UKRAINE-CRISIS/REBEL Former Donetsk rebel leader says big war in eastern Ukraine will be difficult to avoid

Record ID: 152222

  • Title: UKRAINE-CRISIS/REBEL Former Donetsk rebel leader says big war in eastern Ukraine will be difficult to avoid
  • Date: 24th June 2015
  • Summary: DONETSK, UKRAINE (FILE - MAY 25, 2014) (REUTERS) MEN IN MILITARY UNIFORMS NEXT TO LINE OF TRUCKS WOMAN GIVING FLOWERS TO MEN IN MILITARY UNIFORMS WITH MASKED FACES MEN IN MILITARY UNIFORMS ON SQUARE THEN-PRIME MINISTER OF SELF-PROCLAIMED DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC, ALEXANDER BORODAI SPEAKING FROM STAGE PEOPLE APPLAUDING DONETSK, UKRAINE (FILE - AUGUST 7, 2014) (REUTERS) VAR
  • Embargoed: 9th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAE9POJKP8Y14N23HRTFWNY91WN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A ceasefire is likely to collapse in east Ukraine and Russia could be drawn into a "big war" to cleanse the "sore on its borders", the former leader of the region's pro-Russian separatists said.
    Violence has eased but not halted in east Ukraine under what is known as the Minsk 2 agreements, reached in the Belarussian capital on Feb. 12, but the rebels and forces loyal to Kiev accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.
    Alexander Borodai, who has retained influence among rebel commanders since quitting as prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) last August, expects the Ukrainian army to launch a new offensive.
    "To be honest, I expect that the Minsk-2 agreements will not be observed, in the same manner as the Minsk-1 agreements were not. And at the end of the day the Ukrainian army will launch an offensive. This is a very probable development. I am not sure that it will end without a big war, as Russia cannot tolerate this sore on its borders forever. Furthermore, a big offensive by the Ukrainian troops will mean many casualties among civilians, I am sorry, as well as among the military," Borodai, a Russian, said in an interview on Monday (June 22) in a Moscow restaurant surrounded by former rebel commanders.
    Although he resigned to make way for a local man to take over as the main separatist leader, Borodai is widely believed to have strong political links in Moscow and to have an open channel to the Donbass region where most of the fighting has taken place in the past 15 months.
    His leadership of the rebels in the early stages of their rebellion ensured he was often seen on Russian television, and passersby stop him to talk and pat him on the back when they see him on the streets of the Russian capital.
    Though fighting is now less intense in east Ukraine, the death toll has continued to rise and is now more than 6,400, with each side accusing the other of planning a new offensive.
    Borodai, 42, said the conflict could not continue for long.
    "I do not think that this conflict will be kept forever in such a half-frozen state. The problem is not solved. The problem of existence of modern Ukraine also remains unsolved. In fact, I think it (Ukraine) is not even a state. This is a kind of a satellite formation of the West which is holding together only because it is allegedly at war with Russia. Although in fact it is not, it is at war with Donbass. But anyway it is only holding together on the basis of war. And it gets logistical and financial support of the West because of this war and this situation. If there is no war, they will stop receiving support, at least on such a serious scale. And if it does not get support, it will fall apart instantly," said Borodai.
    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Borodai's statement. The West and Kiev say Russia has already sent troops and weapons into east Ukraine to back the separatists but Moscow denies this.
    Andriy Lysenko, a Ukrainian military spokesman, said Kiev is abiding by the Minsk agreements and denied Ukrainian government forces were preparing an offensive. Kiev and the West deny Russian accusations that the West staged a coup d'etat in Kiev last year to oust a president backed by Moscow.
    Borodai, a former political consultant, remains in touch with other Muscovites such as Igor Strelkov who formed the rebel leadership in eastern Ukraine in April 2014.
    Strelkov and Borodai, who fought in Moldova's Transdniestria region in the 1990s, slipped back into Russia several months ago, deeming their job as "patriots" done in east Ukraine.
    Borodai, who is banned under Western sanctions from entering the European Union and the United States, says tightening the sanctions will not "frighten" Moscow.
    "For now as you see Russia is doing quite well under current sanctions. And if need be, it will exist under even tougher sanctions. This is not such a big problem. Russia, as well as Donbass, is traditionally able to mobilize itself. Russian people - when they have a certain goal, when they know why they endure the sanctions, or what they fight for - they will be ready to endure some hardships. That's why I think the sanctions cannot frighten Russia, or split it, or tear it apart. In some ways they are even beneficial," he said.
    He also denied any knowledge or involvement in the MH17 crash over eastern Ukraine in July 2014 when he was the prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.
    "Apart from the fact that the Boeing crashed, I do not know anything. We did not have any weapon that would enable us to shoot it down. In other words we did not have a BUK missile system, he said."
    The plane is widely believed to have been shot down with a surface-to-air missile launched by pro-Russian forces in Ukrainian territory, but Moscow denies involvement.
    Experts from the Joint Investigative Team - comprising members from Ukraine, Malaysia, Australia, the United States and Britain - cited radio intercepts, photo and video material and satellite imagery as evidence that the rebels shot down MH17 with an advanced BUK missile system that was transported from Russian territory shortly before the incident.
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