OR2-EP1: Perun Awakens (17)
Stepan Golivin, Hetman of the Ukraine and OUN, strutted around his office, he had come to be received in the opulent mansion many times before, and now he was finally the rightful master of all of the Ukraine. When he was still in college, the Russians had invaded Ukraine with open arms and installed two puppet states in the east, which in Stepan Golivin's opinion was a great shame for Ukraine, not to mention the fact that Crimea had been lost to Russia as well. No matter how much he achieved, the success of his career would look bleak if people could always point out behind his back that he came from some nearly partitioned Eastern European country. For this reason, after years of preparation, Stepan Golivin joined the OUN, quickly seizing leadership and making contact with Russia's greatest rival, the United States of America. For a moment he naively believed that the free world would bring them true liberation, another promise that the United States of America had once abandoned back then.
"Пане гетьмане, прибув військовий представник."
"Попросіть його зайти, і ми серйозно поговоримо про контратаки на сході країни."
Hetman, in his German uniform, sat down in the seat that had belonged to the President, as if he were the legitimate Führer. He no longer had to carefully deal with wishy-washy bureaucrats who could pronounce a death sentence on a person with a casual order from him. The law? Hetman doesn't break the law, the law is Hetman's will, and besides Stepan Golivin is very good at utilizing public opinion for his own purposes. Carrying out all necessary deeds under the veil of legality is one of the mandatory lessons of intrigue. Seizing power is only the first step, he has to hold on to that power, hold on to his country, and make Ukraine what it was meant to be under the guidance of the OUN. Since an Austrian gefreiter could be the leader of Germany in the midst of changing times, so could he.
Lt. Gen. Borys Pavlyuk, Acting Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, was guided to the office door by the OUN guards, and he couldn't help but frown at the sight of Hetman sitting under the national flag and the Rurik insignia. It was with great reluctance that he had come to Kiev to pay his respects to the new leader, the veteran of decades of service to Ukraine didn't want to see more civil unrest at this time, it would only serve to give Ukraine's greatest adversary an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. The front line had already suffered a rout and was now in chaos, with a mixture of American and Ukrainian forces retreating backwards, ceding large swathes of territory to the languishing New Russia. The OUN may be very good at infighting, they are bound to know nothing about the military, and specialized problems should be left to the experts.
"Вітаю, гетьмане." After much thought, Lt. Gen. Pavlyuk sent out a greeting in his normal state of mind.
"Не схоже, що ви дуже хочете зустрітися зі мною, головнокомандувачу." Stepan Golivin played with the statue on his desk, "Я щиро вражений Вашим глибоким почуттям обов'язку, що після того, як Батьківщина опинилася в хвилину небезпеки, Ви не виконали наказів цього боягуза, який переховувався в Румунії, а дотрималися свого обов'язку і наполягли на тому, щоб не втручатися в те, що відбувалося в Києві ... тепер, коли Україна наша, і ми можемо виконати більшість з висунутих Вами вимог."
The Lieutenant General stepped forward and exclaimed:
"Мої вимоги прості - Гетьмане, будь ласка, віддайте наказ про відновлення наших сил ... Ні, відновлення нашої співпраці з НАТО, ми просто не зможемо стримати російський наступ без підтримки союзників. "
A snort of laughter resounded in the office, those OUN cadres were disdainful of Lieutenant General Pavlyuk's prudence. The Russians were already at the end of their rope, they had suffered a defeat in the East by China, and would soon be thrown into chaos due to an internal crisis, so I was afraid they wouldn't have a chance to conquer Ukraine. As long as Ukraine under the leadership of the OUN resolutely fights back against the invading Russians, they will be able to delay until the moment when Russia can't handle the pressure and collapses, and the victory will be theirs in the end. Are these generals who spend their days telling jokes to NATO officials to the point of forgetting who they are still trustworthy?
Stepan Golivin raised his right hand rather majestically, signaling his subordinates to stop mocking the acting Ground Forces Commander.
