McCain: Ukraine to lose Mariupol due to Minsk deal

The new agreement reached in Minsk freezes the conflict in Ukraine and makes the world believe in another Putin's lie.

It is said in the official statement by John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Ukrinform reports.

“The agreement reached in Minsk freezes the conflict at a time of separatist advantage, solidifies the gains of Russian aggression, and leaves Ukraine’s border with Russia firmly under Moscow’s control pending a comprehensive political settlement whose content is unknown and feasibility is unclear,” the US politician notes.

“Vladimir Putin must be very pleased with this deal. By changing the military facts on the ground, he has succeeded in forcing a discussion of truce lines inside Ukraine’s territory, rather than the only line that truly matters – the Ukrainian border he violated,” the committee chairman wrote.

According to McCain, the previous Minsk agreements also required pulling heavy weapons back, but Russia failed to fulfill it. “The new ceasefire contains a similar requirement. There is no reason to believe the result will be any different this time. Under the last ceasefire, Russian-backed separatists attacked and captured the Donetsk airport. I fear under this ceasefire, they will attack and capture the port of Mariupol,” the senator stressed.

According to him, the agreement can be successful only if all sides want peace. “But it is abundantly clear that Vladimir Putin is committed to conflict,” McCain underlined.

He noted that he still hoped for a political solution that would restore Ukraine’s sovereign territory and the right to determine its own political and economic future. But such a solution “will never be achieved through concessions to Vladimir Putin’s imperial ambitions”.

McCain stressed that while Putin was holding negotiations on a peace agreement at night, 50 tanks, 40 missile systems, and 40 armored vehicles crossed from Russia into Ukraine.

“Some [in the US administration] will use this deal as excuse to delay sending defensive lethal assistance to Ukraine. But as long as Vladimir Putin negotiates peace while sending in tanks, that need still exists,” the US senator said.