Ukrainian president to dismiss his top Donetsk official

The construction of a separation wall between Ukraine and Russia has been undermined in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told a June 5 press conference, reported pravda.com.ua. The work that has been done fails to meet expectations entirely, he said. At the same time, he said “an enormous percentage” of the separation wall has been built, which would include the territory in the Luhansk region, for which he mentioned no complaints. The wall is capable of withstanding rapid-fire missile systems, he said. The president hinted that he may dismiss Oleksandr Kikhtenko, the head of the Donetsk oblast administration. “He will be held responsible in the nearest future,” Poroshenko said. The same evening, the Cabinet of Ministers submitted to the president a request to dismiss Kikhtenko for failing to fulfill his responsibilities, pravda.com.ua reported.

In his turn, Kikhtenko, an army general, told the zn.ua website in an interview published on June 6 that he doesn’t see a military advantage from erecting the wall and soldiers would be better off fighting from trenches. He said replacing him won’t solve the problems related to the Russian-occupied territory. “The problem isn’t at all with my personnel,” he said. “The issue is that the array of problems in the oblast, as well as the obvious ways of resolving them, won’t change under any director.”

The Russian-backed forces have a different view of preserving the country and consolidating society, he said, and a dialogue is needed. The central government should be interested in this dialogue, yet Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk never personally met with him (Kikhtenko was appointed in October), nor the Luhansk oblast administration head (appointed in March). “I myself had the habit of making light of the notion that Ukraine doesn’t hear Donbas,” he said. “But it’s true!”

Zenon Zawada: In his interview, Kikhtenko indicated that he sees a different view of handling the Donbas war than the president does. So we see the issue surrounding the wall’s construction as a pretext for as bigger conflict between himself and the president. Kikhtenko’s comments, particularly about the lack of communication, indicate the lack of a consolidated strategy in the Ukrainian government, which has been its Achilles heel for decades. We believe the active position declared by the U.S. government in negotiating with the Russians as being critical for resolving the conflict, given the lack of consolidation in Kyiv.