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Kiev bears blame for threat of military operations in Donbass, says ex-Ukrainian president

Viktor Yanukovich wondered where the peace promised by both the Maidan authorities and the one that replaced it was

KIEV, November 22. /TASS/. Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich believes that Kiev shoulders the blame for the conflict in Donbass morphing into full-scale hostilities.

"If we compare the current situation in Donbass to the one that existed a year ago, we are forced to admit that it has deteriorated significantly," Yanukovich reported on Monday on the occasion of the anniversary of the tragic Maidan events in Kiev. Furthermore, according to him, "it seems that nowadays, it is not about how to ensure a ceasefire, but about much more serious threats, namely how to avoid an escalation of the conflict into large-scale hostilities."

"Where is the peace promised by both the Maidan authorities and the one that replaced it? After all, in 2019, the people were promised that the war would be over, and that corruption, social injustice, anarchy and the like would end. They used these promises to come to power," Yanukovich said on his Facebook page.

According to the former president, Defense Minister Aleksei Reznikov who, prior to this appointment, was engaged among other things, in the return of Donbass to Ukraine, announced that "it is not necessary to idealize the Minsk agreements, they were left over as a legacy." "In turn, Washington allegedly gave the greenlight that they would have no objections to taking part in seeking a new format, as would Berlin and Paris," Yanukovich continued.

"And what about Russia? Perhaps, the new minister believes that new format of negotiations has chances to be implemented without Russian participation. He may think that this idea has prospects, but, I think, Washington, Berlin and Paris believe otherwise," Yanukovich concluded.