A five-term MP stated that the elimination of occupation forces on the peninsula was possible
Taras Stetskiv, a five-term Member of Parliament, believes that the Ukrainian leadership in 2014 made a strategic error by refusing to use force to defend Crimea. He argues that the state had every opportunity to carry out a counter-terrorism operation against the invaders. This was reported by Glavcom, according to the portal PromPolitInform.
According to the lawmaker, the refusal to accept the military challenge from russia was a fundamental failure of Oleksandr Turchynov and, subsequently, Petro Poroshenko. Instead of fulfilling their direct constitutional obligations, the state leadership attempted to conduct diplomatic negotiations, ignoring the provisions of the defense law.
Alternative scenarios in 2014
Taras Stetskiv claims that after the seizure of the Crimean parliament building on February 27, 2014, real levers of influence on the situation existed. Specifically, he suggests there was a possibility of conducting airstrikes on the facility under the pretext of neutralizing the terrorists controlling it.
The politician emphasized that the landing operation planned for March 1, 2014, was canceled, although it could have altered the course of events. The absence of decisive action, in Stetskiv’s conviction, demonstrated weakness to the aggressor, which accelerated the process of occupying the peninsula.
The experience of clearing government institutions
As an example of successful counteraction to separatist movements, the MP cited the clearing of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration. In his view, similar measures should have been implemented in Donetsk, Luhansk, and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which could have prevented a full-scale invasion later on.
Stetskiv also criticized the actions of Petro Poroshenko following the russian army’s invasion in August 2014. According to the politician, the fifth president chose the path of backroom deals through intermediaries instead of declaring martial law.
In concluding his assessment, the lawmaker called such a policy of avoiding direct armed confrontation criminal. He is convinced that delaying the resolution of the conflict only exacerbated national problems, shifting the heavy burden of war onto subsequent generations of the country’s leaders.
Photo: Glavcom
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