Russia may yet invade further Ukrainian territory; Lubomyr Luciuk tells ILNA

Lubomyr Yaroslav Luciuk is a Canadian academic and author of books and articles in the field of political geography and Ukrainian history. He is currently a full professor at the Royal Military College of Canada.

Below is ILNA's interview with this academic about recent developments in Ukraine:

ILNA: While Russia has announced that some of its military forces are withdrawing from the Ukraine border, Kyiv and western countries have said that Russian claims are not true. What is the reason for these contradictory remarks? And what is your evaluation of the reality that is actually taking place? 

Mr. Putin is a liar. In fact, as events have now demonstrated he has moved more Russian troops onto Ukrainian territory, continued the “exercises” with Belarus (so threatening Ukraine from the north), and declared that the Russian Federation “recognizes” the two “republics” proclaimed in southeastern Ukraine as states, which he has now populated with Russian troops, even while evacuating a large proportion of the civilian population. This is naked aggression and a severe challenge to the rules-based international order. Russia CONTINUES to invade Ukraine. Russia CONTINUES to wage war against Ukraine. Ukraine is DEFENDING itself against an aggressor.

ILNA: Russia recently passed a bill officially recognizing the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.  What effects does this action have on current tensions between Russia and Ukraine?

Russia is now exposed as an imperialist power determined to, as Putin admits, restore some form of the Russian empire, despite the obvious fact that Ukrainians are not Russians and do not want to be part of any Russian imperium. Reports of a ‘genocide’ being perpetrated against the Russian-speak residents of southeastern Ukraine are utterly false, a kind of neo-fascist propaganda being deployed to try and get support for the Russian invasion (and, of course, these allegations have been roundly dismissed by international observers).

ILNA: Western countries claim that conflicts in eastern Ukraine will lead to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. How credible do you think this claim is? 

Russia may yet invade further Ukrainian territory but this would trigger not only extensive sanctions against the regime in Moscow but a much wider war and catastrophic consequences for the peace of Europe.

ILNA: How do you evaluate the role of Belarus amid these tensions? 

Belarus does not exist as a truly independent state. It is a client of the Russian Federation and Mr. Lukashenko is nothing but a puppet of the Putin regime; he is no more the legitimate (i.e. he was not democratically-elected) ruler of Belarus than the two Quislings in Luhansk and Donetsk are in any true sense of the word the leaders of any “countries.” These latter two are local thugs/criminals and collaborators who are aiding an invading power, supporting the military occupation of Ukrainian lands. They will eventually have to be brought to trial as war criminals.

ILNA: Some believe that China is taking advantage of the crisis in Ukraine and expanding its sphere of influence. How credible do you think these reports are?

The People’s Republic of China is an anti-democratic country that has its own geopolitical interests and has, reportedly, been engaged in a genocidal campaign against various minority communities, while also threatening the Republic of China-Taiwan, a democratic state. I have little doubt that Beijing will utilize the current crisis to its own advantage but, unlike Putin, Mr. Xi is not (yet) prepared to send ground troops into ROC-T or further expand the PRC’s lands (at the expense of the Russian ‘Federation’).

Interview by: Ardavan Malekpour

Edited by: Azadeh Keshvardoust