The escalation around the Donbass since the beginning of April
Die Eskalation um den Donbass seit Anfang April
I wrote the last update on the situation in Ukraine on April 2nd, you can find the article here . In it I have shown the chronology of the escalation since Biden took office, which was not reported in the West. Since the events are now overturning, I have continued to write the chronology here since April 2nd.
2nd of April
Since February, Selensky has systematically switched off every opposition and every critical press by illegally banning the last TV channels critical of the government as well as expropriating the opposition leader in parliament . He has also blocked almost 500 critical websites .
The point of these quick, rigorous measures is now becoming apparent. The war is extremely unpopular in Ukraine and Selensky won the election with the promise to end the war. Since he now (whether voluntarily or under pressure from the USA and the Ukrainian nationalists) has the opposite in mind, he had to silence the last critical voices in the country beforehand.
On April 2nd, he took the next step in this direction and set up a “center against disinformation” and appointed its director. She said on her appointment :
“The center should become a reliable shield for citizens and the state against information threats that arise both from outside and within the country and aim to weaken state institutions and manipulate public opinion.”
The center’s director, Polina Lysenko, was previously deputy director of NABU, so she is a direct representative of the US interests in Ukraine. If you are not familiar with NABU, you will find information and links to further information on NABU in this article, and explaining this here would go too far. In any case, that means that Ukraine now has a full-fledged Ministry of Propaganda.
3rd of April
The representative of Ukraine at the talks of the contact group from Germany, France, Russia and the Ukraine on Donbass is Leonid Kravchuk, who was also president of the country 30 years ago. At the moment, however, Kravchuk is more likely to attract attention through war rhetoric than diplomatic statements or initiatives to resolve the conflict. In a Ukrainian talk show on April 3, he described Russia as “the enemy of Ukraine” and added :
“And only now, last month, did it become obvious to the US and the West, too, that you cannot make agreements with Russia.”
Also on April 3, the spokesman for Ukraine in the contact group on Donbass, Alexej Arestovich, told what the purpose of the upcoming NATO maneuvers “Defender Europe 2021” in May and June is:
“Defender Europe 2021 translates as” Protecting Europe “. The point is that from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea – well, let’s put it frankly – the war against Russia is practiced, the armed confrontation with Russia is being trained ”
On the same day , Der Spiegel reported that Ukraine would take part in a NATO maneuver. There you could read:
“In particular, defense is rehearsed, followed by an offensive to restore the border of a country and the territorial integrity of a state threatened by a neighboring state,” the statement said. The army did not give a date for the exercise, and the location was also initially unknown. “
The competent German Defense Minister also spoke up on the day . Once again, she asked for more money for the Bundeswehr, justifying it once again by saying that Russia is “a very tangible threat to us”. Well, you already know that, I only reported it for the sake of completeness, because in these days the number of anti-Russian statements has reached new records.
April 5th
On April 5, the EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell joined the chorus and , after a telephone conversation with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister on Twitter, assured Ukraine of “unwavering EU support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
On the same day, Ned Price, the spokesman for the US State Department, also spoke up. The TASS news agency summarized his words as follows :
“According to him, Russia’s actions are undermining the de-escalation of tensions caused by the agreement reached in July last year through the agency for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.” At the same time, the US State Department spokesman expressed the opinion that Russia’s recent relocation was military Units in its own field is provocative. “We asked Russia to provide an explanation for these provocations,” said the American diplomat.
