Moscow, March 4 : The editor-in-chief of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta says that President Vladimir Putin plans to divide Ukraine, keep the central parts which include Kyiv leaning towards Moscow while letting the western areas abutting Europe be “as they want”. Dmitry Muratov, who last year shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Filipina journalist Maria Ressa, also told The New Yorker in an interview that Russians in general do not support the war against Ukraine and that more than a third of the population is against the military action. Muratov said the Russian government’s plan is to divide Ukraine. “With the western part of the country, whose center is Lviv, the thinking is, ‘Let them live as they want’. Central Ukraine, with the center in Kyiv, will have the government that Putin requires, one that is oriented toward Moscow and not the West,” he said. “And, as for the east, the whole Donbas will be accepted into Russia. Around 800,000 people there were just given Russian passports.” But the reality is that a mass of Russian people do not support the military invasion. “The people do not really support war, especially the war with Ukraine. More than a third are categorically against the military action. There are no rallies in support of the war. Already, a million people have signed a “No to War” petition on the Change.org platform,” he said. “Russian intellectuals have also had their say: writers, screenwriters, journalists, scientists,” he added in the email interview. Muratov has for three decades defied threats as it covers government and business corruption, Kremlin politics, and armed conflict from Chechnya to eastern Ukraine. Muratov, who is bitterly opposed to the war on Ukraine, accused Putin of destroying the future for younger generations in Russia and “we in no way would support this war”. He said the Russian authorities told him not use words like “war”, “occupation” and “invasion.” He said: “However, we continue to call war war. We are waiting for the consequences.” Muratov admitted that it was not known to anyone how far Putin was willing to on vis-a-vis Ukraine. “Obviously, he is trying to realize his own conception about the structure of the world and Ukraine… I don’t have much hope for Ukraine’s negotiations with (Russia).” He said most Russians do not agree with Putin that NATO poses a threat to Moscow. “NATO has never attacked Russia. The version about the Ukrainian fascists seizing power — this is also not clear. People are whispering: Isn’t Zelensky Jewish? Putin went to war against a country that lost eight million people in WWII.” MR ING
