Small Russia's tales in Ukraine

Critical in Berlin and Paris, surprise in expert circles. Alexander Saharchenko's unexpected proposal fell like a bomb.

The leader of separatists in eastern Ukraine, of the self-declared “People's Republic”, proposed Tuesday that a new “state” be established and that it be called “Malorossija” (Small Russia).

Kiev's government called non-legigration and called on other regions, except on Russia's annexed crime, to join the new <x0 state of” with Donjecku as the capital.

“Ukrainian will disappear”, said Alexander Timofeyev, Donnetsk deputy prime minister. “There will be a struggle for those who pay no attention to our peaceful steps”.

Concern at Kiev

The Donbass war, which erupted three years ago, finds it at a possible turning point and the consequences are unclear.

The sister-in-law” of Donetsk, Luhanscu, supported by Russia, was unaware of the pending citizenship announcement and reacted cautiously.

Kiev's initial response was a mixture of calm, as well as concern about possible escalation. President Petro Porosenko, on a visit to Georgia, told Saharchenko that “ai is not a political figure”, but a Russian “kurk”.

Victor Mujenko, head of Ukraine's army, said the statement was one of the most ill-fated”. National Security Secretary Oleksandri Turcinov called the statement Russia's aggressive “to prevent a peaceful end to the conflict.

Severe Criticism From Berlin

The German government said it is a step “legally unacceptable”.

A government spokesman said about DW to “Saharchenko has no legitimacy to speak about this part of Ukraine” and added “we expect Russia to view this step in the same way and neither respect it nor recognise it”. The French Foreign Ministry responded similarly.

The statement of the so-called Malorosija state is another Russian provocation in their game of use to dominate Europe”, said Jürgen Hard, who leads the conservative faction. CDU / CSU in the German Parliament.

This proves once again that no one should trust Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is constantly calling for talks with the West, but his word is clearly uncredible”.

Tension before summit

Moscow's official reaction was initially cautious. Some lawmakers expressed agreement with separatists, but made it clear that this step violated the Minsk Protocol, which invites a ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons from the separatist area of eastern Ukraine, followed by the de facto grant of autonomy to the region, while remaining under central government supervision in Kiev.

The Donetsk announcement came just days before a high-level summit call between the heads of states of the Norman, Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron met with Russian President Putin during the G20 summit in Hamburg to discuss the situation in eastern Ukraine and the possibility of a permanent ceasefire. This is one of Kiev's central demands, which it views as unfulfilled by the 2015 peace negotiations.

The Future Peace Process

Experts for the region were surprised by Tuesday's development.

This is certainly a sick fantasy”, Winfried Schweider-Detters, an analyst on the Ukrainian-based conflict, told DW.

I find it hard to believe this is coming from the Kremlin. Ukraine should not be overly concerned, but must prepare for military escalation”, he added.

The model is “absurd”, Stefan Meister of the German Council for Foreign Relations said, explaining that more and more Ukrainians are leaving Russia.

Unlike Schweider-Detters, Meister sees Russia's fingerprints on Russia's “small Russia” plan.

The “is an obstacle and an attempt to flee the Minsk Protocol”, he said.

Some experts in Kiev view the declaration as the death of peace agreements.

“Can't talk about elections if the law of war should be introduced and political parties stop”, notes Mykola Sunhurovsky of “think tank” Rasumkow-Zentrum in Kiev.

The elections for the separatist region, accepted at the Minsk Protocol, are a key point of contention between Kiev and Donetsk.