Twenty-six years ago, on December 11, 1994, the Russian Federation poured thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks into the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya. It was the largest Russian military offensive since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. That same day, the Ukraina Democratic coalition, representing 40 political organizations, protested at the Russian Embassy in Kyiv.
Members of the protest called the developments in Chechnya “the beginning of the second stage in the break-up of the empire,” and political analyst Vadym Halynovksy called it “a dress rehearsal for an attack on Ukraine.”
“Unleashing an armed conflict with a nation that has a right to struggle for its independence proves that the imperialists will stop at nothing if their absolute power is in danger,” said Oleksander Lavrynovych of Rukh. The move by Moscow, he added, reveals Russia’s true face to the world.
Ukraine’s government stated on December 12 that the conflict with Chechnya was an internal Russian affair, but expressed hope that an agreement could be reached by the conflicting sides to de-escalate. However, that was not the case. On December 13, Ukraine’s Parliament issued a statement that called on both sides of the conflict to resolve their problems by political, peaceful means.
By December 15, Russian troops were 20 kilometers outside of the Chechen capital of Grozny, and the move by Moscow underscored its clear position that it would end the republic’s three-year-old claim to independence. The goal for Moscow, observers noted, was to lock Grozny in a stranglehold and force the Chechens to negotiate at gunpoint.
First Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasiuk called the Chechnya situation “very delicate,” and noted that Ukrainian citizens had been warned against becoming involved in the conflict. “But the government of Ukraine is not indifferent to the fate of its citizens who may have – for any number of reasons – ended up in Chechnya. We have a developed mechanism that will defend the rights of our citizens, and we discussed this matter with our ministry and Russia as soon as the situation turned into military conflict.”
Members of the Ukrainian National Assembly-Ukrainian People’s Self-Defense (a right-wing nationalist organization known by the Ukrainian acronym UNA-UNSO) had voiced support for the Chechens fighting against Russia. Its spokesman, Viktor Melnyk, echoed the organization’s readiness to give assistance to the Chechen nation. However, the group’s leader, Dmytro Korchynsky, said its members would only be involved as observers to resolve the conflict.
Rusland Badayev, a representative of the Chechen government, said that Chechnya only needed moral support from Ukraine. Mr. Badayev said the move by Russia marked the beginning of war. “Dagestan has already declared war against Russia, Ingushetia has already become involved in action with Ossetian volunteers trying to break through Chechnya,” he said.
In Crimea, more than 500 people protested in Symferopil on December 12 to demand an immediate halt to military actions against the Chechen people and the withdrawal of Russian troops. Participating in the protest were members of the Crimean Tatar council, known as the Mejlis, with support from the Crimean branches of Rukh (Popular Movement of Ukraine) and the Ukrainian Republican Party.
Ten volunteers from the Crimea’s Muslim Party left for Chechnya to assist Dzhokhar Dudayev, leader of the breakaway Chechen faction.
“It was exactly on Human Rights Day that Russia decided to lead its troops onto the territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria… Russia demonstrated to the world its inability to renounce forceful dictatorship and armed intervention in deciding political problems,” said Vyacheslav Chornovil, leader of Rukh. He also called for the United Nations, parliaments, governments, human rights organizations and the world community to appeal to the Russians to stop the aggression. Mr. Chornovil also urged the Ukrainian government to not remain silent about conflicts near Ukraine’s border.
Twenty-six years later, Crimea has been annexed by Russia and Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region is occupied by Russian-backed forces. Although the ongoing international response has placed increasing pressure on Russia, Moscow-backed forces continue to wreak havoc on Ukrainian territory.
Source: “Ukraine calls for political settlement in Chechnya,” by Marta Kolomayets, The Ukrainian Weekly, December 18, 1994.