“Ukraine as a state may disappear from the map “as a result of unfolding events,” Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday. Medvedev, who served as President of Russia between 2008 and 2012, and Prime Minister of Russia between 2012 and 2020––to fit strongman Vladimir Putin’s reelection requirements––explained that “after the 2014 coup, Ukraine lost its state independence and fell under the direct control of the collective West as well as began to believe that NATO would guarantee its security.”
“As a result of all the current events Ukraine may lose what’s left of its state sovereignty and disappear from the world map,” Putin’s handy tool warned.
The February 2014 “coup,” as Medvedev called it, is called by the Ukrainians Revoliutsiia hidnosti, the Revolution of Dignity, when deadly clashes between protesters and the security forces in the Ukrainian capital Kiev culminated in the ousting of Russian stooge President Viktor Yanukovych and the overthrow of the Ukrainian government.
Thousands of protesters advanced toward parliament, led by activists with shields and helmets, and were fired upon by police snipers. On February 21, an agreement between President Yanukovych and the leaders of the parliamentary opposition was signed that called for the formation of an interim unity government, constitutional reforms, and early elections. The following day, police withdrew from central Kiev, which came under the effective control of the protesters. Yanukovych fled the city, and the Ukrainian parliament voted to remove him from office by a majority of 328 to 0 (the parliament has 450 members).
Medvedev promised on Thursday that “Ukrainian criminals will definitely be prosecuted for atrocities committed against the people of Ukraine and Russia.”
Speaking of atrocities, overnight Thursday, the invading Russian army fired seven rockets at Mykolaiv and several towns in the Mykolaiv region, according to Vitaliy Kim, the head of Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration.
“At about 03:05, on July 21, the Russian occupiers fired seven S-300 missiles at the city,” Kim wrote on Telegram Thursday morning. “According to preliminary information, [the missiles hit] an infrastructure facility, a gas station, a gas pipeline, and a warehouse. Rescue services eliminated all the fires caused by the shelling. Currently. We know of one victim.”
Also on Thursday morning, at least 17 people were injured as a result of the Russian army shelling of Kharkov, according to Oleh Synehubov, head of the Regional Military Administration.
