Ukraine in the Crossfire
(By Chris Kaspar de Ploeg)
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| Author | Chris Kaspar de Ploeg |
fascists, of committing war crimes, of serving foreign interests. This proxy-war between
Russia and the West was accompanied by a fierce information war. This book separates fact
from fiction with extensive and reliable documentation. While remaining critical of Russia and
the Donbass rebellion, De Ploeg demonstrates that many of the recent disasters can be
traced to Ukrainian ultranationalists, pro-western political elites and their European and
North-American backers.
Ukraine in the Crossfire tackles the importance of ultranationalist violence during and after
the EuroMaidan movement, and documents how many of these groups are heirs to former
nazi-collaborators. It shows how the Ukrainian state has seized on the ultranationalist
war-rhetoric to serve its own agenda, clamping down on civil liberties on a scale
unprecedented since Ukrainian independence. De Ploeg argues that Kiev itself has been the
biggest obstacle to peace in Donbass, with multiple leaks suggesting that US officials are
pushing for a pro-war line in Ukraine. With the nation´s eyes turned towards Russia, the EU
and IMF have successfully pressured Ukraine into adopting far-reaching austerity programs,
while oligarchic looting of state assets and massive tax-avoidance facilitated by western
states continue unabated.
De Ploeg documents the local roots of the Donbass rebellion, the overwhelming popularity of
Crimea's secession, and shows that support for Ukraine's pro-western turn remains far from
unanimous, with large swathes of Ukraine's Russophone population opting out of the political
process. Nevertheless, De Ploeg argues, the pro-Western and pro-Russian camps are often
neoliberal, authoritarian, nationalist and heavily dependent on foreign support.
In a wider exploration of Russo-Western relations, he examines similarities between the
contemporary Russian state and its NATO counterparts, showing how the two power blocs
have collaborated in some of their worst violent excesses. A far cry from civilizational or
ideological clashes, De Ploeg argues that the current tensions flow from NATO´s military
dominance and aggressive posture, both globally and within eastern Europe, where Russia
seeks to preserve the status-quo.
Packed with shocking facts, deftly moving from the local to the international, from the
historical to the recent; De Ploeg connects the dots.”