"Мені шкода, що я не можу задовольнити це прохання. Наш перший крок у відбудові України з попелу ОУН - це позбутися цих іноземних держав, які нас гноблять, і це одна з обіцянок, яку ми дали нашим співвітчизникам. Прошу зрозуміти мої труднощі, Україна все ще не звільнилася від голоду, і ми повинні поставити пріоритетом потреби нашого народу."
"Гетьмане, я, звичайно, розумію, що в ОУН є фракції, які займають ще більш жорстку позицію, ніж ваша, але я просто кажу правду." Lt. General Pavlyuk crossed his eyes at the OUN cadres standing on either side of him, "Ви ніколи не служили в армії і не розумієте поточного стану армії. Наше озброєння, постачання і важливі військові бази контролюються НАТО, і збереження невтручання один в одного зараз вже поставило нашу армію в невигідне становище проти росіян, і якщо ви наполягатимете на розриві з НАТО, то наша армія розвалиться менше, ніж за місяць." He glanced again at the OUN cadres who were still full of disdain, "Говорячи прямо, якщо ви зараз підпишете наказ про виведення військ союзників, наша армія буде роззброєна американськими військами ще до того, як її розгромлять росіяни."
"Це свідчить лише про вашу некомпетентність." A nearby OUN cadre who was going over the battle reports spoke up and retorted, "Навіть збройні сили під контролем, тож можете собі уявити, наскільки прогнилою Україна була раніше. Той факт, що ви не змогли втримати свій незалежний статус перед обличчям іноземної інтервенції, сам по собі є невиконанням обов'язків з вашого боку, а тепер ви використовуєте це як дилему, щоб поскаржитися на ..."
Lt. Gen. Pavlyuk was furious, these guys who were on American stipends like him did nothing but incite the citizens to take to the streets all day long to vandalize and loot, every time they hid in the background to malign the president and other politicians in front of the stage, and then when they themselves came to power they forgot about the damage caused by all the previous actions, and justifiably put all the fault on the shoulders of the embezzler who was currently still hiding out in Romania. Every time Ukraine decided to deepen its dependence on NATO in defense of its freedoms, the OUN never raised an objection, only to have them blame the army for failing to maintain the independence of the armed forces after they seized power ... For God's sake, what were they doing before? If they valued the independence of the military so much, why didn't they just jump in and stop Ukraine and NATO at that time?
"Юначе, я був солдатом довше, ніж ти живеш, і тобі варто було б це пам'ятати." Lieutenant General Pavlyuk looked straight at the cadre, his tone taking on a hint of menace, "Поки ти будував Лего вдома, я все ще боровся за своє життя проти росіян на Східному фронті."
Those words were like cursing the other man to an early death, and the young OUN cadre was about to have a fit on the spot when his fellow officers beside him hastily pressed him back into his seat. Lieutenant General Pavlyuk took a document out of his briefcase and handed it to Hetman, who hadn't left the comfort of his chair. The OUN, despite their strong-arm tactics to ostracize all foreign influence, hadn't yet had the time to break with their former allies in the form of an official announcement. This meant that there was still room to mend relations between the two sides, and with the fact that the United States had secretly supported OUN in the past, as long as OUN bowed down to the United States now and admitted its faults, its relations with the United States would be restored to their previous level. Stepan Golivin only glanced at the document and flung it aside. He had originally disdained dealing with these guys who would only do what the United States told them to do, and now he was firm in his opinion. The slightly blonde middle-aged man wrapped his German military coat tightly around his body, tilted his head, and fired at the acting Army Commander in a brutal manner.
"Генерале Павлюк, наші співвітчизники тисячами помирають з голоду, і як ви смієте просити мене продовжувати виконувати попередню угоду, яка дорівнювала продажу моєї душі сатані - падіння від рук американців нічим не відрізняється від падіння від рук росіян, це все падіння нації." He pointed angrily out the window at the empty streets, "Головнокомандуючий, ви навіть не уявляєте, скільки нас тут щодня помирає з голоду, і ми змушені виривати пайки з рота наших голодних співвітчизників, щоб нагодувати американців. Американці просто вмирають з голоду в половині випадків, яке це має відношення до нас? Сьогодні тобі байдуже, що твої співвітчизники помирають, а завтра ми самі будемо голодувати."
