Ukraine President Orders Army East, Ready to Resume War

Insists Eastern Elections Violate Truce

The Ukrainian civil war has been on hold for weeks, but seems poised to restart, as President Petro Poroshenko has ordered troops to the breakaway east with an eye toward the resumption of the conflict.

Poroshenko insisted that the move was done to “repel possible attacks” by the rebels, and also claimed he “remains a firm supporter of the peace plan.” That sounds great, in theory.

The problem is that Poroshenko has declared eastern Ukraine’s elections a violation of the peace plan, and confirmed yesterday that he’s been holding talks with defense ministry leadership about restarting the war over the vote.

The Obama Administration seems to be on board with a resumption of the conflict, as they were never really particularly supportive of the Russia-brokered deal. US General Philip Breedlove warned the maintenance of the ceasefire risked it becoming a “frozen conflict” and that the US prefers a resolution.

NATO continues to blame Russia for the conflict, and is once again hyping Russian troops “near” Ukraine’s border, though there seems to be no doubt that if the fighting resumes, it will be the Ukrainian military, not the rebels, firing the first shots.

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.