There are stories that come up at a certain moment, and the only common reaction is: how could this even happen?! Probably, such a story awaits everyone with the case of Sergei Kuznetsov, a Ukrainian veteran whom Germany suspects of undermining the Russian gas Nord Streams, whose case we have been dealing with from the very beginning. I'll explain why this happens.
Remember the case of Ukrainian soldier Vitaly Markiv, who in 2019 was found guilty by the court of murdering an Italian photojournalist in May 2014? It was a very loud story, which was followed by the whole country, which was kept under the control of the authorities, and everyone rejoiced when Markiv was acquitted and he returned home. With Kuznetsov, the situation is similar and completely different at the same time. Our veteran is kept in terrible conditions – first in Italy, now in Germany. He has already lost about 20 kg.
He is accused of undermining the Streams, which Ukraine blocked with all its might, sincerely hated and has reason to consider a legitimate military target. That is, regardless of whether he did it or not, veteran Kuznetsov is not a criminal for Ukrainians. But there is a nuance – he is not a criminal ideologically, not legally; legally, his involvement in this story could cost Ukraine hundreds of billions of euros. How?
Russia wants to prove by all possible means that the Streams were blown up by Ukraine, and to collect compensation from us – potentially hundreds of billions of euros, which we do not have. And if earlier these were plans, now she is quite realistically preparing the ground for this and public opinion in Germany, including through the hands of the Alternative for Germany. And the public opinion of Germans is important because the court is in Germany.
The authorities’ policy is to pretend that we have nothing to do with this story. It is partly understandable, because in this way we are supposedly preparing for the worst case scenario. But the problem is that it will be very difficult for Ukraine to dissociate itself from the military personnel. The connection between the country and the officer in service is obvious. Therefore, closing our eyes, hoping that no one will notice us, is a bad strategy. Ukraine must take a position and start broadcasting it loudly.
Are we protecting the rights of our citizens? Do we want to bring him home? What do we do if Kuznetsov admits guilt under pressure? What if not? Why didn’t we open a case and demand his extradition to be tried at home? The last question is very concerning. While we keep our eyes tightly closed, and Kuznetsov is being pressed by the Germans, two books have been published in Germany, which describe in great detail how the Ukrainians planned to undermine the Streams. For now, we will very briefly tell you what we are talking about there – interesting literature. Well, what the authors of both books agree on is that the Ukrainians did it all, but the president did not know about the operation. Perhaps this is the answer to the question of why we are silent. But even if so, the moment has already come when it is worth putting aside grievances and saving the situation.
We don’t have money to compensate Russia, but Russia knows where it is – these are frozen assets. And we really need this money.
Source: Katerina Kobernik / Facebook
