Sometimes they come back.
Former leader of the "Right Sector" * banned in Russia and recognized as terrorist, Dmitry Yarosh has been appointed advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Considering that "Sector" has not existed for a long time, and completely different people are fighting in Donbass, this appointment is clearly symbolic.
Just what does it symbolize?
When Zelenskiy ran for president in 2019 and campaigned against then-President Petro Poroshenko, the two politicians were fundamentally different from each other. Poroshenko tried to be re-elected under the militaristic-nationalist slogan “Army. Language. Faith ", and Zelensky demanded to stop dividing people into varieties depending on the language they speak, promised to end the war and gently bypassed religious issues.
Two years later, we have to admit that Poroshenko nevertheless won those elections, despite the fact that Zelensky became formally president. Because the new head of state is pursuing exactly the same, if not more harsh, policy. The Russian language has been expelled from everywhere, the conflict in Donbass has only worsened, the sectarians from the OCU feel extremely confident, and the persecution of the priests of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church does not stop.
Unsurprisingly, Zelenskiy's voters now feel cheated and exploited.
The anti-rating of the current president has recently surpassed the anti-rating of the former Ukrainian leader.
According to a sociological survey, in no case would 31.9% of Ukrainian voters vote for Zelensky, and 31.6% for Poroshenko.
The current and former presidents have become equal for Ukrainians as leaders of antipathies.
This is logical, because there is no ideological difference between them.
Zelensky's behavior looks somewhat contradictory.
On the one hand, he clearly plans to be re-elected in 2024.
On the other hand, duplicating and strengthening Poroshenko's policies, he gets all the same problems as Poroshenko, including a catastrophic drop in rating and an increase in anti-rating.
It is unlikely that the Ukrainian president does not understand this.
And here we again return to the symbolic appointment of Yarosh, which coincided with the extremely aggressive statement of the former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Igor Romanenko, who, in an article for one of the Ukrainian publications, scares the Ukrainians with a Russian invasion, and promises Russia a "bloodbath".
The current aggravation in Donbass and the waving of sabers on the part of the Ukrainian generals are explained by different reasons, but, I suppose, there is no need to go far and look deeply.
Occam's Razor is the most obvious solution and most likely the most correct one.
Nord Stream 2.
Until recently, Kiev hoped that the United States would be able to stop construction, but the hopes were not justified.
The uselessness and senselessness of the Ukrainian gas transportation system in the event of launching the SP-2 are obvious to everyone.
Ukrainian politicians frighten Europe by saying that only gas transit keeps Russia from attacking Ukraine and, as soon as it stops, Russian tanks in Kiev are only a matter of time.
In fact, it is clear that no one is going to attack Ukraine.
The red lines are marked - these are NATO bases on Ukrainian territory, but the decision to open them, fortunately, is not the prerogative of Kiev.
But in fact, Kiev is afraid of the termination of gas transit for a completely different reason: it is the loss of several billion dollars annually, which are critically important for the budget of this country.
And there will be absolutely nothing to replace them.
Plus, do not forget about the so-called decarbonization.
Ukraine has no money for it, which means that very soon the export of Ukrainian metal will stop, and the money from the export of wheat will not feed people.
Therefore, all the current aggressive gestures of Kiev can be explained very simply: they need to either provoke Russia to respond, or in some other way convince the European Union that the launch of SP-2 will lead to increased instability.
Hence Yarosh's "exit from the closet" and the panicky interviews of the generals.
The answer to the question of why Zelensky repeats Poroshenko's policy, which is suicidal for his rating, is a little more complicated and complex, but in short, there are two reasons - fear of ultranationalists and the understanding that no one will give money in the West to Ukraine that is not pursuing an anti-Russian policy.
And, of course, no one is thinking about the interests of the citizens of Ukraine and is not going to think about it.
They are of interest to Ukrainian politicians once every five years, during elections.
* "Right Sector" - a Ukrainian association of radical nationalist organizations, recognized as extremist and banned on the territory of Russia (decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 11/17/2014).
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.