Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov condemned the EU countries for their position on the situation in Donbass.

At the same time, he stated that about 1.5 million people left the region and called them refugees.

“We have been suffering from the war for the eighth year.

We hear from many countries in Europe that they are concerned.

And this concern is starting to irritate them a little, ”Danilov said on the air of the 1 + 1 TV channel.

He also expressed the opinion that many of the republic's problems are connected with Russia.

According to the NSDC secretary, because of their "dependence" on Moscow, Ukrainians cannot begin to live normally.

“Unfortunately, we were always misled ... We are told all the time that only with the Russians, and in another way, we will not be able to live.

This is not true.

As long as we depend on them even one iota, we will have very serious problems.

They will use these problems, ”Danilov said.

We will remind that earlier the EU called on Kiev to respect the rights of residents of Donbass and to resume the work of all checkpoints of entry and exit (EECP), which at one time were closed under the pretext of the spread of coronavirus.

“Covid is not an excuse to shut them down.

This may be a reason for limiting the number of those who cross the checkpoint, but this is an open area ... Therefore, I do not accept such an argument, ”EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

  • One of the checkpoints of entry-exit on the demarcation line in Donbass

  • RIA News

  • © Sergey Averin

In his opinion, by closing the checkpoint, the Kiev authorities are simply punishing people on both sides of the contact line, depriving them of the right to contact their families and receive the services they need, to do business.

As a reminder, at the moment, only two checkpoints out of seven are functioning: one is on the demarcation line between the DPR and the territory controlled by Kiev "Novotroitskoe - Yelenovka", the other is "Stanitsa Luganskaya" in the Luhansk region.

Condemn but support

In addition to the situation related to the closure of the checkpoint, the European Union, in particular, Germany and France, previously expressed concern about the use of the Bayraktar strike drone by the Ukrainian military in the Donbas and the escalation of the conflict.

The foreign ministries of the two states called on the parties to reduce tensions on the contact line and adhere to the Minsk agreements.

However, Kiev criticized the position of its European partners.

Moreover, the head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Aleksey Reznikov said that “the Minsk agreements are not a springboard for peace” and that the Ukrainian authorities will not negotiate with representatives of the self-proclaimed republics.

According to experts, all such statements of Ukrainian officials and politicians in the European Union not only close their eyes, but also periodically connive at them.

In particular, Brussels, following Kiev, is trying to shift responsibility for the situation in the south-east of the republic onto Russia.

For example, during a press conference following the Ukraine-EU summit, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, named Moscow as one of the parties to the Ukrainian conflict.

At the same time, she declared support for the implementation of the Minsk agreements and positively assessed the efforts of Kiev, which it allegedly makes for their implementation.

“We commend Ukraine for its efforts.

We fully support the position of the government of the President (Zelensky -

RT

).

And we call on Russia to recognize its responsibility as a party to the conflict, ”said the head of the EC. 

  • Head of the EC Ursula von der Leyen

  • AP

  • © Olivier Matthys

The US is not lagging behind the EU either, promising Ukraine to resist "Russia's destabilizing actions."

According to the head of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin, allegedly it is the Russian Federation that is "the stone that prevents a peaceful settlement."

In this regard, analysts emphasize the ambiguity of the position of the United States, recalling that the US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland recently paid a visit to Moscow, who noted the coincidence of American and Russian approaches to the special status of Donbass.

Looking for someone to blame

Russia has repeatedly denied accusations that Moscow is a party to the conflict in southeastern Ukraine.

In particular, Vladimir Chizhov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the European Union, pointed out the illegality of attributing this status to Russia.

“The perception of the European Union, the assessment of the conflict itself is exactly what they want and are trying to achieve in Kiev.

Namely, the formulation of the role of Russia as a party to the conflict.

This has never happened, this is not and will not be, ”he said at a briefing on October 19.

