Benoît Paré : "Ukrainian nationalist groups strongly oppose any compromises by President Zelensky"

A peace deal between Russia and Ukraine may not fully halt ongoing conflicts, cautions a former French MoD analyst who served in Donbass from 2014 to 2020 in the OSCE ceasefire monitoring mission.

Benoît Paré, a French army reserve officer and former defense ministry analyst, brings extensive expertise from international missions in conflict zones, notably with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). From 2014 to March 2020, he monitored the ceasefire in Ukraine’s Donbass region. His detailed account is captured in a book that comes highly recommended.

Contrary to narratives presented in Western media, Paré notes that Russian-speaking communities in Donbass harbor little hostility toward western Ukrainians, though tensions in the opposite direction are evident.

Following the 2014 Maidan events, which Paré describes as a Western-backed coup that elevated Ukrainian ultra-nationalist factions, Kyiv intensified operations involving “volunteer battalions” (ATO) to conduct controversial repression. These efforts were overseen by then-Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, with Eka Zgouladzé as deputy, a Georgian politician at the time married to MEP Raphaël Glucksmann (the man that demanded the U.S. gave back the Statue of Liberty to France after Trump’s election). Avakov, a figure aligned with U.S. interests, has since faded from prominence amid Russia’s ongoing military operation.

Paré’s observations challenge the simplified narratives found in mainstream reporting on the conflict. As negotiations are ramping up in Turkey, he raises concerns about whether Western support for hardline groups in Ukraine, driven by their opposition to Russia, risks creating destabilizing and dangerous forces akin to those seen in past conflicts, such as Afghanistan during the Soviet era.

A summary of this in-depth discussion - to be found in the podcast below, in French - follows.

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L'Éclaireur: Could you clarify the role of the OSCE, a lesser-known organization, and its objectives?

Benoît Paré: The OSCE, or Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, was founded in 1975 as the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe to foster dialogue between Western and former Soviet states, aiming to prevent global conflict. Its focus includes promoting democracy, human rights, and arms control.

Until the Soviet Union’s collapse, it operated quietly through annual meetings. Its relevance waned post-Cold War, but the Bosnian civil strife revitalized its role. With the United Nations’ credibility weakened, the OSCE stepped in to organize Bosnia’s post-war elections after the 1995 Dayton Accords, signed in Paris on December 14.

At the time, I served at the French Rapid Action Force headquarters under General Morillon, notable for his UN protection pledge in Srebrenica. He was later recalled and marginalized. After Dayton, the OSCE was tasked with election oversight as an alternative to the UN, marking its first major mission. I joined initially as a military officer, then as a civilian, starting with short assignments before longer engagements, including Ukraine in 2015.

L'Éclaireur: What was the OSCE’s mandate in Ukraine?

Benoît Paré: As detailed in my book What I Saw in Ukraine, the OSCE’s Ukraine mission involved impartially collecting incident data, monitoring human rights, and fostering local dialogue. The latter proved challenging. The OSCE and its member states did not recognize the self-declared Donbass republics, complicating engagement with them, while interactions with Ukraine’s government were seamless. This imbalance hindered our neutrality, contrary to our mandate. My efforts to address this internally failed, leading to my resignation.

L'Éclaireur: Was the mission primarily symbolic, allowing the West to appear involved without deep commitment?

Benoît Paré: Initially, its scope was unclear. Launched on March 21, 2014, post-Crimea referendum, it responded to rapidly unfolding events, including the emergence of unidentified “little green men.” Western powers, caught off guard, set up the mission to monitor the situation, absent initial armed conflict.

The dynamic shifted with Ukraine’s Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) on April 7, escalating into war. Early civilian observers, untrained in military affairs, were ill-equipped. Separatist hostage-takings in April-May stalled recruitment until September. The mission struggled with short-term contracts and a mix of civilian, military, and police personnel, lacking cohesive leadership.