Eastern Ukraine Needs UN Peacekeepers, Scribe Argues

The prospect of a UN mission in eastern Ukraine has never materialized. In the current deadlock, it’s time to reconsider it, argued Taras Bilous, a Ukrainian who claims the presence of UN personnel could ease the tension in the region.

Photo Insert: UN Peacekeepers patrol in Sudan

Writing for openDemocracy in the UK recently, Bilous said the UN peacekeepers are needed in Donbas, where the Ukrainian army faces Russian-speaking separatists supported by Moscow. Not much has changed in the conflict zone since 2014 even as the massing of Russian troops near the Ukraine border and in Belarus has led to more skirmishes.

At the end of January, a Ukrainian think tank, the Center for Defense Strategies, analyzed the risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. The authors of the report concluded that a large-scale invasion is unlikely in 2022.

Much more likely, they said, was a range of other scenarios, such as a large-scale military escalation in the Donbas that would involve both Russian military forces and an attempt to break through the current 400-km. front line.

The American Institute for the Study of War came to a similar conclusion. Nevertheless, the media and politicians have paid this threat little attention, focusing on the more unlikely full-scale invasion.

In Ukraine, constant news about soldiers and civilians killed has poisoned the political atmosphere, deepening the distance between people on both sides of the frontline. Under these circumstances, there is one obvious solution – and one that is only more relevant today: the introduction of UN peacekeepers.

Of course, such a move will not guarantee the ceasefire regime. But the presence of a neutral third party at the frontline would raise the cost of breaking the ceasefire. Moreover, a UN mission could help the sides overcome their distrust and pull back troops and equipment on both sides. Several clear questions arise here.

First, introducing peacekeepers would require Russian agreement, given its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. This is the main reason why peacekeepers have not yet been introduced. Indeed, if Russia is truly concerned about a Ukrainian advance, then why would it not agree to UN peacekeepers?

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