Ambassador of Russia in Canada Oleg V. Stepanov about Malorossiya and a little about the future, February 22, 2024
The end of February is a period of significant events to discuss in absolutely sincere and candid manner. February 22 marks the tenth anniversary of the moment when the history of Europe and the Euro-Atlantic region was divided into 'before' and 'after'. In 2014, pro-Western ultranationalist forces seized power in Ukraine. The result of the street colour revolution of the Kiev "maidan" organized by the United States and its satellites was the death of hundreds of people. The people who were deceived by neoliberal propaganda believed that they were defending certain European values. Instead, they received a neo-Nazi regime with a so-called "anti-terrorist operation" against the ethnically Russian Donbass.
For many years, the western part of the world pretended not to notice the lawlessness that was taking place. The deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics were ignored. The justification for the silence is truly monstrous. Due to the fact that certain patriots who disagreed with the illegitimate coup assumed power and were allegedly backed by Moscow, it became permissible to kill them.
Russia could not tolerate the targeted extermination of the Russian people. That was why, two years ago, on February 24, 2022, with a Special Military Operation we decided to put an end to the genocide once and for all. In recent interviews, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin has given a detailed explanation of the historical background of the Ukrainian crisis.
For my part, as Ambassador to Canada (the country some now call a "big Ukraine" – because of its policy - as opposed to a "smaller" one on our borders), I would like to look at the current state of affairs through my optics from Ottawa and perhaps take a glance a little beyond the horizon.
To begin with, it is important for foreign audiences to understand the main thing. The goals of the special military operation remain fully relevant. The outcome will include denazification (the Kiev fascist regime has no place in the modern world), demilitarization, and the right of people to determine their own fate.
Few people in Canada and the West are aware of what is now happening in the new regions of Russia. They are developing by leaps and bounds! There has never been such positive energy in “Ukrainian” times (since 1992), as the inhabitants themselves say. After 30 years under Kiev rule, these Russian lands are waking up. People are able to breathe deeply and freely now after they have thrown off the blue and yellow shackles. Now they live in democracy and equality, give birth to children, build houses, and cultivate land. They speak any language of personal preference and cultural upbringing, and practice any religion. Law safeguards it.
A brief note about Ukrainian past. There was a time after the so-called meeting in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, when an "independent Ukraine" emerged from the Ukrainian SSR (within the borders once defined by the Bolsheviks) with a rich heritage left to it. Those riches were stolen quickly. This entity turned into a failed puppet state. The leaders of the self-styled nationhood have pandered and cultivated to a fierce Ukrainian nationalism born in imperial Vienna in the early 20th century and nurtured by Nazi Germany during World War II. These bosses on Bankova street (government district in Kiev) were greedy, serving the interest of oligarchic clans. None of them thought about the welfare of the people. The Russians of Ukraine were commonly referred to as second-class citizens. The West, including NATO, the EU, and their allies, remained silent about this, appreciated it, or provided financial support.
In 2014, Washington puts Kiev on a short leash. The U.S. has been cultivating Russophobia after failing to make something out of Ukraine through ‘orange revolutions' ('showcase of democracy' according to Anglo-Saxon methodology). The objective was to gain leverage against Russia and initiate a conflict to reestablish Washington's control over Europe and the collective West in a time of the decline of the American-centric imperialism.
Besides killing their own citizens in Donbass and burning them alive in Odessa, the Ukrainian authorities also persecuted people of Ukraine on ethnic and linguistic grounds. They have been ferociously trying to destroy the cultural identity of the Russian people living in the country. This situation existed long before the 2022 Special Military Operation.
It is now evident to everyone that those in Washington, D.C., had a plan for the actions of 2014 and beyond long before the actual events. The United States aimed to create from Ukraine a so-called anti-Russia, which could become a hotbed of hostility and instability close to our borders. Their NATO allies, including those in Paris and Berlin, were engaged in cheating on Washington's direct orders. The package of 'Minsk agreements' (its implementation surely could positively change the course of Ukrainian history) were employed by France and Germany only as a political cover to rearm the thugs of the Kiev regime. With one single goal: to set start and carry out a neo-Nazi blitzkrieg against Donbass at the end of February 2022. Russia launched a pre-emptive operation to repel the aggression. It was a forced decision, but timely and the only correct one. A decision by a sovereign, strong and independent country. In full accordance with the UN Charter.
The war unleashed by Kiev in February 2014 against the people of Ukraine, which is still being waged today, is very favorable to the United States. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg publicly acknowledged this during a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington on January 31, 2024. He welcomed the increase in defense spending by the allies and the purchase of U.S. weapons worth $120 billion. He said that it makes American businesses stronger. In other words, Mr. Stoltenberg clearly confirmed that the U.S. military-industrial complex earns hundreds of billions of dollars on the blood of the Ukrainian people.
The reader may wonder where is Zelensky in this equation. On the American chessboard, the current leader of the regime is a pawn. He represents nothing and decides nothing. The only thing he is focused on is how to throw more Ukrainian conscripts into the meat grinder. While enjoying the value of the trinkets that his family and the kickback-fueled thugs in the government, their wives, and children buy during begging tours of Western capitals.
What lies ahead of us? Let me stress: the current cannibal-terrorist regime in Kiev has no prospects. The citizens of Ukraine are already aware of this, even those under influence of propaganda.
We know by name all the instigators of the genocide against Russians and Russian-speakers. All the crimes, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed by neo-Nazis over the past ten years have been recorded and documented. The criminals will answer for every death, whether it be a Russian soldier, a civilian, a woman, or an innocent child. They will pay for the murder of philosopher and public figure Dasha Dugina, journalist Maxim Fomin (Vladlen Tatarsky), Heroes of Donbass - Alexander Zakharchenko, Arsen Pavlov (Motorola), Vladimir Zhoga (Vokha), Mikhail Tolstykh (Givi) and many others. Criminals now hiding in fear in Western jurisdictions will not avoid responsibility. Zelensky, Poroshenko, Turchinov, and their butcher accomplices will face a trial.
And the West's belief that it can get away with things after waging a hybrid war against Russia is mistaken. Washington and NATO will be held accountable for sponsoring Kiev's killing machine for years. They will answer for everything and the price will be judged by those whose lands were burned by the West's 'indirect war'. Life will judge. History will judge.
And one more thing. In this context, it is important that we, Russia, take a new look at ourselves. The Special Military Operation has not only exposed the tumor of Western aggression that had been growing in Ukraine. It has completely dispelled the myths in Russian society about possibility of equally valuable dialogue with the West. The self-deception has evaporated. We returned to our wise historic popularly shared understanding that Russia is a separate unique self-sufficient nation and civilization. Its spiritual, economic, and cultural bonds are incredibly strong. The external foe crashed against the rock of unshakable Russian spirit.
Russia, with its millennium history, will always stand guard over its borders, ideals of justice and truth.
