Zelensky calls upon Ukrainians to set aside differences and unite

In his televised New Year’s remarks to
the nation, President Volodymyr Zelensky called upon Ukrainians to unite
regardless of their political, cultural and linguistic convictions, as well as
socio-economic background. “Our passports don’t indicate whether we are a
correct or incorrect Ukrainian. There isn’t an entry for a patriot, maloros,
vatnik or banderivets. It’s written, ‘citizen of Ukraine,’ who has rights and
responsibilities. We are very different. The 73% who elected the president? The
25% who reject him? Or those who didn’t vote at all?,” he said. Zelensky
concluded his remarks with the phrase, “Let’s remember that loving Ukraine
means loving all Ukrainians, regardless of what corner of our country they were
born.”

A “maloros” is a Russian-speaking Ukrainian with
cultural affinity for Russia. A “vatnik” is a pro-Putinist Ukrainian. A
“banderivets” is a nationalist Ukrainian.

Also on New Year’s Eve, Zelensky conducted a telephone
call with Russian President Putin, during which they congratulated each other
on the prisoner exchange, as well as the signing of the natural gas transit
contract. They agreed to begin drafting another list of prisoners for exchange,
as well as to determine the next frontline position for a forces withdrawal,
said the President’s Office of Ukraine on its website.

Zenon Zawada: With his
New Year’s remarks, Zelensky is laying the groundwork for fulfilling the Minsk
Accords and reintegrating Donbas into the Ukrainian state. He is calling upon
Ukrainians to be tolerant of the residents of occupied Donbas, who are planned
to be reintegrated into Ukrainian society. All the evidence so far points to
the Zelensky administration going to great lengths to implement the Minsk
Accords, and will likely be eventually accused by pro-Western forces of
capitulating to Russia. The big question is what resistance activities the
pro-Western opposition will resort to, and how the Zelensky administration will
respond. Needless to say, the Kremlin is very interested in a conflict,
particularly to exploit it to possibly disintegrate the Ukrainian state.

It’s worth considering that in November, a key
spokesman in the Donetsk People’s Republic, said the territory will never return
to the Ukrainian state, which he stressed is the position of the republic’s
leader, Denis Pushilin. So it’s quite realistic to expect that the Kremlin will
use the fulfillment of the Minsk Accords as a trap for Zelensky to stir a civil
conflict among Ukrainians, without having the intention of actually
implementing them.

Besides its pragmatic goals, Zelensky’s phone call
with Putin was intended to send the signal to the public (and to the Kremlin)
of the administration’s intent to normalize relations with Russia. In order to
accomplish this, the Zelensky administration has shown it is willing to make
steep concessions to Russia.