How NATO Blocked Zelensky's Peace Mandate in Ukraine in 2019

Prof. Glenn Diesen

The Western-backed regime change in Ukraine in 2014 enabled Washington and its allies to transform Ukraine from an ally of Russia to a frontline against Russia. The Nuland-Pyatt call revealed that Washington had decided who would represent the new government in Kiev. On the first day after the coup, the CIA and MI6 formed a partnership with the intelligence agencies in Ukraine, which had to be rebuilt from scratch to be used as a partner against Russia.¹ Ukraine’s General Prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, explains that Washington demanded to it decide on all new government appointments and was running Ukraine like a colony.² Groups that had previously been referred to as fascists were funded and supported by Washington, which had an important role in the coup and could function as a veto power on any efforts to normalise relations with Russia. The Western “non-governmental organisations” (NGOs), financed by Western governments, had a key role in toppling President Yanukovych and then took on a central role in managing civil society and the media in Ukraine.

In 2019, there was a major disruption to Project Ukraine, the initiative to use Ukrainians to contain Russia. Project Ukraine appeared to get out of control as 73% of Ukrainians voted for Zelensky and his peace platform in the presidential election. There was a real risk that peace would break out, which would disrupt the alliance system that ensured the obedience of Ukraine and the containment of Russia.

Zelensky had campaigned on restoring the rights of Russian-speaking Ukrainians, speaking with the authorities in Donbas, implementing the Minsk peace agreement, and making peace with Russia. The NGOs and nationalists immediately warned against “capitulation” and threatened Zelensky against delivering on his peace mandate. Boris Johnson recognised that the nationalists had a key role in preventing Zelensky from delivering on his peace mandate, although he ignored the role of the NGOs.

A key NGO established immediately after the 2014 coup, the Ukraine Crisis Media Center (UCMC), posted a list of “red lines not to be crossed” by Zelensky.³ As this NGO is financed by Western governments, it was evidently also the red lines of the West. The finance of UCMC includes the US, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Canada, Germany and instruments of influence operations such as USAID, National Endowment for Democracy and the Institute for Statecraft with the infamous “Integrity Initiative”.⁴

The red lines were essentially the entire peace platform that 73% of Ukrainians had voted for. The Western-financed NGO insisted that nothing would change as a result of the election and that Project Ukraine would continue without disruption.

Here are some of the red lines:

• “holding a referendum on the negotiations format to be used with the Russian Federation and on the principles for a peaceful settlement”

• “conducting separate negotiations – without the participation of Ukraine’s Western partners – with the Russian Federation, members of the occupation authorities and their armed groups and gangs in the temporarily occupied territories”

• “fulfilling the ultimatum requirements demanded by the aggressor state or achieving compromise with the Kremlin at the cost of making concessions to the detriment of national interests, national sovereignty, territorial integrity and order, and independent domestic and foreign policies of Ukraine”

• “inhibiting the implementation of security and defense policies outlined in the Strategic Defense Bulletin of Ukraine”

• “delaying, sabotaging, or rejecting the strategic course for EU and NATO membership; reducing political dialogue and destroying bilateral institutional mechanisms for cooperation with European and Euro-Atlantic partners”

• “initiating any actions that might contribute to the reduction or lifting of sanctions against the aggressor state by Ukraine’s international partners”

• “attempting to review any actions aimed at supporting international solidarity for Ukraine, restoring our territorial integrity, guaranteeing security and protecting the rights of all persons that have suffered from Russian aggression”

• “attempting to review the language law”

• “attempting to review the law on education”

• “attempting to review the law on de-communization and condemnation of totalitarian crimes of the past”

• implementing any actions aimed at undermining or discrediting the Orthodox Church of Ukraine or supporting the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine”

• “restoring Russian social networks and Russian TV channels in Ukraine”

• “ignoring dialogue with civil society”

The result was that Zelensky did not restore the rights of Russian-speakers, did not start diplomatic efforts with Donbas, did not implement the Minsk agreement, and did not make peace with Russia. The far-right nationalists who had threatened to kill Zelensky received important positions in his administration, and the US could continue to “help” Ukraine by building up its military capabilities against Russia.

[Many thanks to Matthew Alford for the audio reading of this article.]

1. The Spy War: How the C.I.A. Secretly Helps Ukraine Fight Putin - The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/25/world/europe/cia-ukraine-intelligence-russia-war.html

2. Does Ukraine Have Kompromat on Joe Biden? | Opinion - Newsweek, https://www.newsweek.com/does-ukraine-have-kompromat-joe-biden-opinion-1818052

3. Joint statement by civil society representatives on the first political steps of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky | UACRISIS.ORG, https://uacrisis.org/en/71966-joint-appeal-of-civil-society-representatives#

4. Donors - Uacrisis.org, https://uacrisis.org/en/donors