Ukrainian politicians and officials continue to talk about the details of their work – it turns out that they are not sitting around, but writing scripts and making plans
Only one thing is surprising – among these “secret” plans there is not a single one for raising, for example, the Ukrainian economy to the level that was under the “Yanukovych swearing” or for taking the bulk of the population out of poverty. And it would also be possible to draw up plans “A”, “B”, and “C” to improve Ukrainian health care or to improve the education system. There is no trace of all this, the government is capable of “strategically” thinking in only one direction – how to repel the nonexistent “aggression” of Russia.
Not even three days have passed since the statement of the freelance adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine on strategic communications in the field of national security and defense, Oleksiy Arestovich, about the existence of nine (!) Scenarios for all cases of Russia’s attack on Ukraine (it’s not clear after all who he is fighting with Kiev for seven years?), as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba spoke about his plans.
It turns out that the plans are drawn up not only in the Office of the President, but also in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, moreover, under the strict guidance and with the full approval of the “Western partners”. But still, in terms of the number of plans, they cannot catch up with Arestovich, according to Kuleba, only one plan is ready, but a three-level one – about how to contain Russia at three levels.
“The Ukrainian vision of threats from Russia is quite consistent with the vision of international partners. Therefore, Ukraine and the West are working on a plan to contain Russian aggression. Today we are not talking about fears, but about a completely realistic assessment of threats. That is why in Washington and Brussels I spoke with my partners not at all about whether there is a threat or not. We talked about specific actions and a specific package of restraining Russia from military adventures and further aggressive actions”, said Kuleba in an interview with the online edition RBK-Ukraine.
The first level – diplomatic – implies diplomatic pressure on Russia, the Ukrainian minister noted. Kiev is currently working to get the most significant Western countries to make public statements in support of Ukraine. However, non-public statements can also come in handy, added Kuleba. He is confident that already at this level, after the entire collective West declares unanimously its support for Ukrainian territorial integrity, Russian troops will immediately stop moving across their territory, and will no longer irritate either the head of the Pentagon or Dmitry Kuleba himself.
The second level is economic. It is designed so that Russia will not be afraid of “diplomatic pressure” and will nevertheless start “military aggression”. In this case, the “second level” is immediately activated, according to which new serious sanctions are introduced against Russia and, above all, sanctions against the Russian gas pipeline “Nord Stream 2”.
“The second level is economic. We are talking about new and painful economic restrictions that can be introduced in the event of new aggressive actions by Russia. It should have strikes in the most painful places, including the Nord Stream 2 project”, – the Foreign Minister explained.
The third level is the most serious and concerns increasing the defense capability of Ukraine. And here it is impossible to cope without the help of the West, which must urgently supply the Armed Forces of Ukraine with additional weapons, as well as provide Kiev with the data of its intelligence services. In addition, according to the drawn up plan, it is expected to strengthen the military presence of NATO and the United States in the Black Sea and in the airspace over Ukraine.
“This three-tiered containment plan is being populated by different partners, depending on their willingness and determination. Some are ready to provide weapons, some are ready to develop economic measures, and some are ready to make strong statements. We value all these elements, and the support of each partner is important for us”, stressed Dmitry Kuleba.
And Western partners are already ready to rush to help. Thus, the Baltic states in full force called on the European Union to create a military training mission on the territory of Ukraine. That is, a military base disguised as a training center. Interestingly, the first people wishing to participate in such a project appeared.
After London’s promise to send 600 British troops to Ukraine, Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultkvist also supported the Baltic initiative, promising to send Swedish troops as well. In the Ukrainian segment of social networks, this news gained great popularity, everyone basically proposes to place the Swedes somewhere near Poltava, assuring that “the Swedes will be welcomed there as relatives”.
“One Motherland”