Ukraine Declares Donetsk, Luhansk Governments ‘Terrorist Organizations’

Prosecutor Office Says the Groups Are 'Subversive'

by Jason Ditz, May 16, 2014

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The General Prosecutor Office of Ukraine’s interim government has issued a statement today declaring the interim governments of the breakaway eastern oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk to be “terrorist organizations” under Ukrainian law.

The office said that the listing means the beginning of criminal proceedings against the self-proclaimed People’s Republic governments for “subversive activity,” and that they will investigate regional officials for possible ties to the groups.

The People’s Republics were mostly a rhetorical thing before last weekend, when a hastily assembled referendum in Donetsk and Luhansk expressed broad local support for the groups, granting protest leaders a measure of legitimacy, albeit not one recognized by the interim government.

In many ways, this lack of recognition swings both ways, as many in the eastern protest movements don’t recognize the central government, itself formed out of violent protests earlier this year, as the legitimate governing body of Ukraine.

The interim government has long labeled the protesters against their new rule “terrorists,” but today’s declaration marks the first time that actually meant anything legally. The declaration does not appear to have any bearing on the ongoing military invasion of Donetsk and Luhansk, nor does the interim government have a practical way of imposing legal penalties on the People’s Republics right now anyhow, since they are in open rebellion against the military invasion.

This map shows how Russia’s military relies on Ukraine

• BY ADAM TAYLOR AND GENE THORP

• May 9 at 9:53 am

May 9, or Victory Day, is a hugely important day for Russia's military. It marks the anniversary of the Soviet announcement in May 1945 that Nazi Germany had surrendered, and it is now celebrated with an enormous military parade in Moscow. The parade is an impressive show of strength: About 11,000 soldiers and more than 150 military vehicles gathered in Red Square on Friday.

In light of recent events, however, it's worth remembering how much that military relies on outside factors -- for example, a large number of factories and other resources in Ukraine's troubled southern and eastern regions.

Kateryna Choursina and James M. Gomez of Bloomberg Businessweek recently pointed out that more than 50 factories in Ukraine's southern and eastern regions provide significant amounts of important hardware for Russia's military, and that the Russian government's $15 billion agreement with former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (the agreement that eventually lead to his ousting) aimed to further intertwine the two country's defense industries.

The map below, compiled using information from the Royal United Services Institute, shows where some of the most important sites are for Russia, as well as the major sites of Ukraine's pro-Russian separatist movement. It shows not only how southeast Ukraine provides military hardware for Russia, but also controls oil and uranium, and even the food for the sailors in Sevastopol.

It's worth bearing this in mind when we consider the Russian military's buildup on the borders of Ukraine (whether or not they are gone). The troops don't just threaten Ukraine: They rely on it. too.

(Gene Thorp / The Washington Post)