David Marples
Vladimir Putin has suggested a postponement of the referenda in Donetsk and Luhansk, and offered his support for the Ukrainian presidential elections, scheduled for May 25, as a good first step toward resolving the Ukraine crisis.
His apparent moderation of tone recently prompts me to revisit a scenario that emerged earlier in the Euromaidan upheavals. In reality it is probably at best one of many conceivable options with which the Russia president may be toying with regard to Ukraine.
The scenario may seem so far-fetched as to be unworthy of considering. It stems from an alleged leak of a conversation between Yulia Tymoshenko and Nestor Shufrych of the National Security Council of Ukraine held in March. Tymoshenko appeared to suggest that Ukrainians should kill Russians and assassinate President Putin. According to Moscow Times (cited in The Washington Post), although Shufrych rejected the authenticity of the statement, an entry from Tymoshenko on Twitter appeared to verify the comments as representing her position. Read more →