'Apocalypse': Ivorian Writer on Aftermath of Maidan Revolution in Ukraine

Ivorian writer Sylvain Takoue reflected on ten years of Ukrainian mistakes since the Maidan protests and the 2014 coup d'état happened, which ultimately pushed Russia to launch its special military operation in Donbass.

"The continuation of this coup d'état was the war in Donbass, while Russia repeatedly proposed a plan to ease the tension. Ukraine then became mired in a disastrous political situation for the population, to which Volodymyr Zelensky had promised peace […]. Because of his stubbornness, Zelensky created a total disaster for Ukraine," he explained.

Western Interference

The West took advantage of these excesses in Kiev to stretch its pawns in the East. The Western powers are still operating according to their post-Second World War "unipolar" logic and wish to maintain their hegemony, through their armed wing, NATO. Therefore, the objective was to bring the alliance as close as possible to the Russian borders.

"The calculation of the Western bloc was simple but naive: to do everything to have this Russian-speaking country — Ukraine — under its control in order to expand NATO's eastern borders and allow the United States to have the eyes, ears and nose a stone's throw from Russia, to strategically monitor it. In order to achieve this, it was necessary to gain political control over Ukraine, first by placing a malleable pawn at its head, and then by officially bringing Ukraine into NATO," stressed Takoue.

Washington therefore interfered in Ukrainian affairs and supported the 2014 coup d'état through the CIA, the writer added.

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No Exit

Mainly responsible for the escalation, the West is today trying to blame Moscow, according to Takoue. Russia tries in vain to explain that it did not want this conflict, which it calls a "special operation" and not a "war," but Western propaganda is doing its job, underlined the writer.

"It is the West which, at all costs, in its bad political propaganda, wanted to make the whole world believe that it was a war, and that the perfect culprit was Vladimir Putin, wrongly described as a Russian war leader. By thus wanting an effective war, waged against Russia through intermediary countries, a useless and absurd war, for which it had already given itself all the ambitious means, the West condemned Ukraine and its people to a destiny of apocalypse," he said.

Even worse: the Western powers know full well that Kiev cannot achieve victory, but continue to push for hostilities, despite the devastating consequences for the Ukrainian people. To achieve a ceasefire, Ukraine must now begin talks, which requires lifting of its own decree banning negotiations with Russia, the writer further explained.

Author in Exile

Takoue, a specialist in the Ukrainian issue and director of the International Vladimir Putin Prize, has published his thoughts in a book entitled "War in Ukraine: Putin is not evil". An approach which also got him into trouble in Cote d'Ivoire, a country where Western influence is still very strong, explained Takoue.

"Since its publication in my country, Cote d'Ivoire, this book has greatly disturbed the government, which is a vassal of the West. This book, which takes up the cause of Vladimir Putin and Russia, has become one of the reasons that have forced me, since mid-December 2023, into political exile in Mali," he lamented.

The writer also drew a parallel between Western interference in Ukraine and on the African continent. The fight against the "gluttonous and carnivorous West" which interferes in the affairs of certain major regions of the world remains one of the driving forces of his work.

"I make the connection between the unspeakable interference of the West in the internal affairs of the Russian Bloc, and the interference of the West in the affairs of African States. As an African writer and intellectual, I could only shed light on what is happening, by denouncing this same policy of interference," he concluded.