Onion Information

Page Clicks: 0

First Seen: 05/06/2024

Last Indexed: 10/24/2024

Domain Index Total: 9

In the previous posts we have reviewed a brief historical background that finalized with the establishment of the Ukrainian state as it re-emerged from the ashes of the extinct Soviet Union. It is time now to analyze how this mainly slavic ethnic nation decided to look West, or at least part of the nation. In 2010 Yanukovich (pro-Russian) was elected president. In 2012 The European Union and Ukraine started negotiations for it to join the club. But Russia did not see with good eyes this soon-to-be marriage and started exerting economic pressure on Yanukovich’s administration. However the fundamental issue behind this abandoning the Russian economic sphere had more to do with the invitation to join the US-led military bloc: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). The Russian Federation possibly could have accepted any economic ties with the West (as a matter of fact, President Putin has stated several times that the EU membership was not a problem for Russia), but the NATO question was just NIET (“NO!”). When the Soviet Union collapsed the U.S. made verbal guarantees to Putin that NATO would never expand “even an inch” to the East. But shortly thereafter ex-members of the USSR-led military bloc (Warsaw Pact) become real quick members of the transatlantic organisation. Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, the three small Baltic Republics joined and became full members of the military alliance. In early 90’s in the Balkans a new conflict erupted when Yugoslavia disintegrated and the chance was taken for NATO to intervene in the conflict taking sides. Collective self-defence article 5, the soul of the bloc, was not at risk here. NATO was intervening away from its frontiers in sovereign countries. Operation Allied Force in 1999 saw the culmination of the Western military intervention in Serbia when during 78 days NATO allied air forces bombed round the clock the country (at that time still comprising today’s Montenegro and Kosovo). The Western interventionism and NATO expansion definitely made her way to the East forgetting all past promises to Russia. This was recognised with concern by some veteran US politicians as a new future source of conflict with Russia. And so Yugoslavia, a socialist non-aligned state in the heart of Europe ceased to exist and the opportunity for US military to set a military presence in the leftovers was taken. Then some of the ex-Yugoslavian nations started the same way as the old Warsaw Pact countries, joining NATO. The geo-strategic balance was tilting to one side and this was expressed internationally by a worried President Putin in international forums like in the Munich summit in 2007. At some time in the 90’s when the NATO air forces were mastering the skies of the ex-Yugoslavia, Ukraine was approached by the West accordingly with the intention to change its centre of gravity towards the European Union and the United States. During Obama’s administration Victoria Nuland with the US ambassador in Kiev initiated the orchestration of a new “coloured revolution” and met with ultranationalistic candidates. Nevertheless Yanukovich did not accept and finally the “going West” was aborted in 2013. Russia, possibly very relieved, as compensation offered trade benefits, credits and even a 33% discount on natural gas supplies. It seemed that NATO would not alter the nuclear balance deploying nuclear missiles in Ukrainian territory (Russia’s backyard), especially when sometime before Ukraine had announced the intention of renouncing to nuclear weapons and dismantle the remaining military facilities inherited from the extinct Soviet Union. This nuclear balance was a chess game started during the Cold War that reached a critical point in October, 1962, in the well-known Crisis of Cuban Missiles. It is worth making a small parenthesis highlighting how the World fell short of World War Three, a thermonuclear conflict that possibly would have terminated all human history in the planet. During those days in 1962 US spy planes photographed the installations of nuclear rockets by the USSR in Cuban soil. All alarms went off. President Kennedy, pressed by his military Chiefs of Staff, was ready to start a preventive strike on Cuba anytime before the Soviets had the missiles ready. At the distance the Cuban island lays from Florida, those weapons should they have been fired would have reached America with no reaction time to respond within very few minutes. The balance of nuclear power was seriously altered leaving America at the Soviet Union’s mercy. Finally the Kennedy’s administration issued an ultimatum to the Soviet Premier; if the ships sailing at that time on course to Cuba over the Atlantic, carrying the necessary supplies for the readiness of the rockets, did not turn around, the US Navy would be forced to sink them. An ultimatum, a threat, a casus belli, and direct war against the Soviet Union. Was really the US meaning it? Kennedy confessed after the crisis he had been serious and ready to start World War Three, after all Cuba is “America’s backyard” and how could he allow anyone to deploy a highly deadly arsenal in his “backyard”? Let us get back to the 21st century. Yanukovich’s new government policies (staying in Russian sphere of influence) were confronted almost immediately by protestors and the situation in the country spiralled out of control. It became extremely polarised, being the west of Ukraine the cradle of ultra-nationalistic sentiments with radical organisations and paramilitaries rescuing Bandera’s ideals, while the East was in total opposition remaining pro-Russian. The initial peaceful protests at Maidan square in Kiev turned into violent clashes. Snipers started shooting over peaceful demonstrators that showed up from nowhere. Where did they come from? The CIA game had been unleashed and the ultranationalist paramilitaries finally released since the 50’s (they had been dormant under US payroll for decades). Turmoil followed, aggressions, deaths and the Banderite squads took the streets. A new ultranationalistic movement in full nazi paraphernalia remembered Germany in the 30’s. A “coloured revolution” by US playbook had commenced. The consequences for the Ukrainian nation proved fatal in the next years. Yanukovich fled the country fearing for his life along with his family and new elections were held. On the 21st of February, 2014, a new government was elected. This time an oligarch, Petro Poroshenko (pro-West, of course), occupies the office. The pro-Russian Ukrainian citizens, largely in the Donbass, but not only, denounce fraud. As a matter of fact it was a coup d’etat. With Poroshenko in power and the Banderites ruling the streets and literally dragging the nation into and ethnic clash, a campaign of repression incited by the most radical sectors of these groups acquired new degrees of violence. The climax those days was reached in Odessa, when the mob besieged the house of the Trade Union where anti-Maidan members gathered for a meeting. The building was set on flames and the doors deliberately jammed to avoid that those inside could evacuate the facility. The aftermath was mind blowing. The events resulted in the deaths of 48 people, 42 of the victims died in the Trade Unions House fire, and 200 were injured.There’s plenty of evidence and footage in the Internet where it can be seen how those who tried to escape the flames jumping out of the windows were lynched by the crowds. Some of the besiegers were carrying bats and some even pistols. The police was present but remained expectant with no intervention whatsoever to stop the events. A civil war had started, Ukrainians versus Ukrainians, brothers against brothers… View Comments