Article by: Paul GobleRecognizing that the enemy of its enemy is their friend, Ukrainians have been reaching out to non-Russians and regional groups within the Russian Federation for several years and especially since Putin launched his expanded war against that country in February 2022.
Now, Kyiv is reaching out to the Circassians. Recently, Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian deputy to the Council of Europe and head of the Democratic Caucasus Group, led a delegation of ten Verkhovna Rada deputies to meet in Turkey with the leadership of that country’s Federation of Circassian Associations.
“It is important to be here with you,” the Ukrainian representative said, “because we share a common destiny and a common enemy. The events in Ukraine weren’t out choice: they are a manifestation of Ukraine’s history. Today, Ukraine is the main target of Russian imperialism and we must do everything we can against it.”