Ukrainian authorities struggle to win favor after rebel withdrawal from Slovyansk

[dipsydoodle]

SLOVYANSK, UKRAINE — Ukraine’s government trumpeted the rebels’ recent retreat from this key crossroad town as a major victory in its months-long battle against insurgents in the east.

But as Slovyansk’s residents clean up the rubble from destroyed homes and businesses, triumph is far from people’s minds. The fighting appears nowhere near being over; central authority is largely absent; and many of this nation’s long-felt divisions are deeper than ever.

Police are barely present in Slovyansk, and senior security officials say that they are unsure who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the city. The rebels have moved on to the much larger city of Donetsk, with its nearly 1 million people, posing an even larger challenge to a disorganized army.

Meanwhile, the same skepticism about the government in Kiev that made Slovyansk a fertile ground for separatists is as present as ever.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/ukrainian-authorities-struggle-to-win-favor-after-rebel-withdrawal-from-slovyansk/2014/07/12/8dd8884c-8321-49fa-8e71-b9c4f3c41937_story.html

[Igel]

1. And it will be a struggle.

At least some of the Russian channels are off and other stations are broadcasting.

That'll help things prevent things like the Channel 1 broadcast that reported on how Ukr soldiers cut open a 3-year-old child in front of its mother in Slavyansk. It showed the mother crying. The kid wasn't hurt. It was russist.

BTW, that sign the soldiers are standing in front of only marginally says "Slovyansk." It's in Russian. "Slavyansk." Then again, the photo editor is in DC, probably, while the station chief writing the article never probably got outside the MKAD. That would be the Moscow inner ring road. Not much Slavyansk there. Just slavyane.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. True.

Realistically, the sentiment from most of the local populace is like that of a parent with two squabbling children: "I don't care who started it, just fix it."

The thing is, it's not as if things were ever good under separatist control. Ever. Even before the military campaign by the Ukrainian army commenced, things deteriorated very quickly for ordinary citizens after those separatists seized the government buildings.

Then you have the matter of collateral civilian damage, which both sides unquestionably have had a hand in, although I'm sure each side wants to paint it as exclusively as the problem of the other side.

Ultimately, the mess will be the Ukrainian government's to fix in the end, namely because I don't think the separatists have much interest in picking up the pieces. Let's hope everyone gets the humanitarian help they need.