The Ukrainian state disappeared after 2014 and became a US and NATO colony, says an "independent" Finnish political scientist who, in reality, has close ties to Russia and the pro-Russian separatists in Donbass. It is an attempt to render legitimate, using the opinion of a Westerner, the narratives by means of which the Kremlin seeks to justify the uprising it supported in the neighboring state in an attempt to stop it from getting closer to the Euro-Atlantic structures.
NEWS: “As a state, Ukraine has long since ceased to exist”, the Finnish political scientist Johan Beckman said, PolitPuzzle reports.
In an interview to “Ukraine.ru”, the specialist spoke in extremely critical terms about the policy promoted by the Kiev authorities. In his opinion, modern Ukraine can be anything, but by no means a nation-state, as Finland is. And the fault lies with the current leadership of the country, which, amid the 2014 coup, promised to turn Ukraine almost into a showcase of Europe, but which, for seven years now, has been doing nothing but stealing and selling to the West the most valuable assets.
“I do not know what Ukraine is. It’s a nation that does not exist anymore. There, the state disintegrated and turned into an US and NATO occupation regime”, Beckman stated.
It is no secret that today Kiev is under foreign rule. In this sense, the political scientist came up with a rather unexpected initiative, that of “sending Finnish generals to lead Ukraine”. Drawing historical parallels, Beckman recalled that, in the 19th century, such a decision was made by the Russian emperor Alexander II for the liberation of Bulgaria from the Turkish occupation.
“Therefore, perhaps the Finnish generals will participate in the creation, in Ukraine, of an efficient state, free of corruption and with an adequate state policy”, Johan Beckman concluded.
NARRATIVES: 1. Ukraine is a false state. 2. In 2014, a coup took place in Kiev, after which Ukraine became a colony of the West. 3. In the last 7 years, an US and NATO occupation regime has been established in Ukraine.
LOCAL CONTEXT / ETHOS: After the toppling of the Yanukovych regime, the Russian Federation intervened in Ukraine by invading and annexing Crimea and supporting a separatist movement in the Russian-speaking east. The separatist forces were supported by Moscow with both military equipment and troops. Russia is trying to legitimize internationally the self-proclaimed “People's Republics” of Donetsk and Lugansk. In this context, the Russian and pro-Russian press in Ukraine and in the Russian-speaking information space use every opportunity to accredit the idea that the Ukrainian state is an “artificial one”, which can easily fall apart. Against this general background, the Russian media published in late 2020 and early 2021 a series of articles on “the further disintegration of Ukraine”, claiming that NATO and the US are turning this state into a genuine colony. The concept of “false state” used in the hybrid war by Russia is being applied here. Attempts are being made to promote this narrative outside the Russian-speaking world, especially in Romania.
|According to Ukraina.ru (part of the state media group Russia 24), Johan Beckman is a Finnish legal adviser and political scientist who set up a Historical Research Institute in St. Petersburg in 2000. In 2008 he founded the Anti-Fascist Committee in Finland, and in 2014, in the hottest year of the Donbass clashes, Beckman, presented in the Russian press as an independent expert, set up in Finland “a diplomatic mission of the Donetsk People's Republic”, which he leads, but which has not been voluntarily recognized by the Helsinki government. Ukraina.ru also wrote in the article introducing the expert that Beckman won the Russian Federation's “Femida” prize and the “Friendship between Peoples” medal awarded by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.
PURPOSE: The purpose of these narratives is to delegitimize the Ukrainian power, established after the withdrawal of the fugitive President Yanukovych, and to block efforts to protect the territorial integrity and stability of Ukraine.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: By promoting the narrative about Ukraine as a false state, Russia presents its actions in Donbass and Crimea as a matter of “political necessity” and “historical truth”. Russia is the liberating country, and the West is portrayed as the conqueror. In reality, there was no coup in 2014: after Yanukovych's step-down following mass protests, presidential and parliamentary elections were held, recognized by the international community.
Beckman's statement for Ukraina.ru is nothing more than a repetition of Russia's classic narratives about Ukraine and the West. The political scientist says that, in the last 7 years, an US and NATO occupation regime has settled in Ukraine. In fact, on June 12, 2020, NATO granted Ukraine the status of Partner with extended possibilities. The program was launched in 2014. It is aimed at supporting and deepening collaboration between NATO allies and partners in order to increase the compatibility of armed forces. NATO supports the Ukrainian armed forces, joint military exercises are taking place, and Kiev is committed to implementing reforms to get in line with the Alliance's standards. Recently, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Russia, during a visit to Kiev, to stop its aggressive behavior towards Ukraine, in the context in which a significant number of Russian armed forces are still deployed at the Russian-Ukrainian border, despite a recent withdrawal.
In reality, Ukraine is not under US or NATO occupation; quite the opposite, parts of the Ukrainian state have been annexed by Russia or mercenaries it finances (Crimea and some districts in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions). The narratives aimed at portraying Russia as innocent and putting the blame for the situation in Ukraine on the USA and NATO have been taken over by some Romanian media outlets, via the Romanian language portal "News from Russia", which is based mainly on information provided by the media in the Russian Federation, having as partners RT, Sputnik, RIA Novosti and others.
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