Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow will not recognize the Donbas “republics” because to do so would be “to lose all the rest of Ukraine and leave it to the Nazis,” a clear indication from “Putin’s Ribbentrop” that the Kremlin wants to control all of Ukraine and not just part of it, Vitaly Portnikov says.
That is not surprising, of course, the Ukrainian commentator says. It has long been the conclusion of Ukrainian and Western analysts; but now Lavrov has confirmed it and in a way that makes his words even more threatening to the people of Ukraine.
As Russia has done so often, before it invades another country, Moscow insists that it is saving that country from a regime its population hates, Portnikov continues. What Lavrov has said is simply a reiteration of that approach, as is his insistence that Ukraine is preparing a provocation involving military force against Russia.
The references to Nazism are especially important, Russian commentator Anton Orekh says for what they say about Moscow’s thinking and about its assumptions concerning the Russian people. Lavrov mentioned Nazis in Ukraine four times, an indication this reflects the views of Russia.
And Lavrov insisted, Orekh continues, that the Poroshenko “regime” displays all aspects of Nazism and not just some. Thus one must look for racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, homophobia, the supremacy of the Ukrainian nation, the use of symbols from the Third Reich and praise for Adolf Hitler.
That is obviously absurd, although those who believe it aren’t going to be susceptible to rational arguments. “But Lavrov isn’t insane,” Orekh says. And that means “there must be a cause for a serious statesman to say such things.”
In fact, there is, Orekh says. And it is simple: “We must explain why Ukraine suddenly was transformed into an enemy. We must explain why we seized Crimea and why we support the revolt in the Donbas” – and do so in a way that even the densest will understand and immediately accept.
In reality, there are no more Nazis in any of these places than there are in Russia – and perhaps even fewer – but Lavrov and his ilk find it useful to use this ideological model about others rather than about anyone in Russia today.
Further Reading:
- Moscow military expert: Ukraine is Russia’s mortal enemy and must be dismantled or absorbed
- Ukraine prepares to Russia’s interference in the country’s elections 2019
- Former Ukrainian hostage Kostenko tells of FSB’s torture to extract “confessions”
- How Russian propaganda denigrates Ukraine with disinformation
- Kerch incident proves Ukraine & NATO “prepare for war against Russia” – Russian propaganda in Czech & Hungarian media
- Putin’s invasion force is only 18 km from Ukrainian border and West is ignoring it, Eidman says
- Moscow may be preparing a ‘Syrian type’ chemical weapons ‘provocation’ in Ukraine, Ikhlov says
- Ukrainian prosecutors publish reconstruction of Russian attack on Ukrainian ships in Black Sea
- Ukraine-related narratives dominate Russian propaganda – disinformation watchdogs
- Putin’s approach to Ukraine threatens entire international order and must be reversed, Skobov says
- Moscow disseminating two messages on Ukraine, neither of which should be accepted, Eidman says
- Moscow pushing Ukraine toward becoming a nuclear power again, Pastukhov says
- Budapest memorandum: non-proliferation diplomacy twenty years later
- Non-fulfillment of Budapest Memorandum showed the absurdity of disarmament, Turchinov says
- Moscow refuses to discuss Budapest Memorandum
- Statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding accusations of Russia’s violation of its obligations under the Budapest Memorandum of 5 December 1994
- Five reasons why supporting Ukraine is in the USA’s interests
- Was Ukraine’s nuclear disarmament a blunder?
- Russian aggression against Ukraine and international law: 25 key theses
