchenko told a rally recently.
At another rally he said that under his government elderly voters would be able to “travel to Australia at least once a year to shoot a dozen kangaroos on safari”. Zakharchenko’s two token rivals, Yury Sivokonenko, a martial arts instructor, and a businessman, Alexander Kofman, are virtually unknown to voters and have not campaigned.
A hastily assembled electoral commission has been struggling to maintain a semblance of legality in an attempt to avoid the international derision that followed a chaotic referendum in May, which involved armed militants stuffing cardboard boxes with ballot papers.
“Our job is to legitimise the Donetsk People’s Republic,” said Roman Lyagin — the Donetsk election commissioner, who is accompanied by an armed escort at all times.
Aleksandr Zakharchenko, left, with singing Russian MP Iosif Kobzon, is set to be elected president
In the neighbouring Luhansk People’s Republic, candidates did not appear to be campaigning. The streets were filled with billboards showing paramilitary fighters and civilians with the motto “All friends will be there”.
Larissa Airapetian, one of the candidates, told the Russian press agency Tass that she was not campaigning. “There are so many problems in healthcare and in our country in general, that indulging in self-promotion would be totally unscrupulous because there’s so much work to be done,” she said.
The two “republics” will eventually be merged into a single entity, separatist leaders say. Some hint that they want to join up with Russia, while others claim they want an independent state.
“It’s new Russia. Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Odessa were not part of Ukraine in tsarist times, they were transferred in 1920,” Putin said in a televised address in April. “Why? God knows. Then for various reasons these areas were gone, and the people stayed there — we need to encourage them to find a solution.”
Russian celebrities have travelled to Donetsk to show support for the separatists.
Iosif Kobzon, a 77-year-old Russian MP and singer lauded as “Russia’s Frank Sinatra”, was joined on stage by Zakharchenko last week at a concert in Donetsk. As the uniformed militant struggled to stay in tune. Kobzon said: “It’s fine — I’m an even worse soldier than you are a singer.”
In the neighbouring Luhansk People’s Republic, candidates did not appear to be campaigning. The streets were filled with billboards showing paramilitary fighters and civilians with the motto “All friends will be there”.
Larissa Airapetian, one of the candidates, told the Russian press agency Tass that she was not campaigning. “There are so many problems in healthcare and in our country in general, that indulging in self-promotion would be totally unscrupulous because there’s so much work to be done,” she said.
The two “republics” will eventually be merged into a single entity, separatist leaders say. Some hint that they want to join up with Russia, while others claim they want an independent state.
“It’s new Russia. Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Odessa were not part of Ukraine in tsarist times, they were transferred in 1920,” Putin said in a televised address in April. “Why? God knows. Then for various reasons these areas were gone, and the people stayed there — we need to encourage them to find a solution.”
Russian celebrities have travelled to Donetsk to show support for the separatists.
Iosif Kobzon, a 77-year-old Russian MP and singer lauded as “Russia’s Frank Sinatra”, was joined on stage by Zakharchenko last week at a concert in Donetsk. As the uniformed militant struggled to stay in tune. Kobzon said: “It’s fine — I’m an even worse soldier than you are a singer.”
