I read the full interview with Kyrylo Budanov for RBC-Ukraine, which has been draining the Polish public emotionally since this morning. It's apparent provocation.
After a twelve hours of mass upheavals, sighs, and demonstration rage combined with helplessness, the silence yet falls. Keyboard warriors, patriotic avant-garde anti-social networks, digital warlords and leaders of national outrage yet became tired. nevertheless theirs and all of us are angry with Ukrainian nazinostalgia and anti-Polish provocations are by all means correct, yet the emotional excesses of nothing-a- nothing aid us. It's not even any kind of force drop, on the contrary – we only accumulate toxic depressive potential, due to the fact that the general rage is not even accompanied by a single part of political reflection. There's just quite a few anger. On this – I apologize for the cliché – you cannot build anything. And present we do not request anything as much as peace, prudence and an thought for concrete (both immediate and far-reaching) actions that will support the vast majority of the public.
Eating on Budanov, who is an apparent dark psychopath, even so very harmonious and loud, is not a proof of our unity or even more strength. He's an Atavism. 72 hours and no 1 will remember what this man actually said, only simple impression remains: he insulted Poles. It is true, but it is time to realize that Polish sobs and vomits do not listen, nevertheless intense they are. In the world, besides in Ukraine, they will only perceive to political demands and only those that we have the chance to actually enforce. Not much, even if we have tools to do that, we inactive request courage and a willingness to usage them. Unfortunately, in the case of Ukraine, the Polish political class proves complete indolence. He can only scream. Budanow knows this, which is why he offends Poles willingly, insolently and painfully.
The interview is rather exhausting, only part is devoted to the problems of tightening relations on the Warsaw-Kijów line. There's quite a few issues, not so much political as lifestyle issues. Budanow talks about Jermak's "style" work, which he does not want to continue, about various nuances of taking over the position of a civilian authoritative after his career in military intelligence etc. As far as global matters are concerned, the way in which many issues are reported and put into Ukrainian communicative is even interesting – all the more so that everything is given very directly, in places, I would say, even carelessly.
The issue of conflict with Poland occupies only about 1 5th of the full interview. Budanov leaves no doubt. In his opinion (which is hard to disagree with) the most hard minute in Polish-Ukrainian relations is before us: “The summit of escalation of the conflict with Poland is surely inactive ahead of us. It's no secret. little than a week remains until the next anniversary of the Volyn tragedy. From the information I have, it is clear that a full series is being prepared – I will say it again – of immature, escalation actions. That is why the full problem will only deepen," says Budanow.
Budanow does not even mention Polish demands on exhumation. It does not mention to the Polish historical memory or even the cult of the CNS-UPA itself, which is 1 of the most important, highest placed animators. The full dispute brings to the “unripe” actions of Polish politicians. He consciously develops provocation, explaining why he consistently uses the word “maturity”:
“I am utilizing the word “maturity” on purpose, so this [preservation of the Polish side – ed.] Ukraine will not accept any ultimatum from anyone in the world. The last country that tried to give us an ultimatum was the Russian Federation. No offense, but Russia is simply a small more powerful than Poland. And yet we rejected her ultimatum as well. It cost us a lot, we spilled quite a few blood, but we inactive didn't accept it. So why does individual think that we will accept anyone else's ultimatum?"
It's most likely the strongest part of the interview. In practice Budanow puts the Polish position on the genocide of 85 years ago on the same scale as Russian demands of 2022. This is an obvious, false absurdity which produces a synthetic asumpt to a propaganda message for people truly mentally poor: since we have not bowed to Moscow, the more we will not fall to Warsaw. Of course, this is not the end of brazen malice. Budanow refers to the possible reaction of Ukraine to the “unripe” and “escalating” activities of Warsaw:
“If we find that individual is taking immature steps, why should we answer in advance? Then we could make our own mistakes. Let them make their decision first. We'll look at him and then we'll answer. Nobody's going to look into it with their hands on. The summit of escalation always leads to either disaster or deescalation. I hope this time it will end with deescalation.”
It's besides clearly a false design. On the 1 hand, Budanow declares that Ukraine does not intend to escalate first. On the another hand, it openly announces that if Poland honors the memory of the murdered Blood Sunday (11 July 1943), which Kiev will consider to be "unripe", then the answer will be that which leads to "either a disaster or a deescalation".
This, of course, is simply a carefully thought-out message. There is not a word about work for genocide in Volyn, neo-Bander identity madness or the problem of exhumation. On the another hand, there is simply a consistent effort to present Polish actions as unjustified political force against which Ukraine has a moral and political work to keep its full perseverance. I have no uncertainty that this full section of the interview is simply a conscious provocation aimed at Poland. Just as it was Volodymyr Zelenski's decision from the end of May to give the Independent peculiar Operations Centre the honorary name “UPA Heroes”. This was not an accident or a misunderstanding, but an component of a conscious historical and information/propagand policy.
However, this should be another lesson for the Polish public. You must never respond to provocation precisely as the provoker wishes. Budanow knew very well that his words in Poland would make a gigantic emotional storm. He knew that for respective hours Polish social media would be gurgling like kettles, and then the most awesome reactions could be easy shown in Ukrainian channels on Telegram and in social media as another "proof" of alleged Polish hysteria ("immaturity") and hostility towards Ukraine.
In this way, fuel has been provided for weeks of madly polonaphobic run in Ukraine, or – more precisely – among Ukrainians, due to the fact that this besides applies to those who managed to escape war and mobilization. specified a message besides goes to the multi-million-dollar Ukrainian diaspora in Poland, perpetuating the belief that Poles are a hostile, hateful and prejudiced nation. And then Budanow and his colleagues will simply wait for the first major incident, which can be utilized propagandaally as a confirmation of the already built communicative – that Poland is simply a demoralized, anti-Ukrainian country and, of course, acting in Putin's interest. This is simply a recipe for serious destabilization.
Bojan Stanislawski
