Fokin draws calls for resignation after latest Donbas comments

Several Ukrainian politicians, including President’s
Office Head Andriy Yermak, have called for the resignation of Vitold Fokin from
the Trilateral Contact Group to resolve the war in Donbas after his latest
reckless statement. The 87-year-old former Donbas factory manager, who served
as the first prime minister of Ukraine, told a Sept. 29 parliamentary committee
meeting that he didn’t see the war in Donbas as being between Russia and
Ukraine, undermining the foundation of the Ukrainian government’s narrative, as
well as the fundamental reality of the situation.

“I am not a politician. I can’t make some kind of
determination because I don’t see so far any confirmation that there is a war
between Ukraine and Russia,” said the deputy head of the Ukrainian delegation
to the Trilateral Contact Group. He was called to testify before the committee
for scandalous positions expressed in late August. Rather than adjusting them,
Fokin reiterated his calls for local elections to be held in occupied Donbas in
late October (without Russia fulfilling basic requirements) and a general
amnesty for all those involved in the conflict, in contradiction to longheld
Ukrainian positions on resolving the conflict.

Yermak called for Fokin’s resignation on his Facebook
page in reaction to the latest scandalous comments. “Yes, we have an ongoing
war in which Russia is a side to the conflict, not an observer. And it’s
precisely because of that, and the annexation of Crimea as well, that the West
applied sanctions against Russia. We insist on the full deoccupation and return
of all of our territories, only which can indicate the renewal of true peace.
Russia should leave our land, taking all of what is hers – its army, armed
formations, military hardware and organizational structures,” Yermak wrote. In
addition, the same parliamentary committee that Fokin addressed on Sept. 29
issued a resolution condemning his remarks and calling for his resignation.

Zenon Zawada: We didn’t
comment on Fokin’s appointment in mid-August because we expected he would
remain in the shadows of the negotiations, playing the role of a seasoned
political veteran who helps his younger counterparts in dealing with the
aggressive Russians and helping to build new connetions with the Donbas
representatives (as had been indicated at that time). Instead, the Fokin
appointment has erupted into the latest embarrassment for the Zelensky
administration, with the possibly senile Soviet bureaucrat becoming an enormous
distraction to the peace talks.

This episode lends credence to the arguments made
by the pro-Western opposition (led by former president Petro Poroshenko) that
the Zelensky administration is utterly incompetent in dealing with the Kremlin
in handling the war in Donbas. We would add that the Fokin appointment reflects
Zelensky’s and Yermak’s utter inability to recognize the dangers of appointing
officials who are not fully committed to Euro-Atlantic values and integration,
which was also reflected in the counterproductive appointments of Prosecutor
General Iryna Veneditkova (and her deputies) and Oleh Tatarov to serve in the President’s Office.