Militaristic sentiments: why Zelensky is creating an institution of "national resistance"

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted a bill on "national resistance" to the Rada.

If the document is adopted, volunteer territorial structures will appear in the country, where all adult citizens will be able to register.

The bill was marked by the head of state as "urgent".

As specified in the explanatory note to the document, the bill is aimed at the formation of "national resistance" in the country, and should also contribute to "the widest possible involvement of the population in actions aimed at ensuring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state."

According to the authors of the bill, its adoption will allow "to solve the problem of involving the whole society in countering threats to national security" and repelling aggression from another state.

The bill will regulate the powers and interaction of the security and defense forces with all state bodies and local governments on issues of national resistance.

• Meeting of the Verkhovna Rada

• RIA News

It is specified that the preparation of Ukrainian citizens for participation in national resistance is designed to form among the population "patriotic consciousness" and "sustainable motivation" to defend Ukraine.

By volunteer formations, the authors of the bill mean units formed from residents of territorial communities for territorial defense.

The preparation of Ukrainian citizens for participation in national resistance includes the development in them of "readiness to fulfill their constitutional duty to defend the Fatherland", includes military-patriotic education and preparation of the population for living conditions in areas of hostilities.

Consolidation of radicals

As a RT source in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense explained, the adoption of the bill will allow Ukrainians to massively train in military affairs, following the example of Israel.

“We want to show Russia that we are ready for a possible full-scale invasion of our territory.

And we will defend ourselves.

In addition, Ukraine wants to prove to the West that it is a country that defends democracy on the eastern borders of Europe.

And we hope for the help of our Western partners in the modernization of the Ukrainian army, "the interlocutor of RT emphasized.

At the same time, the document has a great chance of being adopted, believes an RT source in the Verkhovna Rada.

“There are many radical deputies in parliament, so they will vote for Zelensky's bill.

In general, there are many people among the deputies and so-called military experts who talk about the use of force to resolve the conflict in the east, but none of these same deputies will go to fight on their own, ”he said.

• The ceremony of taking the oath to the conscripts of the National Guard of Ukraine

• globallookpress.com

• © Str / ZUMAPRESS.com

At the same time, the population is unlikely to accept the initiative of the authorities with enthusiasm, the representative of the Rada believes.

“Most of the population will ignore calls for military training.

The townspeople are also not particularly eager to go to the front, and in the event of an aggravation of the situation, they will massively leave for Poland, Hungary or Slovakia, leaving the old people and those who have no opportunity to escape.

So this initiative will fall apart in practice, "the interlocutor of RT concluded.

In connection with this initiative, the President of Ukraine also intends to increase the size of the regular army.

This is stated in an explanatory note to another bill introduced by Zelensky on May 25.

If the document is approved by the parliament, the number of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will grow by 4.4% - up to 261 thousand people.

"To approve the strength of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an amount not exceeding 261 thousand people, including 215 thousand military personnel," the document says.

It is also noted that in the "special period" the number of the Armed Forces of Ukraine increases by the number of personnel called up for military service for mobilization.

As the authors of the explanatory note explain, the current model of territorial defense in the country is based on Soviet approaches and provides for the deployment of the army after a long mobilization.

The adoption of the bill on "national resistance" will allow solving the problem of "involving the whole society" in countering threats to national security.

The revision of the number of the Armed Forces is necessary for the implementation of the law on national resistance, the authors of the document say.

Recall that a "special period" as the basis for the recruitment of recruits was introduced in Ukraine in April 2021.

The corresponding law was signed by Vladimir Zelensky.

The decision to start a "special period" must be made by the head of state.

The law allows reservists to be called up for service without declaring mobilization and martial law in the country.

During the "special period", citizens who have entered into contracts for service in the military reserve or enrolled in the military operational reserve will be called up for military service.

And in 2020, Zelenskiy signed a decree that reduced the age of conscription from 20 to 18 years old.

According to the legislation in force since 1992, citizens over 18 years of age can be conscripted for military service in peacetime.

However, since 2015, this bar has been raised to 20 years.

According to experts, the Ukrainian authorities are incorrectly prioritizing, giving such increased attention to defense.

“Taking into account the economic and financial situation of Ukraine, military issues cannot be called priority ones.

The country needs social and economic progress, which is what the citizens expect from Zelensky.

However, instead of this work, he is engaged in manipulating public opinion, inciting militaristic sentiments in society, "said Vladimir Shapovalov, director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State Pedagogical University, in an interview with RT.

• Arrival of conscripts in one of the military units of the National Guard of Ukraine in Lviv

• RIA News

According to experts, although the hasty adoption of such bills looks like preparation for war, in reality it is only an element of the internal political struggle.

