The Washington Post minces no words in the way the West is handling Russia’s intentions. Its editorial states: “Russia has taken another significant step towards creating a puppet state inside Ukraine. Over the weekend, the Moscow-controlled cities of Donetsk and Luhansk and nearby areas staged ‘elections’ for the leaders of what Russian President Vladimir Putin calls ‘Novorossiya’. In so doing, they directly violated a September 5 ceasefire agreement for eastern Ukraine that Putin had endorsed. Having promised to respect Ukrainian sovereignty (not counting Crimea), Russia now supports the renegade election and says the Ukrainian government should negotiate with separatist leaders.”
It is not hard to guess what Putin has in mind, says the Post. “As it stands, the Donetsk-Luhansk ministates are not easily sustained; they lack a port, power supplies and access to the region’s principal airport. Alexander Zakharchenko, declared the winner in the ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’, is on record as saying his regime intends to capture the Ukrainian-held port of Mariupol as well as several large towns retaken by government forces last summer.”
Once ‘Novorossiya’ is consolidated, says the editorial, Putin will have achieved his strategic aim in Ukraine — to permanently destabilise the government in Kiev and ensure that it does not fulfil its mandate to economically integrate Ukraine with the European Union (EU).
Canada’s the Globe and Mail lays bare Putin’s intentions: “No. Vladimir Putin does not want a peace deal. No, he won’t respect international borders ... No, he isn’t done lying. No, he can’t be trusted. And no – he isn’t going to stop.” It refers to the sham elections saying, “It was held at gunpoint, without a voters list or international monitors; amazingly, the candidates at war with the recognized government of Ukraine won.” Above all, it says, “Nato has to be ready for a future in which Putin may one day use the same technique to carve off territory from other neighbouring states.”
The KyivPost, at the heart of the churn, is concerned about the status of people in the zones that went to elections. Says it editorial: “In response to the November 2 elections held by Kremlin-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk are moving to revoke the two Donbas oblasts’ ‘special’ autonomous status and cancel government benefits, including pensions, for residents living in separatist-controlled areas.”
Such a move, it argues will only fuel hate for Ukraine for those cut off behind separatist lines. “If Ukraine is going to financially cut off hundreds of thousands of its own citizens, it owes them help to relocate and survive,” it concludes.
The Economist is wary of the shrinking prospects of Ukraine under Putin’s unstoppable ambitions. “Ukraine, which lost Crimea to Russian annexation this spring, just got smaller again,” says its editorial. Under the circumstances, only a military effort, it says, can bring back the rebel-held territories into Ukraine’s control.