Lieutenant General Pavlyuk shook his head in disappointment. He had been appointed Acting Ground Forces Commander at the last minute, a position that was supposed to be held by a Full General, but unfortunately the previous Ground Forces Commander had died of a brain hemorrhage at the end of last year, and Pavlyuk had then taken over as Acting Commander, and was expected to be regularized this year and promoted to the rank of Full General. By that time, he was already disgusted by OUN infiltration and advocated that the army explicitly prohibit soldiers from joining the OUN - initiatives that became a dead letter by the time soldiers who were members of the OUN openly organized ceremonies to celebrate the new members. The OUN know nothing, they know nothing about the international community, nothing about politics, nothing about economics or the military, just a group of good soldiers with a good sense of what it means to be a member of the military. military, they are just habitual thieves and liars who have squeaked into the Presidency by virtue of a group of lobbyists who are good at agitating the public. With their empty German uniforms and posturing hand-raising salutes, they have not learned even half of the tricks of their pioneers.
"Вельмишановний Гетьмане, це необхідна жертва для збереження України, і я думаю, що громадяни, напевно, усвідомлюють це." The Acting Commander coughed a few times, "Наші предки йшли до нас боротися за незалежність, і ми, які успадкували цей дух, не можемо його розгубити. Реальність, Гетьмане, полягає в тому, що ми не здатні забезпечити нашу свободу самостійно і повинні покладатися на силу НАТО та Сполучених Штатів. Підкоряючись Сполученим Штатам, ми маємо можливість торгуватися; тоді як якщо ми відмовимося від наших союзників заради миттєвої впевненості, росіяни не дадуть нам жодного шансу сісти за стіл переговорів."
"Я не бачу суттєвої різниці між тим, щоб дозволити вашим співвітчизникам померти з голоду, і тим, щоб їх вбивали росіяни, головнокомандувачу." Stepan Golivin gave his expulsion order, "Я помилявся щодо вас, я думав, що ви герої, готові заплатити будь-яку ціну, щоб захистити Батьківщину, але я не усвідомлював, що ціна, яку ви можете заплатити, буде чужою. Зараз, коли Батьківщина все ще в кризі, у мене не вистачає духу ліквідувати вас, вам краще якнайшвидше повернутися на фронт, щоб командувати боєм. Інакше ми разом дочекаємося, коли росіяни посадять нас у табір для полонених."
At Hetman's order, several heavily armed OUN militiamen surrounded Lt. Gen. Pavlyuk, ready to escort him out of the Presidential Palace. The Lt. General just sighed one time, he couldn't figure out why the OUN that could easily scare the President into fleeing to Romania could be so stupid, perhaps the OUN used all their talents in the struggle for power. In that case, don't blame him for using special means. He firmly believed that what he was doing was protecting, not selling out, Ukraine, and that OUNs who would only go along with what the citizens wanted did not deserve to act as the guardians of Ukraine.
The other officers and guards who had escorted General Pavlyuk to Kiev were waiting outside, not authorized to meet with Hetman, and the OUN militiamen escorted Lieutenant General Pavlyuk into the hall before preparing to return to their posts. They would not have realized that an enemy had infiltrated the presidential palace had it not been for the sudden rush of gunfire behind them. However, the enemy's reaction was faster than theirs, and before these guards had time to counterattack, they had already been hit from behind by the enemy and had fallen in a pool of blood. The officers and soldiers of the U.S.S. Army, who had taken out their rifles and other weapons from their military coats, gathered beside Lieutenant General Pavlyuk, and the soldier at the head of the group, who had taken off his mask, turned out to be Captain Alfred Shields.
"The United States would appreciate your service to the free world, Commander Pavlyuk." Captain Shields spoke the words in English.
"It's the only way ... to go easy on them, they do love this land from the bottom of their hearts after all."
