Russia starts provocations in Crimea

UKRAINE - In Brief 11 Aug 2016 by Dmytro Boyarchuk

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Something strange has started in Crimea. On Monday, August 8th, Crimean inhabitants reported in social nets that checkpoints at the entrance to the peninsular were blocked on the Russian side. Observers heard some shootings and saw Russian military maneuvering close to the Ukrainian checkpoints. None could explain what is happening. Rumors have been circulating for few days. Some talked about Russian deserters who killed or injured few comrades, also there were talks about Crimean Tatars who attacked Russian military camp. But on August 10th there was an official statement of Russian secret serves that a terrorist act, organized by Ukrainian military, was prevented in Crimea. Later there was revealed to public a person who was arrested and blamed to be Ukrainian saboteur: Evgeniy Panov, a Ukrainian citizen, an employee of Enerhodar nuclear plant. The culmination of the story was official accusation from Kremlin that Ukraine has organized terrorist attacks in Crimea. In fact, these events raise more questions than answers. We definitely do not believe in official version of Moscow about “Ukrainian saboteurs”. Maybe Ukrainian army is not an advanced one but sending for “terrorist act” an amateur person after two years of war is too much even for Ukrainian army. And the main question – what was the reason for Kyiv in such sabotage? Against this backdrop a big question why Moscow might need this provocation. Few versions are discussed: (a) preparation for large-scale assault, (b) creating tension for improving political standing of Vladimir Putin, (c) just testing reaction of Ukraine and the West. In our view, military scenario with large-scale advancement should be seen w...