More proof of Russia’s direct involvement in the war in eastern Ukraine surfaced in a special report released by Reuters on May 11. Headlined “Ex-rebel leaders detail role played by Putin aide in east Ukraine,” the story was published by The New York Times, among others. (You can read the full text here: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-russia-surkov-insight-idUSKBN1870TJ.)
The story – a must read – begins with these words:
“A top aide to Vladimir Putin decides how the pro-Moscow administration of eastern Ukraine is run and who gets what jobs there, three former rebel leaders said, challenging Kremlin denials that it calls the shots in the region. Their comments to Reuters shed light on the role played by the secretive Vladislav Surkov, who has long been at the Russian president’s side. The Kremlin says his official role is to advise Putin on Ukraine, where the rebels are fighting government forces.”
Reuters goes on to cite information given by three men that details how Mr. Surkov “controls the situation on the ground via handpicked proxies who give him regular situation reports, used aides to arrange elections there, and has worked to build power structures that are responsive to Moscow’s wishes.”
It was Mr. Surkov, these men say, who played a key role in the appointment of Aleksandr Zakharchenko, a local, as the leader of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic to replace two self-described volunteers from Russia, Aleksandr Borodai and Igor Strelkov. The idea was to show that the “uprising” in Donetsk was a “grassroots phenomenon,” Reuters explains. Thus, the two “volunteers” from Russia stepped down on orders from Moscow.
The Reuters story – prepared by a team of reporters – explains that Alexei Alexandrov and two other men who wished to remain unidentified decided to speak out because they feel their uprising was “hijacked” by Moscow and the leaders selected by Moscow do not have the Donbas region’s best interests at heart.
Mr. Surkov, they say, was involved in selecting personnel for DPR posts, creating an administrative structure and formulating a media strategy. Furthermore, after Mr. Zakharchenko was put in place, there was an “election” to confirm him as DPR leader. The Zakharchenko campaign, according to Mr. Alexandrov, was run by Russians who worked for Mr. Surkov. That election, held in November 2014, was deemed illegitimate by Ukraine, the United States and the European Union. Regardless, Moscow said that now Ukraine could negotiate directly with the “governments” of the DPR and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), which held elections at the same time.
Which brings us to today. Reuters reports that five sources, “including one close to the presidential administration and another who worked with Surkov in the Kremlin,” said Mr. Surkov had regularly met with the “separatist” leaders, both in the Donbas and in Russia. And, they add, his involvement continues today, three years after the start of conflict – now a full-blown war – in Ukraine’s east.
Meanwhile, as the war grinds on, Russia’s dirty fingerprints are becoming more and more evident in the Donbas.