This was no accident, but the result of an impromptu decision to work together by two groups of guys who had been planning this for a long time. A few hours earlier, as Michael McNeil was struggling to evade the OUN militia and figure out a way to get close to the presidential palace with the crowd, they got a crucial piece of intelligence. Intelligence had determined, based on the recent movements of the OUN and intercepted communications, that the OUN generals, who were disgruntled with the OUN, intended to overthrow the OUN by force of arms and restore the partnership with NATO. This important news quickly caught the attention of others who were speculating on what form the confrontation would take. Sgt. Salas argued that the Ukrainian Army would march into Kiev and force the OUN to hand over power, an idea that was opposed by Capt. Shields. The Captain argued that the Eastern Front was losing ground, and if the Ukrainian Army turned back to force Kiev at this point, the Russians might have already crossed the Dnieper before the OUN surrendered.
"Can you identify the candidate?" McNeil crouched in a corner searching for information on the main generals of the Ukrainian Army, "It's too much of a waste of time to infiltrate the presidential palace on our own, and hostage-taking doesn't always work either. If we had the cover of a high-ranking general of the Ukrainian Army, I can guarantee that we would be able to accomplish our goal."
Due to the change of plans, they had to wait anxiously for a new notification. Half an hour later, the staff of the intelligence department provided them with the latest news. According to the intelligence department, the general who was willing to cooperate with the United States was the current acting Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander, Borys Pavlyuk, a man who had participated in military cooperation negotiations between the two countries many times before and had always been considered close to the United States. Lt. Gen. Pavlyuk, who arrived in Kiev in the early hours of the morning and was scheduled to meet with Hetman today, already believed that the Ukrainian army had no chance of winning and that it would have to rely on the power of the United States in order to have a chance of survival. So, he threw out an olive branch to his old partner, and the CIA quickly caught on to the message and passed on the relevant information to the various departments responsible for foreign activities.
"Since the beginning of time, but when senior officials who are quite trusted or important in their position carry out an assassination of a leader, outsiders are usually unable to predict it in advance." Captain Shields offered to initiate contact with Lt. Gen. Pavlyuk, "This is not a Ukrainian problem on its own, it's a big deal for the United States, and without us there to supervise it, Gen. Pavlyuk may backtrack midway through the process for the sake of his own power and position. We want him to have no way back ... I hope our superiors will believe us."
They changed into another set of prepared garments and met General Pavlyuk's men sent to meet them by the street. The party boarded a car and were taken straight to the hotel where the acting Army Commander was staying. To McNeil's tears, the hotel happened to be the same one they had raided earlier, and the fact that the OUN had allowed Lt. Gen. Pavlyuk to rest in a place like this, for one thing, didn't take his safety seriously, and for another, had the connotation of a downward spiral.
The STARS team entered the hotel under the protection of Ukrainian soldiers, this was now army territory and the OUN militia had no right to interfere. Tom was worried that Lt. Gen. Pavlyuk would catch them and turn them over to the OUN, and McNeil reassured him that Pavlyuk didn't have to fish them out, and that if the OUN had learned of the general's behavior before then, they would have decided to take Pavlyuk into custody immediately. No one would choose such a risky way to show favor to a power with whom they were not on good terms.
Pavlyuk received them in his room, and the Ukrainian general, unaware that the five men in front of him were the lone heroes who had rescued the American hostages from the hotel and managed to escape from the OUN's pursuit, rambled on about his previous bargaining with the Americans in the hope of extracting more information from the military men. The OUN was a truly lawless organization, and once his actions were discovered by Hetman, the OUN would have decided to take him into custody. was discovered by Hetman, the OUN would immediately arrest and execute him. Pavlyuk was well aware that the OUN used to receive funding from the Americans and had only recently come into conflict. If the United States side intended to test the OUN's attitude with Pavlyuk, he would be risking his future and his life for nothing.
"Captain, if you trust me, I'll negotiate with him while you translate what I say ..."
"Why should ... I trust you?" Captain Shields glared at McNeil, "We're all ordinary soldiers, no one knows a damn thing about politics."
"I mean, I'll try to pull him over to our side in a way I'm familiar with, otherwise, we can't be someone else's mouthpiece, can we?"
Captain Shields was still at the front of the line when they walked into the room. Lt. Gen. Pavlyuk, who was sipping coffee, looked at the line and asked, pointing to McNeil:
"He's your representative, isn't he?"
