The dramatic developments in Ukraine where it began Russian invasion from the early hours of Thursday (24/2) with attacks in various parts of the country, an important question that arises is What is the plan of Russian President Vladimir Putin?
According to a Politico analysis, one theory among Ukrainian-Russian observers – and it is just a theory at the moment – is that with invasion of UkrainePutin will seek to reinstate former President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia in 2014when it canceled Ukraine’s association agreement with the EU which sparked fierce anti-government protests.
According to this theory, states Politico, Yanukovych or other senior members of his government now living in Russia will return to power, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and many other Ukrainians will stand trial for the Maidan protests.
As Putin repeatedly describes the Maidan protests as a coup – and the current Ukrainian government as illegitimate – there is a basic rationale behind the idea that it would aim to turn history around.
Of course, Zelensky was elected by an overwhelming majority in 2019, defeating Petro Poroshenko, who was one of the leaders of the Maidan protests.
These are the demonstrations that took place at the end of November 2013, when the then leadership of Ukraine, under the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, decided to cancel the association agreement with the European Union, strengthening ties with Moscow. The decision immediately sparked protests.
“Desire to occupy a large part of Ukraine”
Western officials said the magnitude of Russia’s attack shows the desire to occupy “a very large part of Ukraine” and Putin can deploy ground troops in Kiev to accomplish his goals.
The officials confirmed the presence of a large number of helicopters near Belarus, which are described as “specially designed to carry out such large-scale bombing activities”.
Evaluating Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, they said it was “a very demanding prospect of being able to deploy such a defense” and warned “we will have to see how the battle develops in the coming days.”
However, they said Putin’s position could be considered “strong but also fragile”, indicating that he may have misjudged the way Russian troops would be received and that some in Moscow believed the invasion was wrong.
Source: News Beast
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