Ukraine’s top diplomat claims that the Kremlin is trying to drive a wedge between Ukraine and its Western allies dismissing President Putin’s charge that Kiev engaged in acts of terror against Russian soldiers that left two dead as propaganda.
Valeriy Chaly, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States told Defense News Editor Jill Aitoro that Russia is using a "continuous information war" in order to "blackmail" European nations to revolt against Kiev with a view towards ending sanctions tied to the Minsk agreement.
The link between Western support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia being virtually non-existent years after the Minsk agreement, the charges by the Ukrainian ambassador appeared eerie in light of newfound revelations regarding George Soros’ intervention in the country exposed in the recent leaks of Open Society Foundation documents.
Those documents showed that Soros’ organization planned to develop a "fifth column" entity to disrupt proper democratic processes within the country and that the US Ambassador to Ukraine took down notes from the Hungarian billionaire that were to be followed verbatim – and they were including the sanctions against Russia after Soros said "Obama is being too soft on Putin."
Nonetheless, despite the recent evidence of a concerted information war actually running in the opposite direction, the Ukrainian Ambassador seized upon the sudden phobia of Russia permeating the West to accuse Moscow of fabricating a scheme that left two soldiers dead in order to alter perceptions inside of Europe and the United States.
"Russia planned to use terror and pay for terror in the Ukrainian territory. That’s a problem. [This accusation] is an attempt to make another side responsible. But it’s impossibly," said Chaly. "And we see and appreciate a very firm and clear response by [the US] State Department and European partners. So [Russia has] failed in this situation.
The terror attack that killed two Russian soldiers occurred in Crimea, the territory controlled by Moscow after a popular referendum found over 90% support for the territory to rejoin Russia and a decree by President Vladimir Putin that formalized Crimea’s legal accession back into the country. Ukraine refuses to accept Russia’s claim to Crimea denouncing President Putin’s decree on July 28, 2016. Kiev additionally claims that they have no knowledge of a terror plot against Russians in Crimea.
"I would like to turn to our American and European partners," Putin said during an August 10 address. "I think it is clear now that today’s Kiev government is not looking for ways to solve problems by negotiations, but is resorting to terror. This is a very worrying thing."