Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko is not a household name in America. He is the president of Ukraine, and he is a man who deserves our respect. Just look at what he has done in the two months since he was sworn in to the office on June 7th, only two months ago.
When Poroshenko took office, Ukraine was in a terrible condition. At the beginning of this year, Crimea had been snatched away from Ukraine by Russia, and the leadership in Kiev had watched that happen while taking no action to stop it. By early June, the same playbook was being used by Putin and the Kremlin to snap off the eastern half of Ukraine as another territory to add to the new Russian empire. Russian separatists had taken control of vast areas of the eastern section of the country. Russia was arming, training and even supplying men for the separatist armed forces. The Europeans in NATO and the USA were denouncing the Russian moves, but doing essentially nothing else. Oh, president Obama had put supposed sanctions on Russia, but these consisted of mostly targeting individuals involved with the Russian government and limiting their ability to do certain kinds of business in the West. The sanctions carried less weight than a feather. These same countries were advising Ukraine to enter into negotiations with the Russians and the separatists to bring some sort of peace to the region.
Poroshenko changed this. Despite getting no help from Europe or the USA, he ordered the Ukrainian army to move forward and retake the territory that had been lost to the separatists. Putin sent major Russian troop formations to the border, but he never actually crossed into Ukraine. Poroshenko did not stop his forces from retaking their country. More calls came from abroad for negotiations, but Poroshenko did not stop the forces. The Ukrainian forces started winning. It was slow at first, but the separatists were being pushed back slowly.
Next came the downing of the Malaysian airliner. This crime by the separatists helped to immobilize the Russians. Putin did not risk sending troops into Ukraine in support of the thugs who shot down innocent civilians, killing 300, with weapons supplied (and perhaps manned) by Russia. Poroshenko used that event to move the Ukrainian forces further forward to beat back the separatists.
In recent days, fighting has erupted in and around Donetsk, the large metropolitan area controlled by the separatists. If the separatists lose this city, it will be all over for them; Ukraine will have won. This morning, the separatists announced that they are prepared to enter into talks for a humanitarian cease fire in order to prevent a catastrophe for the civilians of Donetsk. It will be extremely interesting to see how Poroshenko reacts. Clearly, the real issue here is not the avoidance of civilian casualties. The separatists have already caused the deaths of hundreds or thousands of civilians without caring in the slightest. No, this call for a humanitarian cease fire is an attempt by the separatists to get Poroshenko's Ukraine to stop taking back its territory. After all, if there is a cease fire, the separatists will still control Donetsk. It is almost comical to hear the criminals who shot down civilian aircraft worry about civilian casualties. They even use language designed to get maximum leverage with people like president Obama and John Kerry; how can they ignore a humanitarian cease fire. Of course, the problem for Obama and Kerry now is that after providing no help at all to Ukraine, their inevitable push for a humanitarian cease fire can easily be ignored.
So far, the only response from Poroshenko to the call for a cease fire has been silence and more fighting. Things may change, but it looks like the Ukrainians are not going to stop until they once again control their entire country. It is a high stakes poker game. At some point, Vladimir Putin may decide that he cannot accept total defeat from Poroshenko. Ukrainian forces can not stand against the full weight of the Russian military. Whether or not Putin will risk global revulsion that might result from a Russian invasion of Ukraine remains to be seen.
One thing is certain though: Petro Poroshenko has acted, and by so doing he has changed the entire situation for his country.
When Poroshenko took office, Ukraine was in a terrible condition. At the beginning of this year, Crimea had been snatched away from Ukraine by Russia, and the leadership in Kiev had watched that happen while taking no action to stop it. By early June, the same playbook was being used by Putin and the Kremlin to snap off the eastern half of Ukraine as another territory to add to the new Russian empire. Russian separatists had taken control of vast areas of the eastern section of the country. Russia was arming, training and even supplying men for the separatist armed forces. The Europeans in NATO and the USA were denouncing the Russian moves, but doing essentially nothing else. Oh, president Obama had put supposed sanctions on Russia, but these consisted of mostly targeting individuals involved with the Russian government and limiting their ability to do certain kinds of business in the West. The sanctions carried less weight than a feather. These same countries were advising Ukraine to enter into negotiations with the Russians and the separatists to bring some sort of peace to the region.
Poroshenko changed this. Despite getting no help from Europe or the USA, he ordered the Ukrainian army to move forward and retake the territory that had been lost to the separatists. Putin sent major Russian troop formations to the border, but he never actually crossed into Ukraine. Poroshenko did not stop his forces from retaking their country. More calls came from abroad for negotiations, but Poroshenko did not stop the forces. The Ukrainian forces started winning. It was slow at first, but the separatists were being pushed back slowly.
Next came the downing of the Malaysian airliner. This crime by the separatists helped to immobilize the Russians. Putin did not risk sending troops into Ukraine in support of the thugs who shot down innocent civilians, killing 300, with weapons supplied (and perhaps manned) by Russia. Poroshenko used that event to move the Ukrainian forces further forward to beat back the separatists.
In recent days, fighting has erupted in and around Donetsk, the large metropolitan area controlled by the separatists. If the separatists lose this city, it will be all over for them; Ukraine will have won. This morning, the separatists announced that they are prepared to enter into talks for a humanitarian cease fire in order to prevent a catastrophe for the civilians of Donetsk. It will be extremely interesting to see how Poroshenko reacts. Clearly, the real issue here is not the avoidance of civilian casualties. The separatists have already caused the deaths of hundreds or thousands of civilians without caring in the slightest. No, this call for a humanitarian cease fire is an attempt by the separatists to get Poroshenko's Ukraine to stop taking back its territory. After all, if there is a cease fire, the separatists will still control Donetsk. It is almost comical to hear the criminals who shot down civilian aircraft worry about civilian casualties. They even use language designed to get maximum leverage with people like president Obama and John Kerry; how can they ignore a humanitarian cease fire. Of course, the problem for Obama and Kerry now is that after providing no help at all to Ukraine, their inevitable push for a humanitarian cease fire can easily be ignored.
So far, the only response from Poroshenko to the call for a cease fire has been silence and more fighting. Things may change, but it looks like the Ukrainians are not going to stop until they once again control their entire country. It is a high stakes poker game. At some point, Vladimir Putin may decide that he cannot accept total defeat from Poroshenko. Ukrainian forces can not stand against the full weight of the Russian military. Whether or not Putin will risk global revulsion that might result from a Russian invasion of Ukraine remains to be seen.
One thing is certain though: Petro Poroshenko has acted, and by so doing he has changed the entire situation for his country.
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