A complacent west is failing Ukraine | beyondbrics

A complacent west is failing Ukraine | beyondbrics:



"The west is in danger of losing Ukraine unless there is a significant change in the scale and nature of its engagement with the country over the coming weeks and months. That is the somber reality European and US policy makers need to grasp as Ukraine is hit by a wave of protests, terrorist attacks and continued violations of the ceasefire by separatists in the east. Against a background of deepening hardship and rising political frustration, there is a very real risk that the reformist drive of the last few months will give way to a new populism that takes Ukraine backwards and opens the door to renewed Russian influence. Complacent western leaders must act before it’s too late.



Popular disaffection came to a head this month when the Ukrainian parliament narrowly passed a constitutional bill recognising the separatist enclaves in Donetsk and Luhansk. With the economy expected to contract by 9 per cent this year, inflation projected at 46 per cent and a poverty rate approaching 33 per cent, many Ukrainians wanted to know why welfare benefits and other financial transfers should be resumed to separatists who continue to kill Ukrainian troops. Recognising the special status of the so-called ‘people’s republics’ was the eleventh and final point of the Minsk Agreement. It has now been accepted unilaterally despite the fact that Russia and its proxies have made no meaningful effort to comply with points one to 10.



The vote was only carried thanks to the arm-twisting intervention of Victoria Nuland, US Assistant Secretary of State, leaving many Ukrainians fearful that they have fallen victim to a traditional Great Power stitch-up. There is circumstantial evidence to support this. Nuland’s visit to Kiev came as Barack Obama publicly thanked Vladimir Putin for his role in securing the historic nuclear agreement with Iran, giving every impression of a trade-off. It is easy to dismiss talk of a new Munich or new Yalta as an over-reaction. What matters is that Ukraine’s fear of abandonment is real and likely to undermine the country’s progress in the absence of stronger international support."



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