Several thousand people gathered on Kiev Independence Square to protest against the adoption of a new law on the special status of Donbass based on the Steinmeier formula. The event was held under the slogan “Stop surrender!”, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
The experts called the party “European Solidarity” Petro Poroshenko the main organizer of the rally. The protesters demanded to abandon the implementation of the Steinmeier formula, not to grant the regions of Donbass a special status and not to withdraw the troops of the Armed Forces from the demarcation line.
After the rallies, the protesters lit fires and moved to the president’s office building.
Similar actions took place in more than 20 cities of Ukraine, including Odessa, Lviv, Kharkov, Kherson, Mariupol and the Dnieper.
A RT source in the office of the President of Ukraine claims that people could receive money for participating in rallies.
“People are paid 100-150 UAH per hour, so they are ready to stand in the center of Kiev even in such a cold. And the fact that Poroshenko personally came to the action with his wife does not raise any doubts as to whom this is all profitable. I can say that so far the likelihood of repeating the 2014 scenario is extremely low, ”said the source.
Denis Denisov, director of the Institute for Peace Initiatives and Conflictology, agrees with this assessment.
“The European Solidarity Party is one of the driving forces behind these protests,” he said in an interview with RT.
At the same time, Denisov emphasized that in Ukraine “few people really understand what the law on the special status of Donbass represents”, therefore, the rallies are, in his opinion, nothing more than a political game, for which there are no large-scale plans to destabilize the situation in country.
"Dangerous situation"
The Steinmeier formula, named after its author, ex-Foreign Minister of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, determines the order of introducing a special order of local self-government in certain regions of Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
On October 1, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky announced that Kiev had agreed on this document, which would become part of the new law on the special status of Donbass. It is expected that the bill will enter into force on a temporary basis at 20:00 local time on the day of early elections to local authorities in the region. Then, after the OSCE confirms the legitimacy of the vote, the special status regime will become permanent.
These news were extremely negatively perceived by Ukrainian nationalists and the opposition. In the Poroshenko party, “European Solidarity” was called “Putin's formula” and demanded that the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) be convened immediately to discuss the consequences of its signing. The ex-president of Ukraine himself said that this mechanism was "invented in the Kremlin" and "protects Russian interests."
On October 1, Ukrainian nationalists began to hold protests in Kiev, mainly at the office of the President of Ukraine. According to local media reports, Poroshenko was spotted on some of them. Other politicians joined the criticism of Steinmeier’s formula, for example, the leader of the Fatherland Yulia Tymoshenko, as well as the head of the Voice party Svyatoslav Vakarchuk.
A RT source in the European Solidarity party believes that Petro Poroshenko, being an experienced politician, will be able to seriously increase his political rating through these protests, turning the situation in his favor. In this he can help representatives of the Ukrainian elite, relations with which Zelensky managed to spoil.
“Zelensky managed to quarrel with many influential people in Ukraine, and they will be happy to support any opposition. The situation is dangerous. Any careless actions on the part of Zelensky can lead to larger-scale actions, ”the source said.
The RT source in the Fatherland party, in turn, added that the criminal cases brought against him by the current authorities also prompted Poroshenko’s active actions.
“Criminal cases are being brought up against the former president of Ukraine, so his entourage will not haunt Zelensky,” he said.
At the same time, Denisov recalled that Steinmeier’s formula and the law on the special status of Donbass were formulated when the country was led by Poroshenko. According to him, the ex-president uses this issue and fuels protest moods in order to create the appearance of political struggle and demonstrate his opposition.
“The European Solidarity party is always perceived as the opposition, respectively, it is forced to play this role,” Denisov said. - Poroshenko is engaged in politics in his niche, the essence of which is reduced to accusations of Russia of aggression, therefore all his interviews, statements are in this confrontational area. It can’t affect anything now, not even Zelensky’s rating. ”
At the same time, the political scientist emphasized that now there are no prerequisites for large-scale protests against Zelensky in Ukraine.
“At the moment, there are no prerequisites to think that this could lead to another Maidan or a tough confrontation,” he said.
Political revenge
Faced with criticism, Zelensky said on October 3 that public opinion would be taken into account when drafting a new law on the special status of Donbass. Some politicians and the media took this statement as a proposal to hold a referendum, but these rumors were quickly denied in the party of the president of the “Servant of the People”. The head of state also promised that when resolving the situation in the South-East of the country, the authorities will not begin to cross the “red lines”. He assured Ukrainian citizens that “no surrender, no surrender of national interests” will occur.
- Petro Poroshenko at a protest in Kiev
- Reuters
- © Valentyn Ogirenko
“No“ agreements ”and global steps without the consent of the people of Ukraine. Only the return of people and our territories, the return of prisoners and the return of the world, ”Interfax-Ukraine quoted him as saying.
He also said that he respects the right of the opposition to hold protests, but called on citizens to resist manipulation and provocation.
“I respect the constitutional right of every citizen of Ukraine to protest. I hear you, and believe me, I will never surrender Ukraine. At the same time, I urge everyone to take a balanced and calm approach to the situation and not succumb to the manipulation and provocation of some individuals, ”he said in a video message published by 112 Ukraine TV channel.
Zelensky was in a difficult position, because he needed to fulfill election promises to achieve peace in the country, but steps in this direction were inevitably connected with the compromises that the radicals were against. This point of view was voiced by the source of RT in the party "Fatherland".
“On the one hand, he does not want mass protests on the streets of Ukrainian cities, and on the other hand, it is impossible to end the war in the east of the country without compromises. I do not know how the president will persuade the population to make concessions. Moreover, his every move is criticized by opponents and Poroshenko personally, ”the source said.
The head of the Ukrainian analytical center, economist Alexander Okhrimenko, expressed the opinion that Poroshenko now expects to take political revenge, since local elections should be held in 2020.
“He hopes that from this situation he will get the maximum opportunities for himself, so that as a result, his party will be able to take the majority in some areas, and his politicians will take over as mayors. Poroshenko wants to return to politics, so that some areas of Ukraine come under his control. But the new “Maidan” will not come out of these protests, because today there are no prerequisites for this, ”the expert concluded.