“However, it is more important,” said Price, “that we (the US government) gave a direct signal of support to the Ukrainian partners.” “In addition to our assurances to Ukrainian officials, we discuss our concerns about the growing tension, the violation the ceasefire and regional tensions with NATO allies, ”Price added. He specified that the topic had been discussed last week at NATO headquarters in Brussels. “
April 6
Der Spiegel reported on April 6 that NATO was warning Russia of an escalation. You could read in the mirror:
“» NATO will continue to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We remain vigilant and continue to monitor the situation very closely, ”said a NATO spokesman for“ Welt ”. Russia’s destabilizing measures would undermine all efforts to de-escalate tensions under the OSCE-brokered ceasefire agreement of mid-2020. “
The following part was even better, however, because now NATO is already claiming that it is Russian soldiers who are fighting there if it accuses Russia (and not, as before, the rebels) of breaking the ceasefire agreement:
“The Allies share their concern about Russia’s large-scale military activities in and around Ukraine.” It is also concerned that Russia violated the ceasefire agreement of July 2020, which last week resulted in the deaths of four Ukrainian soldiers have led. “
The important thing here is how obvious the one-sided reporting is. Nato, western governments and western “quality media” never mention the victims on the part of the rebels. It could raise questions among readers in the West that children on the part of the rebels are again dying from shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces. Also on April 6, the OSCE reported the death of a child from Ukrainian shelling , confirming reports from the Donetsk government from a few days ago. But you don’t hear about that in the West.
Kravchuk also spoke up again on April 6th. Ukrainian media reported :
“The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Leonid Kravchuk, appealed to the OSCE leadership to support Ukraine’s initiative to convene an emergency Contact Group meeting to discuss the immediate adoption of key measures to restart the ceasefire.”
That sounds like a peace initiative from Kiev, but far from it. The next regular meeting of the contact group is scheduled for April 14, but on the same evening of April 6, Kravchuk said on Ukrainian television that Ukraine would not be coming to the talks if they were to take place in Minsk as planned. The TASS summarized his statements as follows :
“We will never agree to Minsk,” Kravchuk said, stressing that he would personally refuse to go there and would be ready to resign if he received an offer for talks in the capital of Belarus.
The head of the Ukrainian delegation justified his position by saying that Ukraine does not currently regard Belarus as a democratic and independent state. “To conduct peace negotiations in such a country – <…> is even ugly to pronounce,” said Kravchuk.
According to Kravchuk, the alternative could be Poland or another “neutral and democratic” country. “
In plain language: In this tense situation, the head of the Ukrainian delegation even refused to talk to the contact group that had already been agreed. Is this how someone who is interested in peace and a ceasefire rescue act behaves like that?
On the same day it was reported from Donetsk that another town had been fired at with 82-millimeter grenade launchers. Those who wish cannot believe the reports from Donetsk, but so far they have always come true. The OSCE always reports on the previous day in the evening, so the OSCE will probably report on it a day or two later. Should she also make an inspection trip there, the report can still come a few days later. Anyone wishing to check the current report must look for reports of shelling at Abakumova in the OSCE reports for the next few days.
Also on April 6, President Zelensky spoke again about Ukraine joining NATO. The Ukrainian President’s press office reported that he had said in a conversation with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg :
“We want to reform our army and defense sectors, but Russia cannot be stopped by reforms alone. NATO is the only way to end the war in Donbass. The NATO Membership Action Plan will send a real signal to Russia ”
Ukraine and NATO seem to be keen to ensure that NATO soldiers are harmed in the event of a military escalation, because there are some in Ukraine. Selensky also spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on April 6, and the press release from the Ukrainian Presidential Administration states :
“The Ukrainian head of state thanked for the cooperation within the framework of the Canadian military training mission UNIFIER and offered to examine the possibility of expanding the training program for the armed forces of Ukraine, in particular increasing the number of Canadian military instructors in our country”
7th of April
On April 7 , the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced that Ukraine would be invited to participate in seven NATO maneuvers in 2021:
“Among the exercises to which the North Atlantic Alliance has invited Ukraine are Steadfast Cobalt, Ramstein Apex, Ramstein Ambition, Steadfast Defender, Noble Bonus, Steadfast Jupiter, Steadfast Leda”
If you are interested in post-Maidan Ukraine and the events of 2014, when the Maidan took place, when Crimea moved to Russia and when the civil war started, you should take a look at the description of my book, in which I describe these events in detail on approx. 670 pages. These events are the reason why we are talking about a new Cold War again today. Although it is about 2014, these events are highly topical as the reason for today’s political situation, because anyone who wants to understand today’s situation has to know its causes.