“United Russia” holds consultations because of the statements of a member of the Zatulin faction about the military operation – Kommersant

Consultations have begun in United Russia over the statements of Konstantin Zatulin, member of the faction, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, sources say. Vedomosti. Dissatisfaction was caused by the words of Mr. Zatulin that the goals of the military operation in Ukraine have not yet been fulfilled.

The MP raised this topic on June 1 at a forum called “What kind of Ukraine do we need?”. Konstantin Zatulin said that Russia is in a difficult situation when it needs to “transfer not only industry, but also life on a war footing.” “What were our goals officially declared at the beginning of the military operation? You all remember – denazification, demilitarization, the neutrality of Ukraine and the protection of the inhabitants of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, who have suffered all this time. On which of these items have we achieved results to date?” he asked.

According to one of Vedomosti’s sources, Vyacheslav Makarov, the first deputy head of United Russia, is dealing with the situation, and among the measures under consideration is the deprivation of Mr. Zatulin of the post of first deputy chairman of the State Duma committee and expulsion from United Russia. Another interlocutor of the newspaper admitted that, following the results of consultations with the deputy, he would simply “negotiate the leadership of the faction so that he would continue to speak more accurately.”

Konstantin Zatulin himself told Vedomosti that none of the leadership of the faction contacted him about his statements. “Why can I lose my position in the committee or be expelled from the faction? The leadership of the faction didn’t tell me anything,” he says.

On February 24, 2022, announcing the start of the military operation, President Vladimir Putin called the goal of “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine, as well as the protection of the inhabitants of Donbass from “genocide” by the Ukrainian government. In June of the same year, he stated that, following the results of the military operation, it was necessary to liberate the Donbass and create conditions that would guarantee “the security of Russia itself.” In September, Mr. Putin said that the goal of military action was to eliminate the “anti-Russian enclave” in Ukraine. In the Kremlin sure in the absence of an alternative to bringing the military operation to an end.

Laura Keffer