“Five years have passed, and Russia is still occupying territory in Ukraine,” by Pavlo Klimkin, The Washington Post, February 19 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/19/five-years-have-passed-russia-is-still-occupying-territory-ukraine/?utm_term=.5587 492e2da9):
This month marks five years since Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula was invaded and subsequently occupied by Russia. The occupiers who came from across the border would come to be known as “Putin’s little green men” — Russian troops with their military insignias hidden. Russian President Vladimir Putin at first brazenly denied his country’s involvement, then later admitted that he had lied to the world. The Kremlin held a sham referendum and installed a puppet government. It was the first time since the 1940s that a European country had dared to seize territory from a neighbor by force.
Today Crimea is a human rights black hole. The occupation regime is harshly persecuting the indigenous Crimean Tatar population, which enjoyed considerable freedom under Ukrainian rule. Now dissidents are routinely abducted and tried in kangaroo courts. Russia has imposed a ban on all international monitors and aid agencies.
Russia has consolidated its stranglehold over Crimea. The lack of international attention has clearly emboldened the Kremlin — as demonstrated by its recent attacks on Ukrainian ships in international waters in the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov. Twenty-four Ukrainian servicemen are now being held as prisoners of war, languishing in Russian jails.
The Russian occupation of Crimea was the prelude to a broader campaign of aggression that continues to play out across eastern and southern Ukraine. To date, more than 1.5 million Ukrainians have been displaced and almost 13,000 others have been killed. This human tragedy gets minimal coverage in a media landscape preoccupied by political events in Western Europe and North America. For the people of Ukraine, however, the war and the suffering go on.…
“The West should support Ukraine’s reform trajectory,” by Carl Bildt, The Washington Post, February 14 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ 2019/02/14/west-should-support-ukraines-reform-trajectory/?utm_term=.337c14f01 bdd ):
Five years ago, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine morphed from economic and political threats into outright military aggression. …
…A decade of mismanagement, in combination with the massive corruption of the Yanukovych regime, has left the country in a state of near-bankruptcy. Russia’s aggression put Ukraine’s very survival at stake.
Ukraine didn’t fracture under the pressure. Instead, the country united through presidential and parliamentary elections that demonstrated a resolve to not only resist aggression but also to root out corruption and mismanagement.
Now, Ukraine is facing presidential and parliamentary elections that will chart its course for the next five years. …
There is little doubt that there is widespread dissatisfaction with the economic and social situation… And we can rest assured that the Kremlin, which effectively lost the confrontation in 2014, will do whatever it can to influence the elections and their aftermath in its favor. …
The basic Kremlin message is that Ukraine is a hopeless case of mismanagement and incompetence, and that only Moscow can govern the wider Slavic world.
…Ukraine is a significant European country with an impressive economic potential if it continues on its reform trajectory.…
But Ukraine will require continued attention and help from the rest of Europe in its reform efforts. Firm U.S. and EU policies must withstand Russian attempts to destabilize the efforts.
The sooner that happens, the better for all, not least for Russia. But a firm Western policy of support for Ukraine should be a priority.