Russia’s envoy in Israel reflects on one year since the start of the country's special military operation in Ukraine
The Ukrainian crisis uncovered the deep-rooted trends in geopolitics as well as in the international aspirations of Western states, which have never been so apparent. We can say with certainty that it has not only affected the architecture of security in Europe but also served as a trigger for the transformation of the entire system of international relations. That is apart from the fact that it has exposed the Western countries’ real intentions and policies towards Russia. Today, there is no doubt that global power is exactly what they have at stake in their present devastating game. The true goal of the current “crusade” against our country is not the proclaimed slogan “to help the Ukrainians” but to inflict maximum damage on Russia as one of the guarantors of the emerging multipolar world. Without due attention to the genesis of the current crisis, the public will remain hostage to the false narrative that it began only on February 24, 2022, and solely because of the “unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.”
Those who make an effort to look at the situation without the induced bias would realize that Russia’s Special Military Operation in Ukraine, which was compelled to begin in full accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, is a consequence rather than the root cause of the long-term crisis. It has been brewing for years – very generally, since February 2014, when the Western states orchestrated and financed the deadly unconstitutional coup in Ukraine.
Back then, those states were not in the least confused by the fact that all legislative procedures that were effective at that moment in Ukraine were blatantly violated. They hurried to recognize a clique of radical nationalists and neo-Nazis who claimed to be in authority after the Maidan coup, as the only legitimate leadership of the country. Encouraged by this support, the self-appointed acting president issued a decree starting the so-called anti-terrorist operation in April 2014, which in fact unleashed a full-fledged civil war on the people of Donbas, who refused to come to terms with such abuse of power.
This gave rise to a huge chain of violations of the basic rights of the people of the east of the country, including the most valuable thing – the right to life. The armed formations of Ukraine have been shelling Donbas for years. An inhuman socio-economic and transport blockade was introduced against its inhabitants, which put the region on the brink of survival. Proceeding from the far-reached considerations, the West preferred to turn a blind eye to that. High standards of democracy, morality and the rule of law or double standards? The tragic consequences we can witness today.
Everything was well seasoned by NATO’s continuing eastward expansion and the ongoing efforts to gain a military foothold in the Ukrainian territory. It is worth recalling how often throughout the years Russia has openly said on all levels that such actions were unacceptable for its national security.
Nevertheless, for more than eight years, with the direct participation of NATO advisers, the militarization of Ukraine took place. Military bases and bio laboratories were created on its territory, adherents of modern-day neo-Nazi ideology were nurtured to become a tool for carrying out the most inhuman commands as well as to nourish Russophobia.
Let alone the consistent falsification of our common history, the history of World War II, glorification of Nazi collaborators and thereby misleading the younger generation. Moreover, the all-familiar Minsk Agreements, which, as we know from the recent cynical revelations of the ex-leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine and the UK, were only needed to buy time, pump up Ukraine with foreign weapons, mercenaries, and train it for hostilities. In other words – to create an anti-Russian stronghold right on our borders.
In less than a decade, the territory of Ukraine has become a training ground for military exercises and maneuvers of the West – thus, prior to the start of the special military operation, about 10,000 military personnel from NATO countries were stationed at military installations and naval bases in Ukraine, of which 4,000 were from the U.S. Divide et impera (divide and rule) in a modern version: time passes, but the Anglo-Saxons continue to use the old colonial methods.
In December 2021, when the situation heated up, as it turned out, the collective West grandstood for the public again without any true attempts to find a diplomatic solution, which would take into account Russia’s security concerns. It continued to flood our neighboring country with weapons while triggering the situation, blaming Russia for literally everything and preparing public opinion accordingly. Whilst, as was revealed from the documents discovered by the Russian armed forces, the Ukrainian army planned to start a military operation in Donbas in March 2022. It goes without saying what would be next if it happened.
Today’s large-scale information insinuations, far-off tales and blatant accusations against the Russian military of the deliberate shelling of peaceful citizens is nothing more than a parallel one-sided reality that, obviously, has fitted well the long-prepared confrontation and a hybrid war unleashed by the Western states. Their aim is to justify their actions and to inflict a so-called “strategic defeat” on Russia.
That is why one hears nothing from the media under their control on the use of civilians as a “human shields,” deliberate deployment of heavy artillery and fire positions at civilian sites, executions of unarmed Russian soldiers, other atrocities and mass violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by the Ukrainian army. Western countries prefer not to notice how the terrorist actions of the Kyiv regime almost daily kill and injure civilians, including women and children, as a result of the shelling of humanitarian convoys, residential areas, hospitals, schools and kindergartens. This is because they are, in fact, accomplices in these crimes.
On top of that, from an easy hand, without regarding the future of their own people and long-term implications unprecedented illegitimate discriminatory measures are being introduced just as groundless attempts are being made to shift responsibility for disruptions in the global economy. At large, Western countries, in their desire to maintain a dominant position, continue to move from international law to an invented “rule-based order.” In agony they are trying to exclude Russia from everywhere, to cancel everything Russian. Russophobia knows no boundaries, although, mainly within the Anglo-Saxon world and the EU.
Intentions to isolate Russia are futile against the background of deepening our confidential dialogue with many non-Western countries and their open interest in developing various formats of cooperation with us. Even attempts are being made to belittle the role of Russia it has traditionally played in the settlement of the Middle East issues, which is politically untenable.
In the current difficult international situation, Israel remains an important partner of Russia in the region. Against all odds, pressure and attempts to drive a wedge between our countries, we hope that Israel will take a wise, balanced and diplomatic approach to all aspects of the Ukrainian crisis with a due understanding of the reasons that prompted the Russian leadership to decide to conduct the special military operation, as well as its goals and objectives. That will certainly meet the principles of our bilateral relations that we have been carefully building together brick by brick. And what is crucial, it will serve the interests of both our peoples.
For Russia, what is happening today is a matter of life and death, a matter of our historical future as a nation. Our country retains an unbending will to uphold the historical truth, age-old traditional values and its legitimate vital security interests. As any sovereign and independent state, we will not allow any direct threats to be created on our borders.
There is a prevailing understanding in Russian society of forced reasons for the start of the special military operation. We are deeply concerned about the detrimental consequences of the anti-Russian steps of the West before and during the operation, of the world sliding into a dangerous line of uncontrolled escalation between nuclear powers. The irresponsible and dangerous plans of the sponsors of the Kyiv regime to use German tanks against Russia are perceived in our country as a relapse of World War II with an unpredictable outcome for the whole world.
As Fyodor Dostoyevsky – a classic of world literature, now banned in some countries – famously said “everything passes, only truth remains” and, rest assured, the truth is on our side.
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