Ze Point of No Return. (Ukraine. What I Saw, What I Know, What I Think: Book 3)

By Aza Zello

This is the 2-nd edition of the third and the last book in the series about Ukraine. Current edition is updated in 2022 to include new information on changing situation in and around Ukraine. The first two books in the series: “The Road to Hell” and "Down to the 12-th Circle", are about Ukraine history, with major focus on post 1991 independence period that author witnessed. Book #3 describes transfer of power from the first to the second post-Maidan president and much expected changes in this country that failed to materialize. It also describes authors observations during his visits to Crimea after peninsula become de-facto Russian territory and includes attempt to predict the future of Ukraine. The book presents a different, from the mainstream, view on resent history of Ukraine and Ukraine-Russia relations. Like other books in the series it mixes personal recollections of Ukraine born author, hushed by major media events, and author's understanding of past and present of his country.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aza Zello
• Release date: Oct 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005036232

Aza Zello

My biography presented here is different from biographies of other, "normal" writers. Normal writers rarely try to hide their identity, Aza do. Aza was born in the USSR, in what is now Ukraine and remembers the rhyming joke from Brezhnev's era: "To write on the toilet walls / Unfortunately the trend is not new / But what can we do / When only here is freedom of speech".Ironically "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes" (attributed to Mark Twain), and 30 years after the breakup of the Soviet Union it is still dangerous to tell truth in Ukraine, painted by Western media as "freedom loving and democratic".Aza leaves safely in one of Western democracies but visits friends and relatives in Ukraine regularly and for this reason do not want to put a real name of the author on a book title page. Name Aza Zello is derived from the character of the great M. Bulgakov novel "Master and Margaret".The text below this line is Aza's fictional biography for Russian speakers not worth of translation.-----Я родилась не слишком привлекательным мальчиком, в семье писателя, имя которого слишком известно, что бы его можно было тут упомянуть. Едва научившись ходить, я доковыляло до зеркала, критически оценил увиденное и твёрдо решил превратить себя в красивую девушку. Я добилась этого простым, невероятным усилием своей железной воли. Взгляните на фото и вы убедитесь, что это удалось. Как впрочем и всё остальное, за что брался этот талантливейший ребёнок.В том возрасте, когда другие дети только учатся разговаривать, юная я уже писала свой первый роман. К несчастью для человечества, он не сохранился. Чуть подростя, я попыталась экспериментально проверить теорию негорения рукописей. Результат этого эксперимента, оказал глубочайшее влияние на многие отрасли знаний. Он прочно вошел не только в учебники торетического негорения, но и в инструкции пожарной безопасности. Есть даже мнение, что один из основополагающих педагогических принципов: «Родители, не оставляйте детей без присмотра», тоже возник в результате анализа моих экспериментальных подходов. Сегодня все знают - Аза неопровержимо доказала, что в деревянном доме теория негорения рукописей не выполняется.После обсуждения реультатов эксперимента с отцом, я долго не садилась за письменный стол. И лабораторный тоже. Вообще недели две не садилась. Мне было неинтересно встречать односельчан, временно расселенных по окрестным гостиницам. В один из дней я наконец села. Одни говорили, что я села в автобус, другие, что на крыло пролетающего самолёта. А я просто уехала странствовать чтобы познать тайны мироздания. И вот я вернулась - a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

Book preview

Ze Point of No Return

(Ukraine. What I Saw, What I Know, What I Think: Book 3)

Edition II

Copyright 2020/2022 Aza Zello

Published by Aza Zello at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Ze End of Poroshenko

The Origin of Ze.

Behavior Never Lies

Crimea Uncensored

Skeletons from Poroshenko's Closet

Afghan Parallel

Ze Endspiel

Web Sources Used for Books 1-3

Ze End of Poroshenko

"You can fool all the people some of the time,

and some of the people all the time,

but you cannot fool all the people all the time."

Abraham Lincoln

Poroshenko's popularity begins to decline within a few months after the election but this is how democracy usually works; politician make grand promises, people believe and vote for him, then more and more of them realize that he have no plans to keep his promises. So, the first half of Poroshenko five years term was more or less normal. The war he promised to end continued but this was explained as Putin’s evil powers and was counterbalanced by continuing progress toward integration with Europe that triumphed with pompous signing, in mid-2017, of the agreement that granted Ukrainians right to cross EU borders without visas. However, soon after, it become clear that this only means that those with money can enjoy touring Europe without frustrating paperwork. It was nothing close to an easy employment with European salaries or admittance to European universities for Ukrainian students who dreamed exactly about such things when ignited Euro Maidan in 2013. Moreover, it was also nothing close to free trade with EU. EU set low quotes for many of Ukraine agriculture products; some, like poultry or honey, become exhausted in several weeks after openings.

Two years of steep decline in Poroshenko’s popularity were followed by a sharp fall of it initiated by a series of corruption scandals that started in the middle of 2016. The first one was related to Panama papers that revealed Poroshenko's offshore tax avoiding scheme for his confectionery business, Roshen, in August 2014. The date when he set up a company in the Virgin Islands closely coincided with the worst turn in Donbass military campaign – heavy loses to Ukraine army near Ilovaisk. Many were infuriated to learn that wartime president, who announced that he no longer controls Roshen empire, was busy with hiding his candy-making profits when hundreds died at the battlefield.

Then in the last quarter of 2017 journalists discovered that the member of the president’s big family, Oleg Gladkovsky who served as a first Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council was one of the central figures in multi-million scheme with the state corporation UkrOboronProm (~=Ukraine Defense Industries) that profited participants.

One part of it was about contracts for military vehicles. Used Czech armored personnel carriers were purchased from Poland, freshly painted and sold to government as upgraded. Other vehicles, purchased from Belarus, were re-branded into Ukraine-made medical emergency vehicles and sold to the army. Upon arrival to frontline, half of them failed pretty soon. The factory that won both contracts formally belonged to Gladkowsky but Poroshenko has partial stakes in it earlier.

Another part of this scandal was about selling five times overpriced spare part to UkrOboronProm by nothing producing intermediate companies set by Gladkovsky son. The best part of it was finding that parts were smuggled into Ukraine from the aggressor country – official name for Russia.

Participants denied both accusations and investigation make visible progress only after Poroshenko lost elections. In Oktober 2017 Gladkovsky was arrested while attempting to escape from the country. (BTW Prior to 2014, Gladkovsky name was Svinarchuk, he legally changed it. Likely reason: Svin means Pig, and Gladko mean Smooth).

Poroshenko himself was the major shareholder in Kiev military enterprise Kuznitsa na Rybalskom (formerly Leninskaya Kuznitsa; translated as Lenin's smith shop). Kuznitsa… always won defense ministry shipbuilding contracts, and shipyards in Nikolaev, that were on a forefront of naval shipbuilding in Soviet time, were only receiving promises of support in time of Poroshenko visits.

Poroshenko’s White House - riverfront residence near Kiev.