According to Chizhov, the EU perceives Russia in such a light as to please Kiev, which is why the union made the development of its relations with the Russian Federation "hostage to the conflict in a third country."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly spoken about the destructiveness of the policy pursued by the Ukrainian authorities.

Thus, in a telephone conversation with the Acting Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel, the President stressed that Kiev "increasingly relies on forceful methods" and violates the Minsk agreements.

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently said that with the connivance of France and Germany in Kiev, "they are undermining ... ignoring all the advice" previously concluded agreements.

An example of this was given by the plenipotentiary of Russia in the contact group on the settlement in Donbass, Boris Gryzlov, following the results of one of the last rounds of negotiations.

“Constructive practical proposals of Donbass on all aspects of the settlement are stubbornly ignored.

Declaring their full adherence to the Minsk Agreements, Ukrainian representatives simultaneously only imitate their interest in continuing the negotiations and, in fact, are playing the fool.

It is impossible to understand the logic of such behavior from the point of view of common sense, ”Gryzlov said on November 10 following a regular meeting of the contact group in video format.

  • Ukrainian military in Donbass

  • AP

  • © Dmitry Lovetsky

He also pointed out the fact that the Ukrainian side is constantly evading an answer to the question about the reasons for its escalation of tension in the conflict zone.

The plenipotentiary stressed that Kiev is trying to replace the discussion on ways to stop the shelling on the line of contact with a discussion of technical issues of the work of the OSCE monitoring mission.

In search of benefits

According to experts, the current position of the Kiev authorities is dictated by the desire to keep the attention of Western partners on themselves for as long as possible.

It is unprofitable for Kiev to solve the problem in Donbass once and for all, because then it will lose its main trump card in pressure on the EU and the United States, and the latter will quickly forget about it, analysts say.

For this reason, noted the deputy director of the Institute of CIS Countries Vladimir Zharikhin, Ukrainian politicians are now promoting the topic of a new meeting in the Normandy format.

After all, in this way they will be able to emphasize their importance, try to achieve some relaxation for themselves in relation to "Minsk" and demonstrate to the population that the problem is supposedly being solved.

“However, this is not so, in Kiev they do not strive for peace, but they want to create an appearance with the help of a meaningless meeting.

Moscow understands this very well, and therefore they are not eager to participate in this farce, "Zharikhin explained in a commentary on RT.

The expert recalled that such a meeting had already taken place almost two years ago, but no constructive action was taken by Kiev after it.

“Kiev is not ready to discuss the settlement of the situation, but is only able to demonstrate external peacefulness and declare about the mythical Russian aggression.

In such a situation, there is no point in participating in the Normandy format, ”the expert added.

  • Government building of Ukraine in Kiev

  • Reuters

  • © Valentyn Ogirenko

In turn, Vadim Kozyulin, head of the Center for Global Studies and International Relations of the IAMP of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted that the Ukrainian authorities are now striving with all their might to rewrite the Minsk Agreements or at least delay their implementation so as not to lose the remnants of authority among the population.

“In Ukraine, it is generally accepted that Minsk was signed with infringement of Ukrainian interests, that what was agreed by the previous president, Petro Poroshenko, does not correspond to the views of the current authorities.

In reality, Ukraine is simply trying to shift its responsibility to third parties.

Such a dependent position of the country's leadership can be traced at every step, "the analyst explained in a conversation with RT.

However, this cannot be an excuse for the EU, which is trying to evade its obligations to influence Kiev, the expert said.

Moreover, the blame for the current behavior of Ukraine partly lies precisely with Brussels and Washington.

After all, without meeting serious condemnation from Western partners, the Ukrainian authorities feel their strength and impunity.

“Present-day Ukraine is a project of the West, which first supported the coup d'état in the country in 2014, and then the severing of all kinds of ties between Moscow and Kiev.

Therefore, today the USA and the EU bear most of the responsibility for how the situation has developed, ”Kozyulin concluded.