A sign comparing Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler has been erected at an army checkpoint near Cherkasi, central Ukraine, on the 26th. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense released a statement on the 27th stating that Russia is trying to divide Ukraine like the Korean Peninsula. Cherkasi = EPA Yonhap News Agency
It has been observed that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on the defensive, is reviewing the ‘Korean scenario’ as an exit strategy for the invasion of Ukraine. Like the Korean peninsula divided into North and South Korea, it means that Ukraine will be divided into the southeast and the rest of the country to create a divided country. Ukraine, which offered a ‘neutral country card’ as a condition of the ceasefire, also took a step back from its previous position of “not negotiating territorial issues.”
According to Reuters and other foreign media sources on the 27th (local time), Kirillo Budanou, head of the military intelligence department of Ukraine’s defense ministry, issued a statement saying, “Russia is trying to drag Ukraine’s territory into a situation in which it is divided into occupied and non-occupied territories.” “It’s actually an attempt to create a South and North Korea here,” he added.
Currently, the Russian military is occupying the eastern Donbas region, which has strong pro-Russian tendencies, in Ukraine, the southern Crimea peninsula, which was forcibly annexed in 2014, and the southern Kherson region, which was acquired after the invasion. Just as the Korean Peninsula was divided based on the military demarcation line, it means that President Putin’s new strategy is to draw a dividing line to the southeast of Ukraine.
Of course, it is still at the expected level. Russia has never brought this up in public debate. However, measures that can be considered as preliminary shutdown work are already being implemented. In Russian-occupied territory, pro-Russian figures entered the parliament. The use of the Russian ruble has also increased in place of the Ukrainian currency, the Hryuña. The fact that the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), founded by pro-Russian rebels, announced a referendum on accession to the Russian Federation on the same day also foreshadows the division of the country. It means that the possibility that the painful history of the Korean Peninsula will also occur in Ukraine has increased.
The Ukrainian government reacted strongly. “The Ukrainians will launch guerrilla warfare in the Russian-occupied territory,” Budanou threatened. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Oleg Nicholenko said: “The referendum held in the temporarily occupied territories has no legal effect, and no country in the world will recognize the forced change of borders.”
Instead, Ukraine has expressed its willingness to accept ‘neutralization’. In an interview with Russian media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “I am ready to discuss security guarantees, neutralization, and the status of a non-nuclear state”, stating that a third-party guarantee of neutralization and a decision through a referendum are prerequisites. said This means that Russia has agreed to accept the issue that it raised as a key condition for peace negotiations with Russia’s abandonment of its membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Furthermore, the fact that President Zelensky said, “I want to compromise with Russia on the Donbass issue,” is even suggesting that Ukraine is not ruling out the possibility of division. In the past, President Zelensky had drawn the line that the plan for independence from Donbass was not to be conceded. This is the reason why Sky News explained that “President Zelensky’s remarks seemed as if he had acknowledged a territorial concession.”
Russia and Ukraine are scheduled to meet in Istanbul, Turkey on the 29th for the fifth round of negotiations. As a month has passed since the start of the war, 1,119 civilians have been killed (UN estimated), and in a situation where the catastrophe grows out of control, expectations and concerns are crossing over whether a compromise can be found with the goal of dividing Ukraine.
Heo Kyung-ju reporter fairyhkj@hankookilbo.com
