The commander of the airborne troops of Ukraine, Mikhail Zabrodsky, said that a parade in honor of the country's independence day would take place, despite the decision of President Vladimir Zelensky to cancel the event.
“The parade is not about politics. And given what is happening in politics, the parade should take place! I saw posts on social networks calling for me to hold a parade. It is a great honor to attend it. The parade is needed by our state and our soldiers. And he will! ”, - quotes the Ukrainian military RIA Novosti.
According to him, the parade is “a symbol of the struggle against the enemy” and “a very important reminder” that there is a war going on in the country.
- Commander of the Airborne Troops of Ukraine Mikhail Zabrodsky
- globallookpress.com
- © Maxym Marusenko / ZUMAPRESS.com
Earlier, a former soldier of the 95th airborne assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a participant in the hostilities in the Donbass Alexander Pogrebinsky addressed such a request to the commander of the Ukrainian paratroopers.
" Reflects the mood of the military "
“Zabrodsky’s statement reflects the mood of some part of the Ukrainian military,” said Kirill Koktysh, MGIMO associate professor in a conversation with RT. - How much this part is is difficult to judge. It is clear that while all these people who are going to hold the parade, one way or another are associated with Poroshenko. For them, this whole situation is a loss, a very important symbolic defeat. ”
In turn, a member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of Russia, Bogdan Bezpalko, in an interview with RT, stressed that the insubordination of the commander of the Ukrainian paratroopers to his supreme commander-in-chief is a very alarming signal for Ukraine, showing the deepening of contradictions in the Ukrainian elites and in society in general.
“Zabrodsky and Paruby represent the part of the elite that supports militarization, the split, the anti-Russian vector. Zelensky is trying to resist this somehow weakly, as long as he does not have a loyal parliament, cabinet and prime minister, he can not resist very effectively, ”says Bezpalko.
In turn, the sources of RT in Ukraine do not exclude that the president can change his decision under the pressure of the military.
“The military extremely negatively perceived the information that there will be no parade this year. Zelensky did not consult with them when he made such a decision. The statement that the money for organizing the parade would be distributed as a bonus was generally perceived by the soldiers as an insult. The army is in favor of the parade taking place, and, as I understand it, under such pressure, the president can agree to hold it, ”says a RT source at the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- Military equipment in Kiev at the parade in honor of the Independence Day of Ukraine
- Reuters
- © Gleb Garanich
As noted by the interlocutor of RT from the Popular Front party, there has not been such a public demarche of the military in Ukraine for a long time.
“The army publicly refuses to carry out orders of the commander-in-chief. This is chaos and disobedience. It seems that Zelensky has not yet been able to agree with the military. The most interesting thing is that the president did not react to the statement of Mikhail Zabrodsky, who is respected in the army. If everything continues this way, then tomorrow the law enforcement agencies will be out of control, ”says a spokesman for the Popular Front.
Holding a military parade against the will of the president shows that Zelensky is not in control of the situation, according to a RT source in the Batkivshchyna party.
“What will this parade look like? People will come to see him, but there will be no president? The army enjoys enormous prestige in Ukraine, so the statement by Zabrodsky can play to lower the rating of the head of state, ”the interlocutor believes RT.
"Pride Parade"
Recall, June 9, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky decided not to hold a military parade in honor of Independence Day, which is celebrated annually on August 24. According to Zelensky, the holiday will be held in a different format. The released funds (300 million hryvnia or more than 730 million rubles) will be spent on bonuses for military personnel.
The president’s initiative was sharply criticized by his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, calling the Zelensky’s decision “short-sighted”. It was his associates who initiated the "alternative" parade. So, both the paratrooper Pogrebinsky and the commander of the assault troops Zabrodsky are running for the early elections to the Rada according to the lists of the party of the ex-president “European Solidarity”. Zabrodsky also actively urged Poroshenko’s former adviser Yuri Biryukov to lead the parade.
Another associate of the leader of the European Solidarity, the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Andrei Paruby, appealed to the Ukrainians to take up the “battle banners” and go with them to Khreshchatyk on August 24. He also stated that he intends to take a personal part in the event.
The leader of the “Radical Party”, Oleg Lyashko, accused Zelensky of “inferiority” and promised to come to the “honor parade” on Independence Day, which should “show the whole world the spirit, strength, strength and core of the Ukrainian army”.
The "veteran" of the ATO and the former deputy head of the State Service for Veterans' Affairs, Vyacheslav Marchenko, said that participants in the war in the Donbass filed an application for holding a mass event in the capital on August 24 in the Kiev city state administration.
Actively urging Ukrainians to come on the march of August 24 “without money from the budget, officials and politicians” Facebook-community “Information navigator for war veterans and their families”.
In the matter of holding a military parade, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Viktor Groysman also went against the president, suggesting to the Ministry of Finance to find sources of funding for this event.
“I believe that we should hold a military parade on August 24. This parade should be a parade of pride, valor, dignity of our Ukrainian people, the state ”, - said the head of the government of Ukraine.
According to him, proposals for the event will be sent to Vladimir Zelensky.
Election move
According to experts, Poroshenko, Zelensky, and Groisman, and other politicians in their statements about the military parade pursue their own electoral goals.
- Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman
- Reuters
- © Valentyn Ogirenko
As noted earlier in an interview for the Espresso TV Internet portal, Ukrainian journalist and Maidan supporter Vitaly Portnikov, the incumbent president seeks to overcome the drop in the rating of the Servant of the People party. To this end, he intends to attract to his side the population of the Russian-speaking southeast of the country, which is sickened by the militaristic pathos of the times of Poroshenko.
However, such Zelensky’s steps, according to Portnikov, allegedly “reinforce the distrust of the president by the active population and lay timed mines under the very, very fragile, construction of the new government”.
According to Cyril Koktysh, the refusal to hold a military parade with the Nazi greeting "Glory to the Heroes!" Zelensky demonstrates that "he is not Poroshenko and will conduct a different policy."
“I think he should not go back to the idea of the parade,” says Koktysh. - Such maneuvers do not strengthen him as president, but only weaken him. If the parade takes place, it will mean that Zelensky can be ignored, and the former team will rule. ”
In turn, Bogdan Bezpalko notes that while the cancellation of the military parade "is going to benefit Zelensky."
“He was elected by those who oppose militarization and confrontation with Russia,” emphasizes the political scientist. “That is, these people are less concerned with military parades, and they are worried about prices in stores, gas tariffs and the war in the East.”
However, according to Bezpalko, Zelensky is important the opinion of voters only before the elections to the parliament scheduled for July 21. After that, in order to reduce the degree of confrontation with the political circles connected with Poroshenko, the new president can back down.
“If Zelensky’s party gets a lot of support, then after the election he will not care if this parade will take place or not,” says Bepal'ko. “Most likely, there will be either a compromise option, or the president will nevertheless hold this parade to ensure peace in the society.”