Fault lines and factionalism escalate in Ukraine

 

   

 Cooler heads seem to have had enough, especially in the military, since they’re the ones tasked with dying.

Written by Drago Bosnic (Independent geopolitical and military analyst)

Group mentality is an integral part of humanity. It is so ingrained in our minds that it has been the driving force behind nearly every change we have ever made, starting from cavemen to the current early stages of a space-faring civilization. This group mentality has been bringing together entire nations and civilizations for millennia. It has also been bringing them down. One example of the latter, extremely negative group mentality, is taking place right now, in Ukraine, or soon to be, former Ukraine, if cooler heads don’t prevail.

Ukraine has numerous groups with vested interests to push the country in a certain direction. One such group has been directly supported and pushed to power by the political West to turn Ukraine into yet another (neo)colony at the imperial periphery, which would also serve as a major thorn in the side of a geopolitical rival, in this particular case, Russia. Many smaller groups joined this one, but many increasingly more powerful subgroups are emerging within the current power structure, revealing serious fault lines in the current Ukrainian establishment.

Factionalism has become so prevalent, with president Zelensky (ab)using his power under martial law to ban any non-compliant political party, including major opposition parties which have long been seen as “pro-Russian”, although they are more neutral in reality. In such a toxic atmosphere, “traitors” are springing up everywhere. If you criticize the government, if you speak Russian, if you’re a soldier complaining about faulty Western weapons which are getting other soldiers killed, if you’ve posted “controversial” opinions (such as that Russian POWs should not be summarily executed), you’re a “traitor”.

There are many other ways in which you could become a “traitor”. Some could land you in prison, others might be much more consequential, even costing you your life, as was the case with many high-profile journalists or even members of the Ukrainian government who were accused of working for Russian intelligence and then extra-judicially executed. All of this contributes to the atmosphere of fear and distrust in Ukraine, a country which has effectively turned into a failed state. This is especially true now, when various interest groups, powerful oligarchs and criminals are all trying to take “their share of the cake” before the country crumbles.

These various factions are now taking as much loot as they possibly can. At the same time, many are willing to take the risk and wait for dozens of billions promised by the political West, so long they keep sending tens of thousands of Ukrainian men to certain death. Naturally, this isn’t a problem for such “Ukrainian elites”. After all, they’re neither Ukrainian nor elites, since they see Ukraine as a place to loot and then fly off to one of the offshore heavens in which they’ve placed everything stolen from the Ukrainian people. At this point, they’re fighting for scraps, as there is very little left to steal. Due to all this, cooler heads, or should we say “traitors”, seem to have had enough, especially in the military, since they’re the ones tasked with dying to make it all happen.

Vladimir Kornilov, director of the Center for Eurasian Studies, believes that the confrontation between various Kiev regime clans has escalated. “Now in Ukraine, the intraspecific struggle has escalated, which seems to have subsided with the start of the special operation. Political clans clashed among themselves, as a new round of bickering began. Zelensky [feels] that the visible unity that was forced to form after the start of the special operation is revealing its cracks.

 

A military coup is brewing in Ukraine, as the opinions of the incumbent president and the commander-in-chief differ dramatically, and not for the first time. The “Moskovsky Komsomolets” reports that the popularity of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhny, is growing by the day. After all, it is Zaluzhny who calls for retreating Ukrainian soldiers and saving their lives at a time when the president believes that “we must stand to the end no matter what”.

Experts talk about the possibility of a direct conflict between Zelensky and Zaluzhny. And the essence of the conflict is that Zaluzhny calls for the withdrawal of Ukrainian soldiers who are nearly encircled in Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, while Zelensky rejects this. Political scientist Sergei Markov notes that the former wants to preserve the viability of the army, while the latter is guided by political motives.

Zelensky benefits from the Russian army now killing as many soldiers of the Ukrainian army as possible. For the population of Ukraine to hate Russians and Russia as much as possible. And this will give Zelensky that energy of hatred that will allow him to fulfill the main task of his American and British overlords – to make Anti-Russia out of Ukraine.

Political scientist and expert on inter-ethnic conflicts Yevgeny Mikhailov agrees with this. On the air of the 360 TV channel, he said that Zelensky’s mistakes can lead to a military coup in Ukraine: the refusal to retreat in order to save lives, as well as the law on the extrajudicial execution of deserters.

“The task of a real commander is not to kill soldiers on the battlefield, but to complete the task while minimizing losses. Refusal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine may result in a kind of rebellion, a confrontation between the military and the political administration. This can lead to a military coup,” Mikhailov said.

At the same time, Zelensky’s position is supported only by those who follow military operations via the Internet, while sane people, including many regular Ukrainians, will take the side of Zaluzhny, because everyone understands that the army is not an endless resource. Now, the relationship between Zaluzhny and Zelensky is worsening. The military leader is not afraid to criticize the president. For instance, he was openly against the failed plan to capture Snake Island in early May. Also, it was precisely Zaluzhny who made it to this year’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world according to Time magazine.

Zaluzhny is 48 years old and has made quite a career for himself. He entered the Odessa Higher United Command School, after which he went through all the stages of military service. In 2005 he entered the National Defense Academy of Ukraine and graduated with a gold medal. Zaluzhny also graduated from the “Ivan Chernyakhovsky” National Defense University of Ukraine. In 2017, Zaluzhny received the rank of Major General. As of summer 2021, he has been appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.