Russia planning “year of terror” in Ukraine, official says

The Russian government is raising its political stakes
in Ukraine and is planning a “year of terror” in the Ukrainian mainland,
Volodymyr Horbulin, a member of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk to
resolve the conflict in Donbas, said in an article published on the dt.ua news
site on June 15. This strategy consists of more political assassinations,
deaths and social chaos in order to make the idea of capitulation more attractive
when selecting candidates in next year’s presidential (March) and parliamentary
(October) elections in Ukraine.

“And there will always be ‘constructive politicians’
at hand who will propose ‘reconciliation’ and ‘ending this senseless war’,”
wrote Horbilin, the director of the National Institute of Strategic Research of
Ukraine. “Everything will be initiated for their sake. For the sake of the
fears of Ukrainian citizens and their indecisiveness. To show that Russia can
do anything on this territory that it wants. And that it can’t be defeated.”

In Russian-occupied Donbas, the Kremlin wants to
create a “Ukrainian Chechnya,” in which Ukraine will have to provide the
Russian-aligned fighters enormous subsidies “while Russia will be truly
governing them.” Ukraine’s best scenario for the region involves a UN
peacekeeping force, but “Ukraine will need a great deal of firmness” in
determining the mission, particularly its members.

“These topics require very serious discussions, but they
will be impossible if we can’t effectively challenge those destructive
strategies that Moscow has applied to Ukraine and have been activated for the
election campaign. The positional war in the east and the disinformation
campaign is what we are used to and are ready to oppose,” Horbulin wrote.

Zenon Zawada: We agree wholly with Horbulin’s conclusions and expectations. We
believe the southeastern regions of Ukraine are most sensitive to Kremlin
tactics to intimidate voters into selecting Russian-oriented candidates and
parties, which are polling well. The Kremlin will seek to get Yuriy Boyko of
the Opposition Bloc elected as president in March, which would have disastrous
consequences for Ukraine. We believe Boyko’s chances of getting elected are as
strong as any candidate at this moment.