A dignified reply

The Ukrainian establishment is developing a new style of communication with Russia. We often see clear position and thoughtful vocabulary coming from our public servants now, with Acting Foreign Minister of Ukraine Andrii Deshchytsia being the first to do it, while Arsenii Yatseniuk and Petro Poroshenko have also become examples of clear rhetoric in their encounters with Russia. We see that the new characters of the domestic political class allow for a new standard of communication to be established with representatives of the Russian Federation, enabling Ukraine to dictate the rules.

We saw another example of a Russian attack brilliantly repelled by Ukrainian side recently appearing on the Internet. Blogs and social networks are now buzzing with discussions of a video record of the deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Central Electoral Commission (CEC) Zhanna Usenko-Chorna responding in a measured, if strict, manner to an accusation coming from an employee of Russia-24 TV channel that Ukraine’s border corps is not allowing Russian journalists to enter the country, allegedly calling their CEC accreditation passes “scraps of paper.”

“I do not think the facts you have presented should be interpreted in the way you do it,” Usenko-Chorna said. “I would like to note that even journalists queuing to enter the CEC premises were presented by your employer as voters queuing at a precinct. I would like to appeal to some TV channels and some media, particularly Russian ones, with a request to stop such cheap manipulation of information. If someone disguised as journalist tried to enter illegally the territory of Ukraine and the State Border Service, carrying out its duties, took certain measures to prevent the offense and stop possible sabotage activities in Ukraine, I believe it is the sole responsibility of law-enforcement bodies, and the CEC has no comment on that. Unfortunately, we have bloodshed ongoing at our border with a country which is our neighbor and was until recently seen as a sister country by us, namely in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It is not the locals, but exactly those coming from the Russian Federation who are to blame for it. Therefore, we must respect our State Border Service’s effort to save the lives of our citizens.”