The V4 Must Help Ukraine Win its Struggle for a Democratic Future

In the near future I will be having guest posts from contacts I have globally. The first of these guest posts is below.

By Volodomyr Valkov

In November 2013 Ukraine was peacefully preparing to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union at the Vilnius summit. Back then it would have probably been considered an absolute hallucinating nonsense to say that in just several months Ukraine would be swallowed by the murder of civilians, outright annexation, terrorism, military conflict, missile fire, and crashing planes.

In a matter of a few months Russia has stolen a huge part of Ukraine’s territory, forever introduced the reality of terrorism into the hearts of many Ukrainians, orchestrated a separatist movement in eastern Ukraine, and started the process of creating two grotesque breakaway republics known as the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic. The most recent and most somber consequence of this political whirlwind is the tragic loss of lives in the downing of flight MH17.

There are important conclusions that we need to draw from the crisis in Ukraine. First, Russia (as in Vladimir Putin and his circle) has zero tolerance for the democratization of the post-Soviet space, especially in neighboring Ukraine. After all, Ukraine transports 80% of Russian gas to Europe, is the second largest buyer of Russian gas after Germany, has over 1,800 defense enterprises – some of which have unique capabilities in the indigenous production of ships, submarines, missiles, and other armaments – and possesses valuable human capital and large reserves of fertile land, important minerals, and natural resources.

All of Ukraine’s assets would be easy to control if Viktor Yanukovych had stayed in power. Yanukovych and his pro-Russian successors were supposed to oversee Ukraine’s accession to the Eurasian Union. Yanukovych almost completely eroded Ukraine’s defense potential, maintained Ukraine’s astronomic energy inefficiency, increased the presence of Russia’s military base in Crimea, amended the Constitution to usurp power, limited civil liberties, and was about to sell Russia control over the Ukrainian gas transport system.

The second lesson is that international security is a fragile concept. A difficult conflict can develop very quickly, affecting many more states that the warring parties themselves. The shocking way in which the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 has rapidly affected many different countries is a demonstration of the unpredictable, gruesome nature of conflict in a globalized, interconnected world. In a matter of days, the supposedly limited conflict has instantaneously spilled over to the Netherlands, Malaysia, Australia, Great Britain, South Africa, the United States, Canada, and Germany.

Most likely, even the Russian side did not anticipate that the MH17 disaster could have ever been produced by terrorists under its control. Nevertheless, Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, and the ideological and material sponsorship of the military fighting in eastern parts of Ukraine, including the supply of sophisticated weaponry to these terrorists, has irresponsibly claimed the lives of too many innocent people.

Russia’s war against Ukraine has been given different names, including hybrid war and proxy war. The main point is that it is, in fact, a war. Currently, the war is limited, but the fate of MH17 demonstrates the susceptibility of this war to expansion.

The countries of the V4 must take important lessons from this tragedy. Their own experience of Soviet rule and thus a deeper understanding of Putin’s actions, must serve as a constant reminder that only a democratic, united, and independent Ukraine can be a reliable, secure, and beneficial neighbor and partner. The V4 need to pass this knowledge along with foreign and security policy recommendations over to the rest of Europe and their allies in order to help Ukraine win its struggle for a democratic future.


Volodymyr Valkov is a human rights activist, researcher, and political analyst, as well as a project manager at the American Jewish Ukrainian Bureau for Human Rights “UCSJ” in Lviv, Ukraine. He holds an MA in International Affairs from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.


This piece originally appeared at: Visegrad/Insight


I hope you enjoyed reading this guest's post and look forward to having more of his material in the future.

Vasyl Pawlowsky Independent Consultant

Dear fellow citizens, policy makers and citizens of the world!

We, the citizens of Ukraine, are asking for your help and appealing for your support and solidarity. In Ukraine the power has been seized by a group of oligarchs leading by the President Yanukovych who violently dispersed peaceful demonstrations against the anti-Ukrainian policy of the President Yanukovych. In the early morning they attacked unarmed people who decided to stay at the place of demonstrations through the night.

On the night of 29/30 November, on the Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, about 500 people, mostly unarmed students, women and elderly citizens have received a shock from bumps and injuries inflicted by groups armed with clubs and in camouflage gear. On the Independence Square the blood was shed of those who came to express their views, support of Ukraine’s integration into the European Union and distrust of President Viktor Yanukovych who despite the will of the nation had refused to sign the Association agreement on November 29, 2013.

Yanukovych was simultaneously haggling both with representatives of the European Union and Russian President Putin over the financing attraction in exchange for the association with either the EU or the Russian Customs Union. This is unacceptable from the point of view of diplomacy and honour. Ukraine's economy is quickly approaching collapse and the treasury is empty, but Ukrainian oligarchs jointly own assets of the value that by several times exceeds the annual budget of Ukraine. These funds have been stolen from the nation. Oligarchs buy real estate, banks and businesses in European countries and the USA. Please, be assured that these people will never stop. If nobody puts an end to their crimes, they will spread the plague of corruption also in the neighboring democracy countries.

