Ukrainian Nationalists Protest Against President Zelensky's Election Deal With Eastern Separatists

Ukrainian nationalists burn flares and hold a banner reading "No to capitulation" during their protest against the approval of so-called the Steinmeier Formula for elections in eastern Ukraine.

BBC: Ukraine conflict: Anger as Zelensky agrees vote deal in east

Hundreds of Ukrainians have protested after President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had backed an agreement that would bring elections to territory controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

Mr Zelensky came to power promising to end the five-year conflict in the east which has left 13,000 people dead.

Any vote would be under international standards and would not be held "under the barrel of a gun", he said.

Nationalists rallied in Kiev with banners demanding "no capitulation".

Large parts of Luhansk and Donetsk, in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, were seized by Russian-backed separatists in 2014 after Russia captured and annexed Ukraine's Crimea region.

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Previous Post: Ukraine Has Reached an Agreement With Separatists In The East On Local Elections (October 1, 2019)

WNU Editor: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ran on a platform to end the war. He is now delivering. The opposition from Ukrainian nationalists is not a surprise. Because of the war a large segment of the Russian-Ukrainian population were disenfranchised from the Ukrainian electoral process. This deal is the first step to bring them back in. Russian-Ukrainians also represent a lot of votes, and for any politician who wants power he or she will need to accommodate Ukraine's Russian minority (about 25%). And you can take this to the bank. Russian Ukrainians are never going to vote for any Ukrainian nationalist party, and the nationalists know this. My prediction. Expect a lot of opposition in the coming weeks and months to scuttle this deal, but the momentum now is to find common ground and to end the war. 

Update: My friends and contacts in Kyiv are telling me that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a major concession on autonomy that made the separatists agree to work with him to search for a peaceful resolution. Long time readers of this blog know that I have always said the following. The only way to end the conflict is Ukraine is to establish a federated state (like Canada or Switzerland) where the regions have jurisdiction on issues like culture and development. It is still too early to say where this is all heading, but it looks like this is the direction that President Volodymyr Zelensky has decided to follow.

More News On Ukrainian Nationalists Protesting Against President Zelensky's Election Deal With Eastern Separatists

Protests against ‘Steinmeier Formula’ take place across Ukraine -- TASS
Europe praises Ukraine deal, but opposition sees a betrayal -- AP
Mixed Reactions For Zelenskiy's Eastern Ukraine Election Deal -- RFE
Ukraine summit 'soon' after progress in talks: France -- France 24
After Meeting With Donald Trump, Ukraine President Announces Concessions To Russia, Setting Off Protests -- The Conversation