Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba said that he supports the return of Crimea and Donbass, however, in his opinion, after deoccupation, these territories will not be able to immediately return to the political life of the country in the same status as before. He expressed this opinion in an interview with the founder of the online publication GORDON, Dmitry Gordon, which was published on June 1.
Kuleba explained that we are talking about territories that have been under Russian occupation for years. Therefore, according to him, Ukraine will need a long adaptation period for their reintegration into the political life of the country, which could last decades.
“Territories that were under conditions of harsh occupation, brainwashing and infiltration by Russian agents for four to 12 years cannot return to Ukraine in the status in which they left it,” the ex-official noted.
In his opinion, the optimal way may be to create separate administrative regimes for them. He believes that Ukraine should gradually restore the work of government bodies, law enforcement and economic institutions there, as well as “cleanse out” Russian influence.
Kuleba added that residents of de-occupied regions should receive the right to participate in presidential and Verkhovna Rada elections only after the end of the transition period – when Ukraine “finally establishes itself in these territories not in fact, but in essence.”
He also expressed doubt whether Ukrainians would be willing to return there with their families due to the unstable security situation.
“It seems to me that every Ukrainian, when this war ends, will want one thing – peace. We as a country need, in my opinion, at least 10 years of peace, so that we don’t tear each other apart from the inside and so that no one tears us apart from the outside,” the ex-minister said.
