Kiev regime maintains its strategy of preventing the peaceful resolution of the conflict as much as possible. Writes Lucas Leiroz
Since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the regions that Russian troops have been able to completely liberate from the occupation of Kiev’s forces have gradually resumed a path of restoration of ordinary civilian life. In many cities, mainly in the Donbass, the situation of the local inhabitants has now reached its best levels since 2014, considering that over the last eight years the attacks promoted by Kiev have been constant. Indeed, for many people in Eastern and Southern Ukraine, Russian presence is being an opportunity to recover peace and stability.
However, as expected, the Ukrainian government maintains its strategy of preventing the peaceful resolution of the conflict as much as possible. Faced with the military defeat and the loss of occupation zones, the tactic adopted has been the use of clandestine intelligence operations to boycott the return to normality. One of the most common practices is the interruption of communication, which prevents the functioning of basic services in the regions already liberated from the Ukrainian domain.
For example, in Kherson, the local civil-military administration reported that recent terrorist-like bombings by Ukrainian forces caused a large-scale loss of communication networks, with the shutdown of all mobile operators, resulting in more than half a million people not able to communicate with each other. The deputy head of the local administration, Kirill Stremousov, in response to the crisis, asked Russia to send agents from its telecommunications companies to restore normality in the region.
In the same vein, in the Zaporozhye region, the head of the local administration, Yevgeny Balitsky, reported that he expects Russian help to be sent soon in order to restore communication between citizens. The reason for the current absence of communication is the same as for Kherson, with Zaporozhye also being hit by bombs aimed at specific targets in order to destroy the lines of transmission.
In most cases, Russian aid has been sent immediately. On May 27, Crimean authorities informed the media that Zaporozhye and Kherson would soon be moving to the Russian telephone code “+7”, which would make them to be attended by Russian telecoms packages. Although the situation still requires time to be fully resolved, Crimea K-telecom SIM cards have already started to be marketed in Kherson and Zaporozhye, which shows the Russian readiness to accelerate the resolution of the problem generated by the Kiev’s forces.
In addition to the issue of mobile phones, Kherson and Zaporozhye are joining Russian Crimea in various sectors as a way of responding to the Ukrainian boycott. Crimean TV and radio channels are being transmitted in these regions, replacing Ukrainian networks that had previously been disconnected by the authorities. The same happened with the local internet. The regions’ cars are also starting to circulate with Russian registration numbers. Furthermore, in order to increase economic integration, both regions are joining the ruble zone.
In fact, civilian life in such regions would have returned absolutely to normality had the Ukrainian government not adhered to a terrorist line of action against its own people, using its security forces to boycott the well-being of the local population and preventing the functioning of elementary services. Also, it is necessary to mention the fact that this kind of attitude on the part of Ukraine is not something new. Before the operation began, Kiev used its intelligence to boycott civilian life not only in Donbass but also in Crimea itself, carrying out directed attacks against strategic targets in the communication and supply networks. Protecting civilians and sparing the population from the consequences of the conflict never seems to have been a priority for the Maidan Junta.
The strategic advantages of this type of attitude that Kiev is taking are practically null. Boycotting the population will not bring about a reversal of the military scenario, but, on the contrary, will accelerate the process of integration of these regions to Russia. Unassisted and abandoned by Ukraine, the local administrations will have to adhere more quickly to the Russian services, cutting the ties that still remained with Kiev. In the same sense, local populations, even ethnically Ukrainian groups, will be encouraged to support integration with Russia, as it is the only side of the conflict that is cooperating to improve their lives.
Above strategic factors, however, it must be clear that the defense of civilians and the attempt to return to normality as soon as possible is a humanitarian issue, which must be observed by all parties involved in the conflict.
Lucas Leiroz, researcher in Social Sciences at the Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; geopolitical consultant.