According to Volodymyr Shapovalov, Zelenskiy's defense initiatives pursue a single goal - to strengthen his rating.

“Now Zelensky is using any pretext to focus public attention“ on the topic of the external enemy ”.

Such initiatives should demonstrate the president's unyielding desire to defend the interests of Ukraine, ”the expert added.

A similar point of view is shared by the Deputy Director of the Institute of CIS Countries Vladimir Zharikhin.

“Zelensky depicts preparations for a big war in order to consolidate radical patriots around him, to take away the electorate that has traditionally supported Poroshenko and Tymoshenko.

Apparently, Zelensky realized that the part of Ukrainians who are tuned in to peace no longer believe him.

Therefore, he changed his rhetoric and tactics, "the expert explained in a comment to RT.

"Political manipulator"

During the 2019 election campaign, Volodymyr Zelenskyy positioned himself as a politician-peacemaker.

One of the main promises he made to voters was precisely peace in the Donbass.

During his inaugural speech, Zelenskiy called this his "first priority."

“I can assure you that so that our heroes do not die anymore, I am ready for anything.

And I’m definitely not afraid to make difficult decisions, I’m ready to lose my popularity, my ratings, and, if necessary, I am ready to lose my position without hesitation, so that peace only comes, ”Zelensky said at the time.

In the first year of Zelenskiy's presidency, positive changes have indeed been outlined.

The parties managed to withdraw troops from the contact line in several areas, and an exchange of prisoners took place.  

• Vladimir Zelensky

• Reuters

• © Gleb Garanich

However, the Ukrainian authorities did not begin to implement the political part of the Minsk Agreements.

Instead, Kiev is demanding a revision of the agreements signed in 2015. 

In parallel, the Ukrainian authorities launched an attack on the political opposition within the country.

In February 2021, three large Ukrainian TV channels - 112 Ukraine, ZIK and NEWSONE - stopped broadcasting.

The work was stopped due to the sanctions that the National Security and Defense Council of the country introduced against the owner of the media holding, which includes these channels, Taras Kozak.

Criminal cases were also initiated against him and the chairman of the political council of the Opposition Bloc - For Life party, deputy of the Rada Viktor Medvedchuk.

In mid-May, the Kiev Pechersk Court placed Medvedchuk under house arrest.

The politician is suspected of conducting subversive activities against Ukraine and a number of other crimes.

In particular, Medvedchuk and his fellow party member Taras Kozak are suspected of treason and theft of resources in Crimea.

The arrest of the deputy became possible thanks to the abolition of parliamentary immunity in Ukraine.

Corresponding amendments to the country's legislation were also earlier made at the initiative of Volodymyr Zelensky.

The president also tried to attack the judicial branch of government.

The conflict erupted in 2020, when the Constitutional Court declared illegal the provision on the criminal liability of officials for inaccurate declaration of property.

In response, Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared the Constitutional Court's decision a threat to national security.

The President tried to disperse the court with the help of the Rada and submitted a corresponding bill to parliament.

However, this attempt was unsuccessful.

Ukrainian legislation gives only the court itself the right to decide on the early termination of the powers of judges of the Constitutional Court.

For such a step to be approved, the consent of at least two-thirds of the composition of the Constitutional Court is required. 

According to experts, Volodymyr Zelenskyy uses openly totalitarian and repressive methods, while declaring his commitment to democracy.

This became possible because the current president of Ukraine has no ideological convictions and acts only within the framework of the political conjuncture, Volodymyr Shapovalov believes.

• Victor Medvedchuk

• AFP

• © Vasily MAXIMOV

“Zelensky is not the“ president of the world ”as many Ukrainians thought, but a political manipulator who is ready to do anything to stay in power.

He did not make progress on the path of normalizing relations with Russia, ending the war in eastern Ukraine, and protecting the Russian-speaking population.

But he actively uses pseudo-patriotic, nationalistic and militaristic rhetoric for his own purposes, ”the expert noted.

Vladimir Zharikhin adheres to a slightly different point of view.

According to the expert, Washington realized that any form, even a truncated, demonstrative democracy, which they tried to instill in Ukraine, only lead to uncontrollable chaos.

“Therefore, they began, in fact, to create a Latin American-type junta of the 1960s out of the Ukrainian leadership, which does not rely on the mood of the population, but continues to rule the country by intimidating the dissatisfied, limiting democratic freedoms.

The only problem is that Zelensky is not suitable for leadership, so I do not exclude that he is already being selected to replace some general, ”the expert summed up.