Putin visits Crimea, appeals to Ukrainian people

Russian President Putin visited occupied Crimea on Aug. 17 to to discuss economic issues. Sergei Aksyonov, the self-declared Crimean prime minister, asked Putin to simplify procedures for Ukrainians to gain work permits in Crimea’s tourism industry since Russians aren’t interested in working there. The visit came in defiance of his political opponents in the West and Ukraine. Putin made direct appeals to the Ukrainian public, insisting that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people.”

“I am sure that, regardless of all the complications of the current period of time, the situation in Ukraine will correct itself and Ukraine will develop positively and emerge from that horrible practice that we’re observing today, which is the placement of an enormous European country under foreign administration, with foreign citizens gaining key positions in the government and the regions. I think this is all degrading for the Ukrainian people.” Ukraine will get back on its legs “and will build its future together with Russia,” he said, declining to comment on the war in Donbas.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko criticized Putin’s visit, which was not cleared with the Ukrainian government. “This is a challenge for the civilized world and an extension of the scenario of exacerbating the situation, which is being fulfilled by Russian soldiers and their mercenaries in Donbas,” he said. Such trips indicate the further militarization of the occupied peninsula and will lead to its further isolation, Poroshenko said. “Crimea has a future only in the structure of Ukraine, including tourism,” he said.

Russian military on the Ukrainian border has increased to 50,000 soldiers recently, which has raised concerns about escalations in the conflict in Donbas, reported on Aug. 16 the independent.co.uk news site, citing data from the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. Almost 9,000 Russian Armed Forces personnel are on Ukrainian territory, according to the data. About 33,400 fighters belong to illegal armed formations that are backed by Russia in Donbas, according to the data. Meanwhile, about 400 battle tanks and almost 2,000 armored troop carriers are in full combat readiness in Donbas.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Aug. 17 calling on Russia to use immediate measures to halt the military escalation in Donbas. “Ukraine is taking additional efforts to turn needed attention from the global community to the dangerous sharpening of conditions in Donbas and reviewing this issue in the appropriate international formats,” the statement said. The Foreign Ministry is particularly concerned about the increased attacks against residential districts and infrastructure between Aug. 10 and 16, as well as terrorists using Russian arms to target soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. More than 850 shooting incidents occurred during this time, including a record of 175 attacks on Aug. 14, the statement said, with the Russian-backed terrorists using heavy artillery forbidden by the Minsk accords.

Zenon Zawada: Putin’s comments, along with political stunts like destroying food from Europe, confirm that Putin and his entourage are increasingly losing touch with reality. Ukrainians don’t mind so much the presence of foreigners in government, and some of them are popular, such as Odesa Regional Administration Head Mikheil Saakashvili. Ukrainians are in favor of building their future with Russia, but only without Putin and under a democratic regime where there’s rule of law. The appeals to Ukrainians of being “one people” with Russians seem archaic and pointless to the majority of the Ukrainian public, which is concerned with political and economic stability.

The latest military buildup and attacks on Ukraine don’t necessarily imply that a “big war” is on the horizon, as threatened by Denis Pushilin, a representative of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic. We view the Russian government as using these flare ups as an instrument to pressure the West in negotiations. Critical talks on forming the Ukraine-EU Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area are approaching in September.