WILL UKRAINE CUT DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA? WILL KIEV RESUME MILITARY OPERATIONS AGAINST DONBASS?

Written by Prof Michel Chossudovsky; Originally appeared at Global Research

Reported by Pravda.ru, November 8 the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada would “introduce a relevant paragraph into the law about the reintegration of the Donbass, which the parliament is to consider in the second reading on November 16…”.

This decision which is expected to by ratified by the Parliament, would be followed by a presidential decree signed by President Petro Poroshenko, “after which Russian diplomatic institutions in Ukraine, and Ukrainian ones in Russia will be closed”. Pravda.ru,

The logic of the parliamentary decision were it to be adopted, is that “as soon as the Verkhovna Rada approves the law on the reintegration of the Donbass, Russia will be recognized [by Kiev] as an aggressor country”.

“Preserving diplomatic relations after this will be a criminal act on the part of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. In fact, these relations have already been terminated. There are no ambassadors, and the diplomats, who work in the embassies are not diplomats of the first rank. We need to have this move recorded on the legislative level,” Vinnik said. (Pravda.ru)

There is no confirmation that this decision has been ratified.

The Suspension of Bilateral Trade

The economic and geopolitical ramifications of this decision are far-reaching.

They affect bilateral trade between Ukraine and Russia which is already at an all time low. In 2013, prior to the EuroMaidan crisis (February 2014), 24% of Ukraine’s exports were directed to Russia.

Ukraine’s transborder exports to Russia in 2013 amounted to $15 billion. In 2014 they were of the order of 9.8 billion declining to $3.6 billion in 2016, representing about 8% of Ukraine’s trade. These figures do not account for bilateral commodity trade between Russia and Donbass in the wake of the Euromaidan, Nor do they account for internal trade between Crimea and the Russian Federation.

The Resumption of Military Operations against Donbass

The decision of the Kiev Parliament would also provide a de facto “green light” to resume military operations directed against Donbass. Needless to say, they foreclose the reaching of a peace agreement.

In recent developments which have a direct bearing on the parliamentary decision, the Kiev government has put Airborne Commander Lieutenant General Mykhailo Zabrodskiy, in charge of military operations against Donbass.

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense: Zabrodskiy was appointed due to his “immense experience” and abilities of in “planning military operations of various kinds.” (Kyiv Post Report, November 9, 2017).

The real reason for Zabrodskiy’s appointment is his close relationship with the US military and the Pentagon.

Zabrodskiy received advanced training at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The College includes a School of Advanced Leadership and Tactics (SALT) for high ranking military officers.

In other words, Zabrodskiy is a US protégé, who is now head of the so-called “anti-terrorist operation” (ATO) directed against Donbass, in close liaison with the Pentagon.

Lethal Defensive Weapons for Kiev

On November 15, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy “called on Washington to provide lethal defensive weapons to Kyiv.”

“Today we had a strategic and constructive meeting with newly appointed U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Wess Mitchell. His visit is a reassurance of the U.S. support to Ukraine. I called on the U.S. State Department to provide lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine,” Parubiy wrote on Twitter on November 15 after a meeting with Mitchell. (Interfax, November 16, 2017)

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog