Did the Ukrainian government react adequately to the incident involving an American merchant ship that was blocked in the port of Feodosia? Who stands to gain from this kind of provocation? The Day posed these questions to Valentyn BADRAK, an expert at the Ukrainian Center for Army, Conversion, and Disarmament Research.
“What was the cause of the unrest in Feodosia? After all, the pre-election race in Ukraine is over.”
“This is in fact a political matter that has very little to do with defense or the North Atlantic alliance’s military actions. We are dealing with certain politicians’ attempts to take advantage of any informational pretext to create a political image for themselves. As regards the essence of the conflict and unrest, the people who were handling the cargo did have side arms. It is only natural that soldiers of all armies bear side arms.
“But the cargo itself consisted of engineering items. I personally saw the cargo manifest. Medical appliances accounted for 50 percent of the cargo, and the rest was engineering equipment. So it would be absurd to talk of military-style expansion or something of the kind. Today, we are issuing a sort of information challenge to the North Atlantic alliance, which is working for our benefit, i.e., preparing the infrastructure for an international exercise that was approved by the Verkhovna Rada of the three previous convocations. Ukraine was proud of its participation and its military cooperation with countries that have wide-ranging experience in military training.
“In other words, it’s about improving the compatibility of Ukrainian military units and collaboration with foreign armies. On the other hand, it is also about combat training as such. People who deal with military, security, and defense matters are surprised by the events that certain political forces fomented in the Crimea.”
“Do you think this unrest is of domestic and external origin?”
“I do not rule out that this situation may have been caused by foreign factors, given the latest developments around the Russian Black Sea Fleet base in Sevastopol. They illustrate certain tensions on the one hand, and on the other, the aspiration of certain foreign countries to further destabilize the situation in the Crimea. It has been repeatedly pointed out that the large number of Russian media outlets and branches of Russian educational institutions in the Crimea, as well as the employment of about 25,000 local residents in the fleet’s infrastructure, gives Russia a good opportunity to exert informational and social influence on the Crimean situation. I do not want my words to be interpreted as a blunt accusation against Russia, but I do not rule out that the escalation of this tension is being supported from abroad.”
“To what extent did the Ukrainian government react correctly to this action? What policies should it pursue to head off similar incidents in the future?”
“The Ukrainian government adopted a sound approach. We believe that we live in a democratic country. The political forces that have a certain position on a certain situation should not be deprived of the right to express their viewpoint. The problem is that this should comply with the law and not create a situation that would increase tensions in the country and escalate internal conflicts.
“The situation in the Crimea is now under the government’s control. The Ukrainian authorities have all the instruments to control it. Unfortunately, this incident proves once again that in the past 10 years the Ukrainian authorities have lost much of their clout in the Crimea. By this I mean the lack of any viable social programs that could compare favorably with Russian efforts and thus win the Crimeans over to our side.
“Regrettably, Ukraine has done nothing in this area and is now reaping the fruits of its inactivity. I hope that such programs are created, and the Ukrainian government will not only rely on political or defense leverage but will also create a situation where the Ukrainians in the Crimea will consider it better to be Ukrainian than Russian.”
