Petro Poroshenko warns of ‘constant military threat’ on Ukraine
Ukraine’s pro-western president announced $3bn in additional defence spending on Sunday as he warned the war-torn country faced a “constant military threat” for the foreseeable future.
Petro Poroshenko flexed his might by holding a military parade during commemorations of the former Soviet republic’s 23rd year of independence.
Minutes before armoured vehicles and truck-mounted missile launchers rolled down Kiev’s main street Khreshchatyk, Mr Poroshenko addressed the country’s military and thousands of citizens saying “it is clear that in the foreseeable future, unfortunately, a constant military threat will hang over Ukraine”.
“And we need to learn not only to live with this, but also to be always prepared to defend the independence of our country,” he added without directly mentioning Russia, which Kiev and the west accuse of orchestrating and arming a four-month long separatist rebellion in Russian-speaking eastern regions.
Addressing crowds, Mr Poroshenko said Ukraine surrendered its Soviet nuclear arsenal in the 1990s for the sake of global security, and called for more international support, warning that “European and global security” is again at risk.
The soldiers on parade and the newly built armoured jeeps would now join the military campaign to crush Russia-backed separatists in eastern regions, Mr Poroshenko said.
Ukraine has made significant gains in past weeks towards encircling the militants – many admittedly from Russia – within their strongholds in Donetsk and Lugansk. But with rebels putting up a strong fight in battles that have claimed the lives of more than 2,000 civilians and combatants, fresh diplomatic efforts are under way to broker a peaceful settlement.
During a visit to Kiev on Saturday, Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel called for “a path towards peace” while urging Russia to seal its borders with Ukraine, halting the inflow of fresh arms and rebels.
Video
More signs of Russia’s Ukraine role
July 2014: FT defence and security editor Sam Jones assesses the latest evidence from US intelligence and social media about Russia’s role in a massive arms build-up in Ukraine
Mr Poroshenko is expected to hold his first face-to-face talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Tuesday during a summit in Minsk also to be attended by EU leaders.
Russia has repeatedly denied arming eastern Ukraine rebels, but it sparked fresh concern on Friday when a convoy of about 260 trucks carrying humanitarian aid arrived in Ukraine’s rebel-held eastern regions without Kiev’s permission. Tension eased on Saturday after the trucks returned to Russia after unloading their cargo. On Sunday, separatists paraded dozens of Ukrainian prisoners in downtown Donetsk.
In the face of Russia’s March annexation of Crimea and an economy deep in recession, patriotism in Ukraine has surged. A recent poll indicates that more than 90 per cent of citizens back independence in the country whose cities are divided on an east-west axis between Russian and Ukrainian speakers, respectively.
While battles rumble in Lugansk and Donetsk, activists throughout other parts of the country have painted fences and bridges in the blue and yellow colours of the national flag.
Draped in the Ukrainian flag in Kiev on Sunday was Olga, a 32-year old mother with her eight-year old daughter Marta. “For us, this independence celebration is met with tears in our eyes as the country is in a state of war,” she said.
“But we also see our country united in patriotism as never before, confident in victory, ready to defend itself and truly become independent,” she added.
Pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine have escalated the political turmoil that threatens to tear the country apart
Nearby, a teary-eyed 76-year-old pensioner laid flowers at street side memorials honouring activists shot down by snipers during February protests that toppled Viktor Yanukovich, the country’s previous Moscow-friendly president.
“My heart goes out for their mothers, and the mothers of the soldiers dying in the east now,” she said while crossing herself. “Shame on Russia. They are to blame for all of this,” she added.
Holding his son’s hand at the parade, 30-year-old Oleg questioned whether military force alone will solve the eastern Ukraine conflict.
“I don’t know how this will end,” he said. “Of course we need a stronger army, but we can’t win a war against Russia alone. Serious diplomacy and much more support from the west will be key . . . it’s so frustrating that the west has been so soft on Putin so far and isn’t providing modern arms to our army,” he added.
Also in the crowds were dozens of camouflage-dressed and freshly trained troops that joined a voluntary paramilitary battalion called Kiev-1. They would soon be on their way to eastern Ukraine.
“We need more modern equipment, everything from guns to armoured vehicles,” the group’s commander said.