Russian Information Agency Novosti
March 28, 2014
Ukrainian Civil War Would Likely Spill Across Border – Expert
MOSCOW: The killing of a notorious ultranationalist by police in Ukraine has ignited a firestorm that could lead to a civil war and spark a broader European conflict, said Stephen Lendman, a Chicago-based radio host and author.
“Kiev residents are unhappy about what’s going on in the country, especially given the continuing anti-government protests in eastern Ukraine. A possible civil war could erupt. It could spill across the border,” Lendman said.
“A potential East-West confrontation could follow,” he added.
Around 2,000 supporters of the country’s ultranationalist Right Sector movement encircled and threatened to storm the country’s parliament late Thursday night.
They demanded the country’s interior minister stand trial for the killing of notorious right-wing militant Olexander Muzychko, also known as Sashko Bilyi, who was wanted for war crimes committed in Russia’s Chechnya and died on Monday in a shootout with police.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and the IMF reached a tentative agreement Thursday on an $18 billion loan to Kiev in a bid to save the country’s shattered economy.
Lendman called the loan a plunder of Ukraine for profit. “The loan guarantees a Greek-style depression. Greece is a zombie country. Ukraine faces the same thing,” he told RIA Novosti.
Ukraine’s economy has been hammered by the ongoing political crisis that followed the unconstitutional seizure of power last month by the country’s new leadership.
Sergei Mikheyev, the head of the Russian think tank Center for Political Conjecture, believes Ukraine is likely to see another coup attempt.
“There was a power split the day after their victory,” Mikheyev told RIA Novosti, adding this is a normal stage of a revolution when “victors start dividing power and fighting for influence.”
Lendman echoed the sentiment, saying Right Sector played a leading role in ousting President Viktor Yanukovych last month. “It appears they want more power and may try getting it by force,” he said.
Russia has consistently warned that the new government in the country has a dangerous fascist element of Ukrainian ultra-nationalism, leading Moscow to take steps to protect ethnic Russians in the country.
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