As Ukraine’s President and Defence Minister try to cope with the chaos in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the political leadership is also facing the anger of Ukrainian civilians who do not perceive the war with such enthusiasm as the Ukrainian authorities would require.
In early October, the Ukrainian government received warnings from the West urging the Ukrainian authorities to change their approach to mobilisation, given that the average age of the soldiers at the front is over 40. (At the end of May, the Ukrainian Parliament reduced the maximum age for citizens to be registered as military conscripts from 27 to 25. However, the changes have not yet come into force.) ’Further plans to reduce conscription age in Ukraine will depend on the military leadership requests and the way the war goes’, a senior Ukrainian official said.
President Zelenskiy’s intention to preserve the younger generation is understandable, but at the same time it is also understandable that middle-aged men may perform worse at the front. What unites these two generations is that they are the ones who have to risk their lives on the front line, unlike the President and the Defence Minister who spend their days sitting in secure facilities.
However, as you know men, and especially the military do not complain, so women have to speak for them.
On 27 October, rallies were held in the cities of Ukraine to draw attention to the problem of military demobilisation. According to media reports, the protesters urged the government to approve the law on demobilisation after 18 months of service and also tried to draw attention to a related demobilisation petition which has already collected the necessary 25,000 votes to be considered. During the demonstration which took place in Kyiv women with children from different regions – relatives of the military – chanted: ’It’s time for others!’
27 October, Kyiv
’It’s time for others’ – a phrase that could become a motto for protests across Ukraine demanding the replacement of the leadership in Kyiv. Would you agree?
In recent years, President Zelenskiy has told so many lies that it has become obvious to everyone that he and his team are not telling the truth either about the state of the war, nor about their willingness to negotiate with Russia. In addition, it is also quite obvious that there is an internal conflict between the political and military leadership of Ukraine. What grounds do I have for saying this? Here are a few examples.
’No one can seriously use the words ’Russia’ and ’negotiations’ in the same sentence’, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba concluded, responding to supporters of peace talks with Russia.
This statement by the Ukrainian minister sharply contradicts some press reports claiming that U.S. and European officials have launched closed-doors talks with Kyiv on the possibility of peace talks with the Russian Federation to end the war. An article about the existing communication channels between Moscow and Kyiv published in The Washington Post in mid-October revealed the details.
’Ukraine and Russia continue to maintain communication channels during the Russian military aggression to resolve key humanitarian issues related to the exchange of prisoners of war, the bodies of the dead, the grain corridor and the return of Ukrainian children from Russia. (…) Sometimes, the Vatican, Türkiye, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the International Committee of the Red Cross are used as middlemen by Moscow and Kyiv’, The Washington Post claimed. It is also reported that neither side seeks to publicise the existence of these back channels.
The issue of the alleged negotiations is not the only example of a possible discrepancy between the facts and the official Ukrainian statements and the comments made by senior Ukrainian officials.
It is worth recalling the case of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Valeriy Zaluzhnyy who in a recent interview with The Economist recently said that the situation on the frontlines has reached a stalemate when neither side could advance because they are technologically equipped at the same level – the level of technological development today puts both Ukrainians and Russians in a stupor.
A little later, Deputy Head of the President’s Office Ihor Zhovkva commenting on Zaluzhnyy’s words said that the military should not publicly discuss what is happening at the front.
President Zelenskiy also made a statement on this issue. He stressed that he did not consider the situation at the front to be a stalemate adding that Ukraine will not negotiate with Russia.
Which statement is true then?
What is the truth about the behind-the-scenes negotiations between Russia and Ukraine? Why and for what purpose did Mr Zaluzhnyy decide to turn to foreign media? Has the situation at the front indeed reached a stalemate? Will there be fewer 40-years-old men on the front? How long will soldiers have to serve in the army?
These are the questions that not only Ukrainians, but also the EU should be asking the Ukrainian government, demanding immediate answers. In case the political leadership in Kyiv refuses to answer or continues to lie, the only chance for Ukrainians to survive is to take to the streets and chant the above slogan: ’It’s time for others!’
Sources:
• https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-weariness-military-service-avdviika-39ea62b27e0d8cefcf31c1c1c6dd8f92
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/24/ukraine-russia-backchannel-talks-war/
• https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/11/01/ukraines-commander-in-chief-on-the-breakthrough-he-needs-to-beat-russia
Leave a Reply