{"id":140696,"date":"2021-05-17T21:20:05","date_gmt":"2021-05-17T18:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=140696"},"modified":"2021-05-17T21:22:45","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T18:22:45","slug":"weekly-update-on-ukraine-17-10-16-may-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/weekly-update-on-ukraine-17-10-16-may-2021","title":{"rendered":"Putin reacts to Medvedchuk\u2019s court-ordered house arrest, Chatham House report and more \u2013 Weekly Update on Ukraine #17, 10- 16 May 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Situation in the combat zone<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The situation in the combat zone in eastern Ukraine is turbulent. On May 16, Russia-backed militants violated the ceasefire 15 times, a morning report of the Joint Forces command reads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia\u2019s proxies staged attacks on the Ukrainian troops near Novoselivka, Katerynivka, Novotoshkivske, Luhanske, Pisky, Starohnativka, Prychepylivka, and Troitske. On Sunday, they fired from mortars, grenade launchers, rocket-propelled infantry flamethrowers, and small arms.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were similar attacks throughout the week. On May 13, a Ukrainian army sergeant Pavlo Kolesnyk was shot dead by a sniper in Donbas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has Russia withdrawn troops from Ukraine border?<\/strong> There has been no large withdrawal of the Russian troops from the Ukraine border, Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with DW.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is no withdrawal adequate to the number of Russian troops and military machinery assembled at the border with Ukraine and in the occupied territories. What is happening cannot be called a withdrawal. Russian forces largely stay where they are,\u201d the Foreign Minister said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat has changed is a drop in military rhetoric. That is true, but the threat is still there. In the Soviet Union they had show trials, trials without justice. What we now observe is a show withdrawal, a withdrawal without removal of forces. We should remain vigilant about that,\u201d Kuleba added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Putin reacts to Medvedchuk\u2019s court-ordered house arrest <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Last week, Viktor Medvedchuk was indicted on a treason charge. Court ordered him into house arrest during the pretrial investigation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also: \u201cCourt places Medvedchuk under house arrest: what is happening?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the house arrest of his crony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Predictably, he criticized the Ukrainian government\u2019s move. \u201cLooks like in Ukraine, everyone working with the Russian Federation will be tried,\u201d Putin was quoted as saying by \u201cRIA Novosti\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kremlin chief presents Medvedchuk\u2019s house arrest as a crackdown on opposition in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is now happening (in Ukraine) is obvious cleansing of the political field. National media are shut down. It goes unnoticed by the western partners, which is not to say that they encourage those decisions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose are selective, politically motivated decisions against those who cooperate with Russia economically, while many including high-ranking government officials have been running businesses in Russia and Crimea for years, all unnoticed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a politically motivated and selective decision aimed at cleansing the political field from the forces which advocate for a peaceful settlement of the crisis in Donbas and good neighbor relations with Russia,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also mentioned that Ukraine is a potential threat to Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUkraine is gradually and irreversibly being turned into an antipode to Russia, some sort of anti-Russia that would constantly keep us on alert about the security of the Russian Federation,\u201d Putin was quoted as saying by state-run TASS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sixteen myths and misconceptions that shape Western thinking on Russia: Chatham House report<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Russia will proceed with acts of aggression, while the West\u2019s attempts to normalize the relations with Russia will continue to fail as Russia\u2019s strategic goals and values differ irrevocably from those of the West. That\u2019s one of the findings outlined in a recent report by the Chatham House, London-based Royal Institute of International Affairs.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 13, the reputable foreign policy think tank released a report that deconstructs 16 of the most prevalent myths and misconceptions that shape contemporary thinking on Russia in the West (in Europe and North America). Follow the link<\/a> to read the report in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deconstruction of those myths is crucial as they have a \u201cdetrimental impact on the design and execution of policy\u201d toward Russia, Chatham House analysts say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnderpinning our analysis is the essential argument that, contrary to wishful thinking on the part of many Euro-Atlantic politicians and policymakers, there is little prospect of Russia becoming a more constructive and cooperative partner for Western governments in the foreseeable future,\u201d the report reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell-meaning efforts to \u2018improve\u2019 the relationship with the Kremlin are thus likely to founder, as Russia\u2019s strategic goals, values and understanding of interstate relations differ irrevocably from those of the West,\u201d the authors proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts call on the Western policy-makers to revise and re-evaluate their stance on Russia, drawing on the deconstructed myths and misconceptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat said, in one respect the relationship with Russia is<\/em> predictable: the analyses presented in this report strongly suggest that Russia, for the foreseeable future, will continue to trample on internationally accepted principles of behaviour and commit further aggressions undeterred, using some of the myths below as justification,\u201d the report concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Kremlin Targets Western Bilateral Relations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the latest infographics by UCMC\u2019s Hybrid Warfare Analytical Group highlighting the Kremlin\u2019s influence operations abroad set to target bilateral relations between the Western states.                             <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Kremlin Targets Western Bilateral Relations<\/a><\/blockquote>