Captain Shields was very surprised, he didn't know why Lt. Gen. Pavlyuk made this judgment, but he truthfully translated the sentence to McNeil. McNeil graciously accepted Lt. Gen. Pavlyuk's address, and the two parties sat face to face and began a consultation in a relatively friendly atmosphere. In fact, McNeil couldn't represent anyone, even if he did give the corresponding conditions in a certain faction's position, the big names in the country wouldn't necessarily honor their promises.
Borys Pavlyuk was a thin, middle-aged man, wearing glasses and an almost faded military coat. It was rumored that he had once vigorously fixed corruption in the Ukrainian Army, personally sending several of his right-hand men to prison, thus showing that he was not a money-minded man who could be easily impressed by cash.
"We are allies, not a sovereign and a vassal state. Therefore, the guarantee I can make is that the previous partnership will be restored and that Ukraine will continue to fulfill its obligations in NATO." Lieutenant General Pavlyuk read word for word what he had formulated on his tablet, "The responsibility for the series of changes centered on OUN does not lie with us, and we, Ukraine, will not take additional pressure for it. It is true that your country has suffered great losses because of OUN, but we are not the beneficiaries either. If the eradication of OUN can make up for this transgression, we are willing to do what your country wants."
Captain Shields relayed the entire content to McNeil in English without reservation. When McNeil heard it, he just smiled and shook his head.
"You are mistaken, General, my country does not appear to have any intention of overthrowing the OUN." He was careful to use the appropriate terminology so as not to provoke the other party, "I think you know better than I do that after the OUN's revolt, the situation in the Ukraine has become unmanageable, and it's impossible to go back to the old pattern of fighting but not breaking. The Russians are still closing in on the Dnieper River, and overthrowing the OUN at this point will not stop the Russians, whether they choose to hold new elections in accordance with the law or have a temporary military junta, and those of us who were born and raised in the free world have no interest in continuing to support more military men and women in power overseas. In fact, most of our members of Congress believe that the OUN's system of mobilization is more conducive to confronting the Russians, that retaining the OUN is a wise move, and that, assuming that the OUN is willing to honor the contents of the agreement as is, what's the harm in letting Hetman continue to sit in the Presidency?"
That's not what he meant, that's what Wyatt Curtis conveyed Senator Curtis and the conservatives thought. Since Wyatt Curtis wouldn't just fake his way through an issue like this, Senator Curtis should pay for McNeil's decision. As long as Ukraine ends up going in the favor of the United States, the cost is something that should only be counted after the fact.
"I see, and doing so does cut down on needless sacrifices. However, if the OUN still holds power, what means should we use to force them into submission?" Lieutenant General Pavlyuk was a bit puzzled, "At least as far as I can see, the only means I can use to resist them is to use the military to fight the OUN."
"The military is not fit to stand in the sun, not at any time." McNeil sighed, "General Pavlyuk, this is my personal and United States advice to you: times have changed. We have no interest in fostering a second Chilean Captain General, and you probably don't want to die and have your grave dug up like the Spanish Generalissimo's."
Pavlyuk was a little shaken; his original plan had been to lead his elite guards into the presidential palace under the guise of negotiation, and if Hetman was willing to accept the terms, then all was well; assuming that Hetman was tough enough to go through with it, he'd have no choice but to mutiny on the spot, and he figured the Kiev garrison would be at his command. Now McNeil had told him that the OUN could not be overthrown under any circumstances, which meant that Lt. Gen. Pavlyuk did not have the option of breaking with Hetman, but everyone knew that Hetman was not going to change his mind at the drop of a hat.
"... hijacked him and then coerced him into making a statement?"
"Yeah, that's the kind of thing we're good at. This way he'll lose the support of the most radical part of the civilian population, and when he tries to backtrack then, you won't even have to send in the army to have him dragged out and beaten to death by the citizens."
"... Never mind, it can't be worse than being conquered by the Russians either way, just give it a try and I'll do my best to help you put on the show."
TBC
Chapter Notes:
Well, it's really just a coincidence - I never expected one of the Ukrainian Army Commander of 2024 to also have the last name of Pavlyuk.
Ukrainian personal names appear here are spelled differently from their usual counterparts in Russian.