Russian, Ukrainian presidents hold second phone call to discuss ceasefire

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko held their second telephone call regarding the war in Donbas on June 17, reported Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Pyeskov. They discussed measures that would lead to a permanent ceasefire and methods to monitor it. Poroshenko expressed regret over the death of a Russian journalist, promised an investigation and called upon Putin to arrange for the release of imprisoned journalists and activists.

A temporary cease fire was announced the evening of June 17 in the Donetsk and Luhansk obalsts in order to evacuate the injured and dead, reported novosti.dn.ua.

Ukraine’s parliament failed to muster enough votes on June 17 to approve an appeal to Poroshenko asking him to declare martial law in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. A large amount of proposals were submitted to the legislation, which will be revised before another vote, said Parliamentary Head Oleksandr Turchynov.

The Freedom nationalist party supports immediately imposing martial law in the war-torn oblasts, MP Yuriy Syrotiuk told a June 17 press conference. He said it was a mistake for the National Security and Defense Council to refrain from imposition martial law at its June 16 meeting. “Today it’s not Ukrainian soldiers who surrounded terrorists and Russian occupiers in Sloviansk, but unfortunately our posts are surrounded by Russian terrorists and saboteurs,” he said.

Syrotiuk also called for lustration of the generals and commanders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that are engaged in corruption and possible cooperation with the Federal Security Service of Russia. He said he has a list of at least 40 such suspects who threaten the success of the government’s anti-terrorist operation, whose format doesn’t address the challenges before Ukrainian forces. In his travels to the war zone, Syrotiuk said he learned that he could bribe soldiers to bring weapons in. Meanwhile, Ukrainian law enforcement officers are interfering with efforts to bring Ukrainian soldiers aid. They also lack a consistent water supply, he said.

Poroshenko issued a decree earmarking the equivalent of USD 17.5 mln from the state budget for the National Guard of Ukraine, said on June 17 Volodymyr Chepoviy, the spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council.

Zenon Zawada: The issue of martial law has become very sensitive and lacks enough support in parliament for several reasons. Indeed MPs suspected of close ties to Russia oppose martial law, which its supporters argue should be enough evidence that it needs to be imposed. But the measure could backfire on the Kyiv government if the army is not properly trained for it and Putin chooses to escalate the conflict as a response.

Lustration of all government spheres, not only the Armed Forces, is another complicated issue. The government would have to hold court trials for all those suspected of committing crimes against the Ukrainian state. Without adequate preparation of lawyers for such trials, the effort could backfire as well, with those accused alleging a persecution campaign. Lustration is something that needs to be done, but only by an administration that has the will and moral conviction to carry it out, notwithstanding all the risk involved. So far, the Poroshenko administration hasn’t demonstrated such will.