Fake “diplomatic missions” in Austria and the Czech Republic are just another attempt by Putin to put pressure on the countries participating in the Minsk process, political analyst Vitaliy Portnikov writes.


"Using various legal loopholes in the Austrian legal system, a public organization including the words 'Luhansk People’s Republic' in its title or charter will be created, and then start - with appropriate promotional resources, of course – pretending that it’s a diplomatic mission, even if Austria doesn’t recognize it."Russia is an old hand at such tactics, Portnikov continues. In the first years after the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War, the Communist government was not recognized by most countries of the world. That didn’t stop them – they opened “authorized representative offices,” recruited supporters, and allocated funds for subversive activities. And all were terrorists sent by the Comintern to spread “their truth,” working within the legal framework of foreign countries. Portnikov considers that the opening of the two offices are not a simple episode, but a well-planned propaganda campaign, for which the Russian Federation has allocated a lot of money, with the purpose of putting pressure on Ukraine and on Ukraine's western partners.
"It’s trying to convince everyone that the Donbas issue must be addressed as quickly as possible - on Russian terms, of course. Why? Because the occupied territories are gradually turning into 'real states,' the residents feel that they are 'the Donbas nation,' and that their 'state' – would you believe it!! – now has its own diplomatic representation!! So, hurry up with 'federalization' because there’s no way turning back the clock!" the analyst wrote.But of course, that is nonsense, Portnikov continues:
"There are no 'diplomatic missions.' No 'People’s Republics.' There’s no 'Donbas nation,' as, incidentally, there is no 'Crimean nation.' On the other hand, there are Ukrainians living under Russian occupation, but it’s easy to resolve this dilemma. We need to make the occupation troops withdraw and dismantle the collaborationist administrations."The issue of federalization, or "special status" of the occupied regions is one of the components of the Minsk peace process that Russia is attempting to utilize to ensure its chance to disrupt Ukrainian political life from within, via its proxies, the "DNR" and "LNR."
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What about the propaganda effect of this move? So far, the "diplomatic efforts" of the "LDNR" have been relayed only on Russian television channels and in the Kremlin's propaganda resources. Despite official invitations to visit the opening of the Ostrava center being sent out to Czech parliamentarians, none of them showed up for the event, RFE/RL reported.
"If she does not break the law, the Czech authorities cannot do anything. If a criminal attends this event, he can be arrested and extradited to Ukraine, but generally, the ‘consulate' is a legitimate public formation," said Jakub Janda, the Deputy Director of the Czech think-tank Evropské hodnoty (European values). "The Czech Republic may perhaps refuse to issue visas for those travelling to the event, or detain those who are on the wanted list. But if some Horlivka poetess comes and speaks about the 'horrible Kyiv junta' - she has the right to do it," agrees Ondrej Soukup.According to Sydorenko, only the replacement of Ukraine's ambassador to the Czech Republic will have the potential to stop anti-Ukrainian sentiments from spreading in the country.