War hero Savchenko meets with Russian-backed Donbas leaders

Nadiya Savchenko, the legendary Ukrainian pilot who spent nearly two years in Russian captivity, stunned the Ukrainian public on Dec. 12 by confirming to law enforcement she had met on Dec. 7 with the leaders of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. She conducted the negotiations during the official peace talks in Minsk, without the permission of the Ukrainian government nor informing the Security Service of Ukraine. The Trilateral Contact Group to resolve the conflict declared the meeting to have occurred beyond its framework. Savchenko discussed freeing hostages with the Russian-backed leaders Aleksandr Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky, who confirmed the meeting, according to news reports.

The meeting was organized by the Russian Security Service (FSB) with the help of the Russian Embassy in Belarus, the liga.net news agency reported, citing three anonymous sources of information. The Kremlin’s goal is to pressure the Kyiv government towards holding direct talks with the separatist leaders, with getting Savchenko directly involved in negotiating to release the hostages, the report said. Savchenko already regularly meets with the families of the hostages, telling them that the Ukrainian government isn’t doing enough and needs to be pressed to meet with the Donbas leaders directly, instead of Kremlin representatives, the report said.

The Fatherland party, which Savchenko represents in parliament, disavowed her actions in Minsk, while its head Yulia Tymoshenko confirmed on Dec. 12 that Savchenko will leaving the party to launch her own political project. “She doesn’t clear any of her actions with us so Fatherland doesn’t bear any responsibility for them,” Tymoshenko said. She added, “We view any negotiations with terrorists as unacceptable and that has been our position during the entire time the war has been waged. We believe these terrorists are simply puppets and that’s precisely why we didn’t support the Minsk Accords.”

Zenon Zawada: Savchenko’s activity adds a new dimension that the Russians were seeking in peace talks that otherwise have reached a dead end. And we don’t doubt the Russians have intentionally created this dead end in order to force a resolution that they prefer. They are hoping that the Ukrainian public, exhausted from the conflict and aimless peace talks, will gradually shift support for Savchenko’s approach of dealing with the Donbas leaders directly.

So far however, the Ukrainian public doesn’t seem to be taking the bait. The Ukrainian mass media has been very active in portraying Savchenko’s actions as reckless and detrimental to the Ukrainian government’s attempts to resist Russian pressure. And the Ukrainian public is still trusting of the media’s portrayal of events surrounding the war. But we expect the Russians to keep playing the Savchenko card throughout the following months.