Glimmer of hope – Peninsula On
Kyiv’s truce deal with pro-Russia rebels, if successful, will be like a gift for Ukrainians ahead of the festive season.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Petro Poroshenko yesterday announced a ceasefire deal with rebels in the east of the country. The Russia-backed insurgents have been fighting a raging battle with government troops leading to heavy casualties in a conflict seen to be a precursor to a new Cold War. The truce comes as a surprise amid unease in the country over the insurgency and concern in neighbouring Russia over Western sanctions that have severely dented the Russian economy.
The truce date was apparently agreed — but never disclosed — with the help of Russian and European envoys in the Belarussian capital Minsk on September 5.
Ukrainians, especially in the battle-scarred east, now have something concrete to look forward to after the year-old conflict that has hit their lives hard. Thousands of Ukrainians in the East have been displaced by the insurgency — with most migrating to Russia to avoid violence and lead a stable life.
The conflict and instability amid the debilitating cold in the region makes it all the more difficult for people to eke out a living and ensure a stable existence for their families. Therefore, the impending ceasefire set to take hold on December 9 is like a Christmas gift for Ukrainians.
The announcement of the ceasefire came on a day Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed both Houses of Parliament telling Russians to brace for hard times as Western sanctions start eating into an already slowing economy. Putin whose speeches and policy declarations are closely watched by the international community and torn into by think-tanks, chose again to justify his annexation of Crimea by saying that the former Ukrainian province is like “holy land” for Russia.
That Putin has staked his prestige and that of the Kremlin on the annexation of Crimea is no secret, but that the Russian leader chose to speak about the controversial subject on a day rebels and Kyiv announced a ceasefire is significant. I will not let Ukraine stabilise, is apparently what the unrelenting Putin is trying to say.
On the same day, the capital of the Russian province of Chechnya was rocked by a late-night suicide attack that left about 16 people dead. The province has been wrecked by an Islamist insurgency and Putin’s attempts at reining in the rebels have largely proved futile. Moscow’s attempt to increase the size of the Russian sphere of influence is largely proving counterproductive. Kremlin’s footprint is slowly becoming prominent in some former satellite states. This is giving the West a tough time as Western leaders try to counter the influence of the Kremlin in a region torn between the Cold War adversaries.
Amid all the wrangling between Russia and the West it is the Ukrainian people who are suffering. If the ceasefire, to be preceded by a “day of silence” is successful, Ukrainians will have something to cheer about during the Christmas season and the new year.