One of the main obstacles to the Minsk agreements is “Kyiv’s unwillingness to engage in normal dialogue with Donetsk and Luhansk. This obligation is obviously not being met, although this is one of the main conditions of the Minsk package”. (…) From Kyiv, in statements by deputies close to the President, it was repeatedly heard that the army should be ready to use force, if necessary, to reclaim the Donbas areas. In other words, the military aspect is also visible, although the Normandy format was originally planned as an opportunity to solve the problems in south-eastern Ukraine in a peaceful way. Kyiv’s aim is to reorientate, to rebuild the whole system of the Minsk agreement.
Following the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Kyiv, the rhetoric on the Ukrainian side has changed dramatically, which has led to a worsening of the situation in the Donbas. Ukraine is a controlled country, and for the United States, the worsening of relations between Ukraine and Russia is now more important than the peaceful settlement in Ukraine. (…) Ukraine is not a fully sovereign state. Therefore, it must be understood that the current situation is not being led by Ukraine itself, not by its people, but by the forces in Europe and the US, which are behind the current Ukrainian leadership and are using Ukraine for their own purposes.