DW: Putin suggests UN administration of Ukraine

President Putin, in his recent speech, suggested to submit Ukraine temporarily to UN administration. He cited other examples in the past when the UN took over administration of war torn countries or territories.

The UN, so Putin, will have to consider not only NATO  or Western countries to contribute to the administration of Ukraine, but also more Russia-friendly countries, in particular, China or countries of the Global South. The UN administration will have the task to organise elections in Ukraine and provide for a stable, democratically elected government. Such new government may then sign a binding peace agreement with Russia.

Putin’s reasoning is based on the dispute about the legality of V Selensky being still the rightful President of Ukraine. Selensky’s term has expired in 2024, but because of a martial law, no elections were held and the previous President could not be reconfirmed or another President newly elected by the people of Ukraine. While it is not extra-ordinary that elections are postponed because of a war situation, the dispute about Selensky’s legality is based on the interpretation of the Ukrainian Constitution which provides for a fixed term of the President – which has expired. The Constitution provides also for remedies if no new President can be elected (or if the President is incapacitated, or died without successor): the Speaker of the Parliament, on a temporary basis, takes over the presidential functions – with approval and control by the Parliament. Selensky and his backers insist that martial law stands above the Constitution and, in the absence of presidential elections, prolongs the otherwise fixed term of the current President without any parliamentary control.

Besides this dispute about the legality of the current President, there remains also a question about the functioning of the Ukrainian State. The war had devastating effects on the Government. Economy and Government came basically to a stillstand. Recession and losses, no tax income – the Government relying on foreign help to pay even for the army’s salaries. But it is not assured that the current governmental structure assures a solid use of the foreign help provided. Wouldn’t it be adequate to install an administration under UN mandate in light of the huge needs of support also to reassure the donors of the reliability of the receivers? At the end, there will be an enormous reconstruction effort to be provided to Ukraine, mainly with foreign help.

A UN mandate for Ukraine would also tranquilize the Russians’ fear: so far, NATO and European countries have been supporting the war in Ukraine and are still not available for a compromise with Russia. The US efforts for finding ceasefire and peace seem to be opposed by some NATO and European countries. There are many conflicting interests over Ukraine and not all of the interested parties want the war to stop with a compromise peace as some European leaders and, in particular, Selensky still have maximalist demands.

A UN mandate for temporary administration would also allow for the deployment of UN peacekeepers to Ukraine.

The US already said “No” referring to the Ukrainian Constitution and law and declaring it a matter of the people of Ukraine to arrange for and elect their lawful government. Of course, there may be a refusal of the US and some EU countries to desist from controlling directly Ukraine and to transfer such control to a more independent supra-national organization like the UN. There are many factors involved, financial and geopolitical, as well as security reasons to keep control over Ukraine. Finally, the US – and lately some European countries – have declared a strong interest for Ukraine’s natural resources and it may be feared that a UN administration may block off some of the too much interested parties.