Without the transformation of Russia itself, which would include the indigenous nations enslaved by Moscow, Ukraine's victory in the war is impossible, a group of Ukrainian MPs believes, writes BTA.
Legislators expressed their opinion during a round table organized by Ukrinform on the topic: “National movements in Russia: influence on the internal situation and the war with Ukraine”.
„We must realize an important truth: it is practically impossible to achieve victory for Ukraine without resistance within the (Russian – ed.) empire running along parallel lines. Why is this front as important as the Pokrovsk front? This is because the more armed resistance there is in Kazan, Yekaterinburg or Novosibirsk, the less our boys will die at the front and the faster we will achieve our victory. "It is practically impossible to achieve victory without overthrowing (the government) in Russia itself," MP Oleg Dunda stressed.
According to Verkhovna Rada member Vladimir Vyatrovich, the victory plan should definitely include a clause for changes in Russia. “If we are really talking about a strategy for defeating Russia in this war, no strategy will be complete without changes in Russia. We can be satisfied that we now have a Victory Plan, the first point of which is to join NATO. But I am sure that if this plan is not aimed at changes inside Russia, it is not a question of the final victory in the war of Ukraine against Russia”, Vyatrovich believes.
The chairman of the parliamentary committee on freedom of speech Yaroslav Yurchyshyn is convinced that Ukraine should develop a policy to support the enslaved peoples of Russia. “In fact, for quite a long time we delayed the formulation of our policy towards the enslaved peoples. It is difficult to generalize about enslaved peoples because each of them is unique in its historical context, acquired opportunities and capacities. But we definitely need to adopt a systematic approach to shaping such a policy”, said Yurcishin.
Deputy Maria Mezentseva believes that Ukraine should contribute to the fact that the representatives of the indigenous peoples of Russia have a platform in the Council of Europe. “I consider it expedient, and the Ukrainian delegation in PACE supports this, to give a bigger and stronger voice to the indigenous peoples of Russia in PACE. This must be done urgently. Twelve members of the Ukrainian delegation hold the posts of vice-chairmen, we chair committees and sub-committees and are vice-chairmen of political groups in the organization, that is, we have an influence on the formation of the leadership of the institution and we really place our hopes on the new leadership of the MFA in the trend and the position regarding the state policy towards the indigenous peoples”, Mezentseva stressed.
It should be noted that Russia includes 21 national republics and has over 100 indigenous peoples.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, in August 2023 the Verkhovna Rada created a special commission to develop a state policy for interaction with the national movements of the Russian Federation.
In October 2022, the Verkhovna Rada called on the international community to support the right to self-determination of Russia's indigenous peoples.