Professor Tsygankov: Ukraine Must Prepare to Rebuild Itself

THE MOSCOW TIMES -- Professor Andrei Tsyganov’s latest opinion piece calls for Ukraine to rebuild itself. “The three months of increasingly intense fighting between pro-Kiev forces and eastern separatists have unleashed both sides’ worst instincts and demonstrated their high tolerance for loss of civilian life. Kiev’s army and sub-army units are guilty of employing heavy weapons to shell residential neighborhoods, while the separatists may be guilty of downing a commercial airliner. But a clean end to the conflict is nowhere in sight, as the last three months appear to have only strengthened the resolve and capabilities of the eastern fighters. They are now resistant to any negotiations with Kiev, and some even talk of taking the fight to western Ukraine. These developments exclude any recovery of Ukrainian statehood, even in its dysfunctional post-Soviet form. The Ukrainian state, as it emerged after the Soviet dissolution, is finished.”