Ukraine Ratifies E.U. Association Deal, Grants Rebels Self-Rule

With much fanfare, Ukraine is
pushing forward in its fight for economic integration with the
European Union. But, quietly, the government is also granting
autonomy to the eastern regions occupied by Russian-backed
forces.

The Ukrainian Parliament adopted a law that will
“for the period of three years” allow “local self-government as
well as activity of local bodies of self-government in separate
regions of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.” Local elections will take
place in November. The parliament adopted another measure to grant
some separatists (“except
those who have committed serious crimes“) amnesty.

As the BBC notes, these
deals were “laid out” as part of the September 5 ceasefire
agreement, which was
devised by Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
assures that this laws respect the “sovereignty, territorial
integrity, and independence” of Ukraine.”

The concession were made during “a closed-door session — an
anomaly in Ukrainian parliament,” reports the Associated Press.

By contrast, the Ukrainian Parliament loudly ratified a
long-awaited deal to “deepen economic and political ties with the
European Union” through
freer trade. Last year, then-President Viktor Yanukovych, who
has been denounced as a “Kremlin
puppet,” refused to sign this agreement. His corrupt,
pro-Russian administrative actions led to widespread pro-Western
protests against him, and ultimately a revolution.

Russia itself is on the brink of recession due to its war,

says a former Kremlin finance minister. Crediting sanctions
from the U.S. and E.U., The Christian Science Monitor

reports that today “Russia’s currency dropped to an
all-time low against the dollar.”

Russian state-owned media has made a “drastic change” lately by
softening its anti-Ukrainian rhetoric,
according to the independent Moscow Times. This may be
a positive sign of Russia winding down its war.

For its part, the U.S. is also speaking somewhat more softly
about Russia. President Barack Obama admitted that Crimea “is
gone,” and Secretary of State John Kerry last week
called upon Moscow to help America fight the Islamic State,
which has personally threatened Putin.