Zelensky doesn’t see link between Luhansk shootings, wildfires

Ukrainian President Zelensky said he doesn’t see any
link between the wildfires in the Luhansk region and shootings by
Russian-backed forces. “I would not link shootings with the issue of fires. A
criminal case has been registered regarding these fires. These are not the
first fires that have occurred in the Luhansk region this year unfortunately,”
he told journalists on Oct. 1, as reported by the pravda.com.ua news site.
Zelensky added, “Whether this was a provocation or what the reasons were – I
can’t say so far. Professionals are supposed to say. Law enforcement officers
are supposed to say.”

Recall, the headquarters of the Joint Operation Forces
and the district administration of Stanytsia Luhanska both reported on Oct. 1
that provocative shootings by Russian-backed forces ignited at least a portion
of the wildfires in the Luhansk region. In particular, the district
administration cited the testimony of residents who saw how Russian-backed
fighters based in the occupied territories deliberately targeted high-caliber
fire at forests, igniting them at about 2:00 a.m. on Oct. 1. Hours later, the
Joint Operation Forces confirmed these fires were ignited by “armed enemy
provocations with the use of pyrotechnic tracer bullets.”

Zenon Zawada: For a man
who built a successful career based in part on his talents as a public speaker,
Zelensky has been making increasingly reckless statements in recent months,
with these Oct. 1 comments on the Luhansk wildfires being the latest. They are
reckless on several levels. The president shouldn’t be publicly questioning –
and casting doubt – on the reports of his own military and government
structures in a time of war. Instead, he should be giving his own structures
the benefit of the doubt.

Zelensky is contradicting himself when he called upon
relying on professionals and law enforcement officials for assessments, yet
himself rushing to the declaration that he sees no link between the wildfires
and shootings. Other recent instances of him not following his own advice in relying
on professionals is when Zelensky declared that People’s Servant MP Oleksandr
Yurchenko, accused of corruption, will be imprisoned for his crimes, without
even waiting for the most basic procedure of Western law, which is a court
trial.  

We believe Zelensky made his Luhansk wildfires
statement in order to protect the narrative that his administration has
achieved the longest ceasefire in Donbas, which is a key campaign theme for
People Servant candidates competing in the Oct. 25 local elections.
Acknowledging that the ceasefire violations have gotten so egregious that the
enemy is igniting deadly wildfires (claiming 11 civilian casualties and 17
injuries as of this morning) would completely undermine this election
narrative.

In addition, the Zelensky administration has a long
pattern of trying to accommodate the Russians – by not putting them on the spot
and embarrassing them – in the expectation that they get more concessions in
negotiations in exchange for their planned concessions. In this case, the
Zelensky administration has already made clear it is working towards its latest
war prisoner exchange (to be executed preferably ahead of the Oct. 25 vote),
and doesn’t want to ruffle the feathers of the Russians with accusations of
starting wildfires.

We can’t rule out the possibility that Zelensky
simply didn’t know about the statements on the Russian role in the wildfires
produced by the military and local officials. Yet that would only confirm more
recklessness on Zelensky’s part. Rather than stemming from self-serving
politics, this recklessness would be in the form of his inability (or
disinterest) of being informed of the latest events.