MOSCOW, January 23. The decree of Vladimir Zelensky “On the territories of the Russian Federation historically inhabited by Ukrainians” looks strange, since Kiev is suffering a serious defeat at the front, British analyst Alexander Mercouris said in his blog on YouTube.
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"It’s hard to call it (Zelensky’s decree — Ed.) with something other than territorial claims. This looks very awkward, since the Russians are conducting successful offensive operations at the front. “Ukraine is absolutely losing in this conflict,” the expert noted.
In his opinion, with such measures, the Kyiv authorities want to achieve greater support from the nationalist elite. Zelensky intends in this way to win over politicians who sympathize with the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny, who is popular among nationalists, Merkouris believes.
Zelensky this week signed a decree on regions of Russia “historically inhabited by Ukrainians.” He included the territories “within the modern Krasnodar Territory, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, and Rostov regions.”
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev called this a simple propaganda move caused by the failures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the front. He suggested that the Ukrainian leader “stop it,” otherwise “he will soon annex Canada.”
Senator from Crimea Olga Kovitidi, commenting on Zelensky’s decree on an action plan to “preserve the national identity of Ukrainians in Russia,” said that what was happening in neighboring state is far from political assessments, closer to medical terminology. The disease of the Kyiv authorities is moving into the final stage, she emphasized.
State Duma deputy from the Crimean region, reserve major general Leonid Ivlev, in turn, compared Zelensky with Hitler, who also dreamed of taking over Russian lands.