Ukraine Asks UN for Troops to Crush Eastern Protests

Envisions Joint Ukraine-UN 'Anti-Terrorist' Operation

Ukraine’s military isn’t exactly combat ready, which is likely part of the reason the nation is balking at following through on threats of a crackdown on secessionist demonstrators in the east. Interim President Oleksandr Turchinov has an idea though: let the UN do it.

Turchinov phoned UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urging him to provide UN ground troops for a joint UN-Ukraine “anti-terrorist” operation against the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces.

The Ukraine interim government has rebranded the Ukraine protesters several times, dubbing them renegades, militants, and finally is now settled on calling them “terrorists” in hope of recruiting international support for attacking the region.

Ukraine’s ability to carry out the attack, however, is in serious doubt, as it was revealed that the military is so broke that they had to get billionaire Dnipropetrovsk governor Ihor Kolomoysky to give them $5 million to pay for gasoline and new car batteries just to get all their vehicles started to withdraw from Crimea last month.

The Interior Ministry was able to overrun a smaller protest in Kharkiv, but since then protesters have dug in and fortified their possessions in Donetsk and Luhansk, readying for protracted battles.

Needless to say, Russia is certain to veto any UN resolution on attacking the protesters, and has similarly warned Ukraine against trying to do anything to them.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.