As the 24th anniversary of the renewed independence of Ukraine approaches, there is a palpable sense of unease among Ukrainians worldwide. Our ancestral homeland continues to be under attack by Russian-backed terrorists, and the headlines from eastern Ukraine show the war has escalated markedly in recent days.
Last year, on the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of independence, we noted that the administration of newly elected President Petro Poroshenko was immediately faced with the strongest existential threat to Ukraine since the renewal of independence in 1991. The war in Ukraine’s east was ongoing, Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers were dying daily, and the brave young pilot Nadiya Savchenko was imprisoned in Russia. And then there was the tragic downing over Ukrainian territory of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the work of Russian-led separatists firing a Buk surface-to-air missile on July 17, 2014, and killing all 298 souls aboard.
Now, a year later, the death toll of the war in the east is nearly 6,500. Ms. Savchenko remains in Russian custody, the court proceedings in her case a sham reminiscent of Soviet-era show trials. Ukraine is experiencing a humanitarian disaster, as more than 1.5 million have been displaced by the war. The investigation of MH17 continues, with a report expected in the fall, but Russia has vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an international tribunal to bring the guilty to account. Russia and its proxies in eastern Ukraine are ignoring the ceasefire agreed to in Minsk in February (and before that in of September 2014). Meanwhile, the West seems to care little about the ceasefire violations. Oh, yes, there are appropriate words of condemnation, but little truly meaningful action that could turn the tide. The West, it appears, is pressuring Ukraine to fulfill its part of the Minsk agreement without regard for the fact that the aggressor – Russia and its proxies – is ignoring its commitments.
In fact, as Vladimir Socor wrote for Eurasia Daily Monitor on August 13, “Both after the Minsk I armistice and after Minsk II, the Russian-led side has seized Ukrainian territories well beyond the armistice line, while Western governments and international organizations looked on silently. …The existing armistice terms… are entirely unenforceable against Russia; largely unenforceable and unverifiable with regard to Russia’s proxies; but are enforceable with regard to Ukraine, and verifiable on Ukrainian-controlled territory only. This armistice has left Ukraine continually exposed to risks and isolated in the field.”
Spokespersons for Ukraine’s anti-terrorist operation (ATO) said that during the period of August 7-10 militants violated the ceasefire 434 times; on August 12 a record-high number of attacks – 150 – on Ukrainian forces were registered. On August 14, militants of the Donetsk “people’s republic” had begun massive shelling of residential areas of Dzerzhynsk and the settlements Artemove and Novhorodske; prosecutors characterized Dzerzhynsk’s shelling as a terrorist attack. On August 16, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reported that as a result of the heavy artillery shelling by Russian-terrorist forces of Sartana (a suburb of Mariupol), two civilians were killed and six civilians, including a 10-year old girl, were injured. On August 17, RFE/RL cited reports from eastern Ukraine that seven people were killed overnight in fighting along the front lines – including an intense artillery duel in Mariupol – and noted that residents described the battle as the heaviest fighting there in more than three months.
At the same time, Russian convoys continue to cross unimpeded into Ukraine – the 34th such convoy was reported by the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission on August 14. The SMM itself is under attack. On August 9, four OSCE armored vehicles parked outside the residence of SMM monitors in the city of Donetsk city were set ablaze, and on August 10 the monitors themselves were yet again fired upon.
Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry stated: “In the past few days the number of attacks on not only Ukrainian position units, but on civilian objects as well has significantly increased. …Shelling, aggressiveness of Russian-terrorist forces, intimidation of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission observers − all this is a part of deliberately chosen dangerous line aiming to stall Minsk agreements. …The Russian side has to take immediate steps to stop any actions that bring destruction and death to Ukraine and threaten the security and stability on the whole European continent.”
Various news media reported that the Russian-backed militants were now warning of a return to full-scale war. An August 18 story in The Independent said Ukrainian military authorities believe there are now more than 50,000 Russian troops within Ukraine and close to the border (about 9,000 are thought to be inside the country). And that’s in addition to 33,400 so-called “illegal armed formations” of Russian-backed “separatist” soldiers inside eastern Ukraine, The Independent added. And still, the lethal defensive aid that Ukraine needs to defend itself was not forthcoming. All the West offered was talks, more talks, urgent talks…
So, as Ukraine approaches the 24th anniversary of the re-establishment of its independence on August 24, 1991, the situation is dire. While we proudly proclaim “Slava Ukraini,” we fervently pray for Ukraine and its people.