Admiralsky Avenue, where a new terrorist explosion has rung out, is a quiet place in Odesa. It is populated with several generations of seamen, civil servants, and what is called in modern parlance middle class representatives. They appear to be the prime target of intimidation. The exploders expect owners of vacant premises to stop renting the latter to volunteers and all those who are actively helping Ukraine resist the Russian aggression. The blasts were obviously masterminded by the same center and are part of the same scheme which social websites have commented on today. Their meaning is as follows. One of the main sources of income for Odesites is hotel business and tourism. The explosive is being planted under this very thing. There are no victims only because this is part of the scheme. Moscow is aware that if the terrorist acts claim any human lives, this will undermine the remaining trust of some residents who are still stupefied with the exhaust gases of Russian propaganda.
It is common knowledge that the nighttime sabotage in Odesa, the talk of “peace” in Moscow, and the freezing of military activity in the Donbas are in line with Putin’s new logic. The abortive blitzkrieg, the failed “Russian Spring” and “Novorossia” projects and other military and subversive operations are being replaced with the tactic of harassment and destabilization, so customary for a KGB operative. Like the Pechenegs and Mongols, the Russian invaders decided to take Kyiv by way of siege. And, to make this tactic successful, one must always sow panic and shatter the belief in victory. Odesa is in fact the garrison on the way of the 21st-century Batu Khan, without conquering which he will fail to realize his plan of siege. And it is no accident that the TNT activity is boosting on the eve of New Year. Their goal is to turn Odesa into Crimea without occupation and establish one more zone, dead for tourists and investors, on the Black Sea coast – this time on Ukraine’s balance sheet. All we can do is to show them the middle finger. We will do this. They have chosen the wrong time for a golden horde’s foray.
COMMENTARY
Oleksandr DICHEK, Colonel (retired); Ph.D. (Engineering); President, International Antiterrorism Unity:
“What can cause the danger of terrorism in peacetime is, as a rule, social inequality (suffice it to recall Marx and Lenin), geopolitical or some other factors. But what is going on today in Ukraine is the continuation of war in this country. And no city can feel secured against terrorist acts. Their aim is to destabilize the situation in the country and society and create an atmosphere of fear and hopelessness. The classical definition of terrorism is: it is an extremely dangerous social phenomenon based on violence or threat of violence aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear and hopelessness in society in the interests of terrorist groups or individuals.
“Kharkiv and Odesa were chosen as objects of terrorist acts because they are among the most important cities in this country with a population of more than a million, where sociopolitical life is in full swing. There are a lot of intellectuals and educated people there. I myself studied in Odesa and taught in Kharkiv, so they are my favorite cities. I therefore feel sympathy and compassion for those who suffered and those who did not suffer but are scared, in tumult, and cannot find the safe conditions of living in which they lived just a year ago.
“We have a constitutional body – the Security Service of Ukraine and its Antiterrorism Center – which is supposed to fight terrorism in close contact with other ministries. But the state is unable to provide adequate security on its own, so it is necessary to attract the public and nongovernmental security services which should maintain contact and social partnership. Civil society should devise a new pattern of individual behavior in the conditions of terrorist threats and acts. It is here that we must be active. The media, all the influential publications and television, should help people shape the right understanding of behavior. People need explanation and education. No hysteria should be whipped up. What should come to a person’s mind above all is: ‘be quiet, do not panic.’ People should be sober-minded and know where to go and who to turn to. There must be a combination of information and composure.
“This could be generally called an ‘Israeli-Japanese’ model. The residents of Israel live under a permanent threat, they are used to challenges, know how to behave and what to do if they come across suspicious objects and individuals. That country has devised danger identification mechanisms. As for Japan, we saw the way the Japanese nation behaved during the Fukushima accident – with what dignity and composure people responded to emergencies. Therefore, one must be prepared for and learn to behave in similar circumstances.”
Interviewed by Dmytro KRYVTSUN, The Day