The President Yanukovych does not represent the interests of Ukrainian majority. As a result of the activities of his administration, the law and the Constitution of Ukraine have been significantly changed and no longer offer legal framework for the defense of the inviolable rights and freedoms of Ukrainian nation. The law on national referendum has been amended leaving no legitimate mechanisms that allow peaceful and legal change of power. In 2015 Yanukovych is going to declare himself a president for life through fraudulent actions and changes in legislation, which is inevitably pushing our country towards totalitarism.

The oligarchical structures control big businesses, and most ofoligarchs are a part of the Yanukovych Family. They attack, absorb and usurp medium size enterprises. Authorities, courts and police are corrupted by the government and headed by individuals loyal to Yanukovych and the ruling party, which is why they make biased decisions against the citizens and justice.

Most Ukrainian media spread false information. The representative of the Yanukovych family quasi-oligarch Alexander Kurchenko bought the largest media holdings Ukraine and introduced censorship there. Hundreds of journalists left in protest, and hundreds were fired as they refused to implement the Yanukovych’s anti-Ukrainian and anti-state plans and promote ideas of the union with the totalitarian and putinesque Russia. Major media resources in Ukraine are controlled by Yanukovych and this is why the world does not know the whole truth about the battle between the people of Ukraine and the criminal authorities that has been going on for years despite the fact that activists and honour people are thrown in jail and mutilated because of their views at demonstrations. We, the citizens of Ukraine, have exhausted all options of influencing the situation, so our last resort is to go on the streets of our cities and protest against the criminal actions of the authorities by means of disobedience acts and solidarity with political prisoners and victims of violence on our streets..

On 22 November 2012, more than a week before the day the Association Agreement was expected to be signed Ukrainians went on the streets and squares to express their disagreement with the European policy of the Government and demand its resignation. It was a grassroots show of support, without the leaders and party symbols. On Sunday, 24 November, Mr. Yatsenyuk, Mr. Tyahnybok and Mr. Turchynov, the representatives of so-called opposition addressed to the meeting, And after this more than 50 thousand people in Kiev came from the European Square and marched under the Cabinet of Ministers and Presidential Administration, which encountered resistance from the police’s special forces "Berkut". About 30 thousand people however continued to protest on Independence Square, the central square of Kyiv, without any party symbols. People remained on the Independence Square for a week, day and night. Men and women, residents of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities and towns. They spent their nights outdoors, rain and shine. The rest of the country also joined the protests, their residents rallied in support of the meeting in Kyiv and against the criminal government of the President Yanukovich. Ukrainian communities in Germany, United Kingdom, Poland, Austria, Canada, France, Portugal, the USA and other countries expressed their support for Ukrainians and also held rallies near the Ukrainian embassies.


The situation becomes more dangerous due to the Ukrainian oppositional parties and their heads are not represented by authentic and decisive leaders who are ready to consolidate the society and start a real fight against Yanukovych regime. On numerous occasions, when the massive protests took place including against the anti-Ukrainian law On Languages, they had a chance to join the strikes and organize a nationwide movement and opposition to the regime, but they have never used these opportunities due to the fear of retaliation from Yanukovych and his fellow party oligarchs. On the eve of the bloody events on the Independence Square opposition “leaders” took the precaution of leaving the meeting on the Independence Square before the special forces were brought to disperse the demonstration.

Citizens of the world, colleagues and all good people! Life of people of good will can’t be free and happy when the rights of your neighbours are affected, when freedom and justice are in danger, when blood of innocent civilians is shed. We ask all good and honest people to demand that all democratic governments of Europe, America and the rest of the world help Ukraine to restore democracy. The killings and repressions must be stopped immediately.

We would like to ask you and the officials of all democratic countries to perform the necessary actions to reaffirm their democratic position regarding Ukraine and its people. For the sake of peace and humanist values, please voice your opinion and, as soon as possible, take the appropriate governmental decisions to facilitate the following:

1. Sanctions against Ukrainian politicians, oligarchs, officials and their families, declaring them personae non grata in your countries, blocking entry, arresting assets in their foreign bank accounts and seizing their movable and immovable property. Have no doubt that it has been stolen from the Ukrainian nation.

2. Officially condemn the actions by President Yanukovych and Minister of Internal Affairs Zaharchenko that led to dispersion and violence towards a peaceful demonstration on the night of 30 November 2013 in Kyivv.

3. Stop and avoid all negotiations with the Yanukovych government regarding the loans. This government is not able to ensure the proper distribution of funds, because it acts against the interests of people. Any decision on the loan extension will be declared invalid after the regime change. Do not give money to liars and blackmailers!

4. Commence criminal prosecution of the criminals involved in corruption and violence in Ukraine. We would like to ask you never to give them asylum that would prevent them from facing the UN international tribunal. We would also like to ask you to apply sanctions against every country giving them asylum.

5. Avoid signing contracts or entering any agreements with the leaders of so-called opposition until they confirm their position with regard to change the regime in Ukraine.

Good people of the world, we are asking you to help Ukraine in this difficult time to throw off the yoke of corruption. We would like to ask for your support to help us stop the totalism on its way to the West. We would like to thank you for your support of universal values - freedom, democracy and humanity.

We believe that we will soon join the international community as free people. Long live the spirit of freedom around the world!

I, Vasyl Pawlowsky, as an Independent Consultant have reposted this in support of the people of Ukraine who believe in the rule of law, democracy and European values.