Zelensky struggles to contain Ukraine’s Neo-Nazi Problem
Dr. Valery V. Engel
On October 10, 2019 during a “marathon” press conference in Kiev , President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that it is impossible to separate the opposing forces of the Ukrainian army and the forces of the self-proclaimed republics in the territory of Donetsk and Lugansk regions, “while a different people from both sides will come there and accidentally shoot.” In the same interview, he said that now this issue depends also on the Ukrainian side.
There is a serious problem behind all of this, because despite the signing by Ukraine of the so-called the “Steinmeier formula”, which defines the mechanism for enacting of the Law on a special procedure for local self-government on this territory, despite the process of exchange of prisoners, as well as the obvious intention of the new Ukrainian authorities to fulfill their election promises and achieve peace in the east of their country, this goal remains unattainable. Moreover, this is due to the tough position of the Ukrainian Radical Rights.
