Ukraine: A Country Divided Between Selfish Interests 1

By John Tosin Ajiboye

On January 21, 1990, over 300,000 Ukrainians organized a human chain for Ukrainian independence between Kiev and Lviv, in memory of the 1919 unification of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the West Ukrainian National Republic. Citizens came out to the streets and highways, forming live chains by holding hands in support of unity.

Ukraine officially declared itself an independent state on August 24, 1991, when the communist Supreme Soviet (parliament) of Ukraine proclaimed that Ukraine will no longer follow the laws of USSR and only the laws of the Ukrainian SSR, de facto declaring Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union.

On December 1, Ukrainian voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum formalizing independence from the Soviet Union. Over 90% of Ukrainian citizens voted for independence, with majorities in every region, including 56% in Crimea, which had a 75% ethnic Russian population. The Soviet Union formally ceased to exist on December 26, when the presidents of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia (the founding members of the USSR) met in Belovezh Pushcha to formally dissolve the Union in accordance with the Soviet Constitution. And with this Ukraine’s independence was formalized de jure and recognised by the international community.

The history of Ukraine between 1991 and 2004 was marked by the presidencies of Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma. This was a time of transition for Ukraine. While it had attained nominal independence from Russia, its presidents maintained close ties with their neighbours.

In 2004, Leonid Kuchma announced that he would not run for re-election and since then Ukraine began to spill into pro-Russia East and pro-European West and as a result of this two major candidates emerged in the 2004 presidential election. Viktor Yanukovych, the incumbent Prime Minister, supported by the Russian Federation, wanted closer ties with Russia. The main opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, called for Ukraine to turn its attention westward and eventually join the EU.

In the runoff election, Yanukovych officially won by a narrow margin, but Yushchenko and his supporters cried foul, alleging that vote rigging and intimidation cost him many votes, especially in eastern Ukraine. A political crisis erupted after the opposition started massive street protests in Kiev and other cities which was known as ‘Orange Revolution’. This protest many believed was orchestrated and financed by United States and EU, but according to a Nigerian born Pastor Sunday Adelaja (who was one of the people that organized the protest with members of his church) the protest was God’s move. At last, the Supreme Court of Ukraine declared the election results null and void. A second runoff found Viktor Yushchenko, who has the backing of United States the winner.

Since 2004 it is unfortunate that Ukraine has been divided between two selfish interests of Russia and the West. In my own opinion, I think Russia, United States and some European countries are interested in Ukraine not to benefit the Ukrainians but just to boost their own ego and to show who is more powerful in the comity of nations and it is sad that Ukrainians have allowed them due to their East-West division.

For instance between 2004 and 2010, during the regime of pro-West lead by Victor Yushchenko, Georgia and Ukraine became linchpins in the United States’ strategy of encircling Russia witn pro-Western new democracies. United States vigorously lobbied to grant North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership to both countries and used them to infuse new life into GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova) the loose pro-Western grouping of the former Soviet states. Yushchenko made NATO membership an absolute priority of his presidency but NATO membership for Ukraine was firmly blocked by France and Germany, who feared a revival of Cold war division in Europe.

The European Union likewise shut its doors on Ukraine claiming the nation with a population of 48 million is too large and too poor to be integrated into EU. When Ukraine’s commodity-dominated economy was shattered by global crisis in 2009, the West eventually turned away from Yushchenko, dismayed by his inept leadership, lack of reforms and vicious feuding with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

The IMF suspended a $16-billion lifeline it granted Ukraine in October 2009. The country’s sovereign debt stands at $100-billion and the state coffers were empty as at that time.

The outcome of the 2010 presidential election and the present crisis about Russian troops occupying Crimea show that Ukraine remains as deeply divided as it was nine years ago. Yanukovych got 80 to 90 per cent of the votes in the eastern and southern provinces while Yulia Tymoshenko won just as heavily in the western province. Yushchenko’s policy of shutting down Russian language, and glorifying second world war Nazi collaborators was applauded in the country’s West but was rejected by ethnic Russians living in the Eastern and Southern regions.

The victory of Victor Yanukovych in the 2010 presidential election some said marked the crushing defeat for the United States who allegedly masterminded ‘Orange Revolution’ designed to weaken and isolate Russia and as a result looking for another way of imposing their will on Ukraine.

But beyond that, Yanukovych’s regime has been accused of tightening of press restrictions and a renewed effort in the parliament to limit freedom of assembly. One frequently-cited example of Yankukovych’s alleged attempts to centralize power is the August 2011 arrest of Yulia Tymoshenko. Other high-profile political opponents also came under criminal investigation since. On 11 October 2011, a Ukrainian court sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in prison after she was found guilty of abuse of office when brokering the 2009 gas deal with Russia. The conviction is seen as “justice being applied selectively under political motivation” by the European Union and other international organizations.

In November 2013, President Yanukovych did not sign the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement and instead pursued closer ties with Russia. This move sparked protests on the streets of Kiev. Protesters set up camps in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), and in December 2013 and January 2014 protesters started taking over various government buildings, first in Kiev and, later, in Western Ukraine. Battles between protesters and police resulted in about 80 deaths in February 2014.

Following the violent suppression of the Maidan protestors, the Parliament turned against Yanukovych and on 22 February voted to remove him from power, and to free Yulia Tymoshenko from prison. The same day Yanukovych supporter Volodymyr Rybak resigned as speaker of the Parliament, and was replaced by Tymoshenko loyalist Oleksandr Turchynov, who was subsequently installed as interim President. Yanukovych fled Kiev to seek refuge in Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

Having gone through all these troubles, I think Ukraine as a country must now come together because a house divided against itself cannot stand. It is high time Ukrainians asked themselves what they gained from the division that Russia, United States or European Union has caused them and refuse to be remote-controlled by these nations.

While I believe that Ukraine can not do without the international community, it must relate with the United States, Russia, EU and other nations in a level playing ground and stop the ongoing East-West divide.

Lastly, Ukraine has a lot to gain from the international community if she can take her stand and relate with any nation that is ready to respect the law and the people of Ukraine.

For instance, Ukraine has learned and still has a lot to learn from the democratic system of the West. In the same vein Ukraine still has a lot to gain from Russia whom she shares close economic and linguistic ties with.

Russia’s oil and gas meets 80 per cent of Ukraine’s energy needs and brings billions of dollars in transit fees. Russia accounts for a quarter of Ukraine’s foreign trade even though the share has come down since the Orange Revolution and according to Wall Street Journal’s description, Russia can easily play the role of Abu Dhabi to Ukraine’s Dubai.

Having said that, the ball is in the court of Ukrainians to determine how to relate with Russia, the United States, European countries and others.

•Ajiboye, public affairs analyst, wrote from Lagos Nigeria via [email protected], +2348138966292.