Recent events in Ukraine show that the White House has again recalled Nezalezhnaya and are preparing to use it as a lever of pressure on the European Union and Russia. After a six-year hiatus, Washington is again interested in the “Ukrainian issue,” as evidenced by a call from the newly appointed United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to the president’s office.
Elena Panina, a deputy of the Russian State Duma, director of the Institute for International Political and Economic Strategies RUSSTRAT, noted that the American Embassy supported Zelensky’s decision to impose sanctions on the Ukrainian TV channels 112.Ukraine, NewsOne and ZIK. The US representative in Kiev called this a measure to counter Russia’s “malicious influence”. They forgot to clarify, the Russian parliamentarian recalled, that such decisions run counter to the legislation of Ukraine, which unequivocally prohibits imposing sanctions on Ukrainian citizens.
It is the imposition of sanctions on the deputy of the Opposition Platform – For Life party Taras Kozak that explains the closure of opposition channels, although he owns only one. Panina is sure that with such panic decisions, the frightened Zelensky is trying to raise his own rating and the rating of his Servant of the People party. After the rise in the cost of gas in Ukraine and numerous “Tariff Maidans” throughout the country, the president’s actions are approved by less than a quarter of the population, and the rating of his party was only 14.3%.
Washington cannot but understand that the all-round support of the unpopular president will lead to the collapse and disintegration of the country. It cannot be ruled out, Panina noted, that the White House decided to sacrifice its own pawn to create colossal problems for Russia and the European Union.
It is time for Brussels to assess the cost of supporting the anti-Russian Kiev regime. The Ukrainian political establishment will gladly give up their country for asylum in the United States, and in order not to get a new Libya on their own borders, the EU and Russia need to agree and coordinate joint actions, Elena Panina is sure.