Week’s milestones. Nadia and hunger, assassination attempt with a trail, and media showdown

Nadia Savchenko has announced another hunger strike with a certain political pretext. The entourage of “LPR”’s Igor Plotnitskiy accused the Ukrainian security forces of the assassination attempt against their leader. The Ukrainian media sphere is witnessing the events reminding that the hybrid aggression against Ukraine continues.

Nadia Savchenko continues to stun Ukrainians. The politician with little experience in the Verkhovna Rada has not only condemned the Ukrainian government for “inaction” on the issue of the release of the Ukrainian prisoners in Donbas but also announced another hunger strike in this regard. In her call for the people to go out on a rally to the presidential administration in Kyiv, Savchenko stepped up her demands with a set of proposals for changes to the Ukrainian political system, which, in case they are implemented, will guarantee that the ideas of Viktor Medvedchuk on the country’s federalization will be realized. Nadia Savchenko denies that she knows Vladimir Putin’s godfather Medvedchuk in person, however she keeps voicing the ideas “from his notepad”.

It’s pretty clear why Savchenko is launching her initiatives in early August, ahead of the 25th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, especially since the vast majority of legislators are only gaining strength before the new political season. Apparently, the people, who are pushing the Hero of Ukraine to becoming really active, are in a rush to rock the Ukrainian boat from within. The scenario of destabilization in the Ukrainian capital is much more attractive for Ukraine’s enemies than a massive attack of the pro-Russian militants in Donbas, because this allows to achieve goals with no real external effort involved.

The situation in the media community further confirms the validity of this assumption. As it turned out, several leaders of the Ukrainian TV broadcasting have coordinated reports on the situation in Donbas with the so-called security forces of the “DPR”. In the context of the ongoing hybrid war, this allowed for influencing public opinion and helped swing the attitudes of the Ukrainian citizens. However, Deputy Minister of Information Policy Tetiana Popova claimed she had left his post not because of this scandal: she said there had been pressure inflicted upon her by the group of deputies from the Popular Front associated with the Peacemaker website [the online resource which recently posted contacts of journalists accredited with the “LPR” and “DPR”].

Commenting on what has been happening in Donbas recently, NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said that Russia has turned the region into a testing ground for its newest weapons. At the same time, Turchynov has not failed to note that Western partners do not indulge Ukraine with supplies of high-tech weapons, so the Ukrainian troops have to rely solely on the products of own defense industry. Turchynov has not ruled out a new wave of mobilization in case of escalation in the east of Ukraine.

The catalyst for such an escalation can be a life attempt against Igor Plotnitskiy, the self-proclaimed leader of the “LPR”. The data on his current condition are unclear, while his audio appeal, in which he vowed to complain to Vladimir Putin and the FSB about the unidentified attackers, is anything but trustworthy. Plotnitskiy’s entourage understandably accused the Ukrainian saboteurs of this attack, but other versions are far more likely. Either it’s the standoff between militants (other separatist leaders have already been victims of similar IED blasts) or it’s Russia sacrificing its puppet in order to accuse Ukraine of violating the Minsk agreements.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, while commenting on the situation in the economy and the activities of the government, noted some positive signals and also stressed the interest in investments from any foreign country except Russia. The prime minister advocates the sale of state property and relies on the sale of Odesa Portside Chemical Plant.

Prosecutor General's Office continues to be at the focus of public attention, as some of its representatives actively criticized their own colleagues for the search conducted at the headquarters of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Professional corruption fighters both with the MP mandates and without them have stood up for the NABU, not without certain self-interest. It is possible that this high-profile clash of law enforcement agencies is motivated by professional jealousy, but the need to keep the "untouchables" safe is hardly a priority today.

Meanwhile, the PGO has not only secured the arrest of Oleksandr Yefremov [the ex-member of pro-Yanukovych Party of Regions] on charges of separatism but also detained his colleague – Volodymyr Medyanyk.

Yevgeny Magda

UNIAN in Google News