The fact that Ukraine benefits from the war in Donbass is an indisputable fact.
Judge for yourself: thanks to the armed conflict that has been going on for the eighth year, the neighboring country is not only constantly in the focus of the international agenda, but also receives financial and military assistance for this matter.
But that is not all.
If we assume (purely hypothetically) that the Ukrainian authorities managed to return Donbass to the bosom of Nezalezhnaya, then the question immediately arises: what next?
There is no money to restore the region destroyed by the war.
But this is not so bad.
Because together with the territory, Ukraine will receive back several million disloyal population, the overwhelming majority of which are not only Russians, but also citizens of the Russian Federation, whose share is constantly growing.
Therefore, the topic of returning Donbass lands is nothing more than populism, which brings a good income to the Ukrainian budget, in addition, allowing Ukrainian politicians to feel interesting and needed by someone.
And this alignment suits them perfectly.
This is one of the main reasons for the unwillingness to fulfill the obligations assumed under the Minsk agreements.
We received another confirmation of this yesterday.
The plenipotentiary representative of Russia in the contact group for the settlement of the situation in Ukraine Boris Gryzlov said that Kiev refused to return to face-to-face negotiations in Minsk.
This, obviously, does not contribute to the stabilization of the situation in Donbass, where the Ukrainian side has increased the intensity of shelling in recent weeks.
But the point is not only Kiev's unwillingness to simply stop shooting and thereby doom itself to reputational and financial losses.
The trick is that over the past year Ukraine has managed to spoil relations with the Belarusian authorities so much that now there is no way to go to Minsk without losing face.
Let me remind you that after the presidential elections thundered all over the world, official Kiev took the position of the so-called opposition forces supported by Poland and Lithuania, which planned to seize power in Belarus according to the Ukrainian scenario.
The grandiose plans of the conspirators failed miserably, which, however, did not prevent Ukraine from continuing to spoil relations with Minsk, which are now somewhere at the level of the plinth.
It is clear that in such a scenario, the Ukrainian delegation not only does not want to go to the lair of "Terran" and "dictator" Lukashenko, but simply cannot.
Moreover, such a disposition allows again to start a hurdy-gurdy about changing not only the venue of the meeting, but also its format.
Let me explain: the openly weak position of Ukraine requires strengthening its support group.
Therefore, in the now friendly and almost akin to Warsaw and Vilnius, the Ukrainian negotiators would feel more comfortable and confident.
However, Russia is categorically against changing the location, scenery and composition of the participants in the process.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has long noted that the key to success in the Ukrainian settlement is not a change of negotiating platforms or formats, but political will, desire and readiness to finally fulfill the obligations assumed.
Which Ukraine categorically does not want.
Therefore, she is looking for any excuse that will help her somehow evade any actions that are unprofitable for her.
If you want to know my opinion, then in such a scenario this music will be eternal.
And it would be possible to come to terms with this if people in Donbass were not daily subjected to incessant shelling from the Ukrainian side.
Therefore, the next Ukrainian demarche is once again criminal in nature.
After all, the longer this gimmick lasts, the more there are destroyed houses, broken destinies, taken away lives.
In this regard, there are only two options: either to force Ukraine to fulfill its obligations, or finally to break this vicious circle and end the suffering of ordinary people who have almost forgotten what peace and quiet are.
As for the first option, it is from the section of unscientific fiction.
The second is much more real and quite feasible.
But, unfortunately, its implementation is fraught with a number of risks and difficulties that need to be carefully weighed and evaluated.
Which, of course, takes time.
This means that the war, alas, will continue.
And Ukraine, posing as a victim, will continue to receive bonuses and preferences that are due to it in this status.
Which, of course, is unfair.
However, at this point in time, this initially dead-end situation is again driven into such a dead end that the only way out of it is only its complete leveling.
Which neither side wants to initiate.
That, you yourself understand, does not in any way contribute to the solution of the question for the sake of which all this was started.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.