Russia planning provocations in Ukrainian capital, speaker says

Russian intelligence services are planning a provocation in Ukraine’s capital on July 26 as part of cross processions being held throughout the country, said on July 11 Parliamentary Speaker Andriy Parubiy. “With all its abilities, the Kremlin is trying to destabilize the situation in Ukraine, at the war front and on the international arena,” he said, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine. The “cross processions for peace” have been organized by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate. Two processions involving hundreds of Orthodox believers – one moving from a monastery in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine and another from a monastery in the Ternopil region of western Ukraine – are planned to converge in Kyiv on July 26. “Besides truly peaceful believers, provocateurs are being brought to Kyiv with forbidden activist symbols and symbols of the aggressor-state,” he said, adding that hired thugs will be among the marchers.

Ukraine’s Interior Ministry and the Security Service of Ukraine is carefully monitoring the situation surrounding the cross processions, said on his Facebook page on July 11 Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Interior Minister. Authorities are learning of its organizers, sources of financing and other details, he said.

Russian-backed forces fired upon Ukrainian forces 94 times on July 10, reported the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation on July 11. The shootings involved high-caliber artillery, which is forbidden by the Minsk accords. The shootings occurred in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Mariupol vectors.

Zenon Zawada: It’s a correct assessment that the Russian government is using as many tools as its disposable to cause the demise of the Ukrainian state, indicating that this war is far from over. This also means the Russians haven’t excluded a scenario of Ukraine imploding from within. The presence of pro-Russian activists among these processions can certainly ignite conflicts in Ukraine, which can be exploited in a myriad of ways. It’s positive to see Ukrainian authorities anticipating them, rather than reacting to them.