Donbas reconciliation presentation disrupted by nationalists

A presentation on reconciliation and unity with
Donbas, which was organized for Mar. 12 in Kyiv, was disrupted by war veterans
and nationalists with the controversial Azov battalion. Its organizer, Serhiy
Syvokho, was forced out of the presentation hall by the nationalists, who
shoved him to the floor at one point, all in front of reporters. They accused
him of characterizing the war as an internal conflict, which plays into the
Russian narrative, rather than a war with Russia, as it has been characterized
by the Ukrainian government since the start. Police arrested 15 nationalists
involved in the attack on Syvokho, who is a non-staff adviser to the secretary
of the National Security and Defense Council.

As his response, Syvokho accused the Azov nationalists
of fulfilling the business goals of their sponsors. “Some don’t need peace.
They want war because war is a business and big money. They disrupted the
presentation, but they won’t stop our movement towards peace. We are continuing
our work and our dialogue. Thanks to all who came today! Journalists, our
ideological allies and partners! Peace be to you,” Syvokho wrote on his
Facebook page within hours of the attack.

The actions against Syvokho were unacceptable, said in
response Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of the National Security and Defense
Council. “Discussion is a normal process of any country that considers itself a
democracy. The use of physical force and insults begin where arguments end,” he
wrote on his Facebook page. At the same time, Danilov distanced himself from
Syvokho’s positions, stressing that he is one of 11 non-staff advisers and he
is entitled to his own opinion. Both Syvokho and Danilov are natives of Donbas.

Recall, the Azov battalion has drawn criticism from
the U.S. Congress for its nationalist ideology, having been banned from
received U.S. military aid. It’s widely believed to be sponsored and controlled
by Arsen Avakov, the internal affairs minister. Afterwards, Ukraine’s
pro-Russian forces accused him of ordering the attack.

Zenon Zawada: Both
parties in this conflict have genuine ideological convictions. But nonetheless,
they are playing into the hands of the Kremlin, which is trying to exacerbate
ideological, cultural and linguistic divides in Ukraine. If a simple
presentation prompted such a fierce reaction, then one can imagine the scale of
the reaction will be to Andriy Yermak’s possible peace deal with Russia. 

The only response from a high-ranking official came
from Danilov, Syvokho’s boss who distanced himself from the positions
expressed. We believe this is a deliberate strategy by the Zelensky
administration to play the victim role as it moves closer to a peace deal on
Donbas. Published photos of Syvokho being shoved to his knees are certain to
draw sympathy for him and his efforts. We will go so far as to say that this
was a dress rehearsal for the resistance in the coming months to a Donbas peace
deal.

In this way, the Zelensky administration will aim
to have public opinion on its side throughout its attempts to reach peace amid
protests and possible violence from those opposed, including pro-Western
liberals and nationalists. As for Avakov’s alleged role in the Mar. 12 attack,
we believe Ukraine’s nationalist groups each have a sponsor who “reserves”
certain political acts or provocations. But this was not one of them. It was a
genuine protest against capitulation to Russia, though the nationalists need to
recognize that the use of force will backfire against them.