© Alexandr Maksimenko
Russia has no right to leave the Russian-speaking Donbass residents at the mercy of nationalists, the President Putin said. He added that the West in fact is trying to shift the financial support of Ukraine to Russia.Moscow will not leave Russian and Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine to deal with local nationalists, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a documentary aired Sunday on Rossiya 1 television channel.
"We cannot leave the people residing in south-eastern Ukraine at the mercy of nationalists. It's not only the Russians, but also other Russian-speaking people, who rely on Russia," Putin said.
According to Putin, the West thinks it can pressure Russia over the Ukrainian crisis settlement, stating that it is not Moscow's business what happens in Ukraine.
Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions have been targeted by Kiev's military operation since April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian government, which came to power as the result of a coup.In February, the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine elaborated a set of measures in Belarus' capital of Minsk, aimed at Ukrainian reconciliation. The deal was signed by representatives of Kiev and independence supporters. The measures included a ceasefire, weaponry withdrawal from contact line and constitutional changes.
The Minsk agreement implementation is due to be finished by the end of 2015.
West Trying to Shift 'Burden' of Financing Ukraine to Russia"The living standards of the [Ukrainian] people is falling dramatically, the country's GDP has significantly decreased... A complete de-industrialization of Ukraine is underway," Putin said.Western states do not want to support Ukraine financially but to make Moscow carry this responsibility, without sharing any risks, he added.
"Nobody wants to financially support Ukraine... At the same time, they [the West] want to shift the financial burden to Russia... Let's share the risks, we said. We are ready to restructure Ukraine's debt to us... They do not want to share this risk."
Ukraine is completely "de-industrializing," with its GDP dramatically decreasing and living standards falling, the president said.
Currently, Ukraine increasingly relies on external funding to reanimate its economy amid a deep recession and high inflation.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on Friday that the government had introduced a moratorium on the payment of Ukraine's $3-billion loan to Russia and was ready to go to the court over the issue.
West Realizes Supporting 2014 Ukraine Coup Was MistakeThe West realizes that it made a mistake by taking an advantage of Ukrainians' discontent with their government in 2014 and supporting an anti-government coup in the country, according to Putin.
"As for Ukraine... I think many our partners realize that they made a mistake. They do not want to admit it but they took an advantage of population's discontent," Putin said.
"You cannot improve anything by a coup. Has anything improved in the country? The power is in the hands of oligarchs," the Russian president added.
It is not possible to logically, factually and honestly argue against Putin about the Ukraine, nor about his consistency.
From the outset he made it plain that Russia is not interested in taking over the Ukraine - Crimea is a special case, both for the population and Russian strategic requirements, i.e. Sebastopol, + over two hundred years of traditional unity.
The Donbass region is similar but a lot more complex even though, as in Crimea, most people probably favour unification with the RF, if not the 95% of Crimea.
BUT if Russia had directly intervened a year or so ago, Washington/NATO would have used that as a pretext for all-out war and many more thousands, if not millions would have died (it could have even gone global nuclear).
It must have grieved Putin, his team and most Russians to see so many killed and displaced in Donetsk and Lugansk, BUT I think that he has had to wait until the Junta in Kiev became disarrayed, the economy in Western Ukraine cratered and Washington/NATO/the EU, etc. basically lost interest.
Meanwhile many aid convoys have been sent and low-key support/advice has been given to what is now a pretty well organized Donbass army of resistance/defence.
From the outset Putin has said that Russia would not let Donbass down, but only now does it look as though the Junta is on the verge of collapse and that Washington, etc. has lost most interest So NOW he is saying, more forcefully:
"We cannot leave the people residing in south-eastern Ukraine at the mercy of nationalists. It's not only the Russians, but also other Russian-speaking people, who rely on Russia,"
Now, also, via the war in Syria, Russia has been able to show and prove vastly superior air power and tactics against US/NATO and their ISIS mercenary/proxy army.
If, now, the Kiev Junta was to launch a major offensive, the entire Ukraine military could be obliterated in short order, with a few well-placed cruise missiles. And what could Washington/NATO do about that now?
Within weeks Donbass/Novorosiya could re-unite with Russia.
Within months (maybe I dream) the whole coastal region through Odessa could break free of Kiev, leaving the Ukraine as a land-locked total liability for "the West" to deal with ... not what Nuland and Biden envisaged, but tough cookies.