Putin pulling out all the stops as the deadline of Minsk2 fast approaches

In March of this year it was revealed that Putin lied over the date when he ordered the invasion of, and subsequent annexation of, Crimea.

"...Putin has admitted for the first time that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the referendum on self-determination.". (BBC News : 9 March, 2015)

Now he's at it again.

On Friday he publicly stated that Russia is supplying rebels fighting Assad with arms and ammunition, something which has caused confusion in world capitals. This is precisely what he said.

 

However, bearing his revelations about his lying over Russia's takeover of Crimea, a US official wisely stated that this is all propaganda. This is pure Putin 'maskirovka', military deception ranging from camouflage to denial and deception.

This 'bombshell' statement of Putin about him arming a group of Assad's enemies was made purely to divert the eyes of the world away from the fact that,

" [he] has deployed an extra 20,000 soldiers to the frontline of Ukraine’s civil war, as temperatures and hopes of a lasting ceasefire continue to plummet." (Tom Batchelor : Sunday Express : 12 Dec. 2015) (my emphasis)

This flooding of eastern Ukraine with another batch of his soldiers should also be viewed against the fact that suddenly, all those Ukrainian oligarchs and escapees residing particularly in Moscow and London are now marching to Putin's orders by trying to sow dissent and discord within Ukraine itself. (blog entry : 11 Dec. 2015)

And whilst Putin is deploying more soldiers to eastern Ukraine, Dmytro Firtash, one of Putin's Ukrainian oligarch pals residing in London, has had published in his London newspaper, The Independent, a supportive article about the Sovietization of the rebel-held territory of eastern Ukraine where.

"Stalin’s cult of personality has been resurrected. Portraits of the dictator appear in Donetsk’s main square and adorn most separatist commanders’ offices. Rebels have rewritten school history books to take a pro-Russian slant and airbrush Stalinist atrocities.
...
Such nostalgia in the restive east is understandable." (Jack Losh : The Independent : 12 December 2015) (my emphasis)

Understandable???

And whilst the rebel-held territories are reverting to nostalgia for Stali, whilst being rather slow off the mark, Ukraine is tentatively ramping up its attack on endemic corruption.

As Anders Åslund and John Herbst (left and right respectively) report,

"Judicial reforms have proven much more difficult to enact than economic reforms. Multiple vested interests have blocked reforms of prosecution and courts and the establishment of new anticorruption bodies. The European Union is trying to persuade the Ukrainian government to do the right things, but with limited success. With a commission scheduling regular meetings, the US Vice President would be well positioned to use his influence to help resolve these difficult issues." (Atlantic Council : December 7, 2015)

At the same time, Ukraine's fight against corruption at the lower level has now gone online. As Lydia Tomkiw reports,

"A big part of putting information online is about gaining trust, Shyrba says, and that will require making Ukrainians comfortable with using online resources and reassuring them it’s not a gimmick -- someone will actually answer their queries." (International Business Times : 12/07/15)
 
And whilst Ukraine is becoming more focussed on its implementation of the fight against corruption, Ukrainian oligarchs Victor Pinchuk and Igor Kolomoisky are readying themselves for battle against each other in a London court.

"Feuding Ukrainian oligarchs [Victor Pinchuk and Igor Kolomoisky (left)] have launched what promises to be one of the most expensive court cases in English legal history over a disputed business deal, amid allegations of murder, bribery and political intrigue." (David Barrett (right): The Telegraph :  04 Dec 2015) (my emphasis)

The question that needs to be raised about this impending battle between Ukrainian oligarchs is, "Why now?"

And "Why now?" is Firtash's London newspaper suddenly giving the 'oxygen of publicity' to Oleksandr Klymenko (right), Ukraine’s Minister for Tax and Revenue under Viktor Yanukovych, and now living in Moscow? (cf. Kim Sengupta Moscow)

And "Why now?" are there also articles about 'Soviet kitsch' in the rebel-held territories appearing in Firtash's London newspaper? (cf Jack Losh)

So what we have is:

• Putin trying to avert the eyes of the international community away from his war with Ukraine by pulling his Syrian rabbit out of a hat,
• Ukrainian oligarchs being given the 'oxygen of publicity' by Firtash,
• Putin beefing up his army on Ukraine's border to the tune of 20,000 Russian soldiers, and
• Ukrainian oligarchs, Victor Pinchuk and Igor Kolomoisky, preparing to do battle in an English court

What is rather disconcerting is the fact that even Russian political analysts have been sucked in by Putin's Syrian rabbit trick.

 

Indeed it would seem that we have Putin's 'Crimean ploy' all over again. 

We should all take heed of Orysia Lutsevych (left), who wrote that,

"..To ease sanctions [against Putin's Russia] in order to secure Russian cooperation on Syria would be to treat Ukraine as a bargaining chip for the West. This must not be allowed to happen. Syria and Ukraine are entirely separate issues whose only connection is Russian opportunism.. " (New York Times : December 10, 2015) (my emphasis)

(to be continued)