Ukraine (cont.)

[KyivAndrew]

Despite Concerns about Governance, Ukrainians Want to Remain One Country
Many Leery of Russian Influence, as Putin Gets Boost at Home

A clear majority of Ukrainians agree that their country should remain a single, unified state, according to a pair of new surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center in Ukraine and Russia – after Crimea’s annexation by Russia, but prior to recent violence in Odessa and other cities. The survey in Ukraine also finds a clearly negative reaction to the role Russia is playing in the country. By contrast, the poll in Russia reveals a public that firmly backs Vladimir Putin and Crimea’s secession from Ukraine.

Among Ukrainians, 77% say Ukraine should remain united, compared with 14% who think regions should be permitted to secede if they so desire. In Ukraine’s west, which includes the central region around Kyiv (Kiev), as well as portions of the country that border Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, more than nine-in-ten (93%) think their nation should remain unified. A smaller majority (70%) in the country’s east – which includes areas along the Black Sea and the border with Russia – also prefer unity.

pewglobal.org/2014/05/08/despite-concerns-about-governance-ukrainians-want-to-remain-one-country/

The clear majority in Eastern Ukraine wish to remain in Ukraine! But of course, in some areas these people are scared, with pro-Russian gunmen claiming that only Russia, or independence, or something like that be acceptable. I’ve read stories on the Ukrainian press about how gunmen in Donetsk showed up armed at factories to force the workers to vote in yesterday’s faux referendum. Of course people were allowed to vote as many times as they wished and tens of thousands of ballots had been conveniently marked “yes” the Day Before the Referendum when people were supposed to vote.
kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/100000-yes-ballots-for-referendum-intercepted-2-347222.html

And as for the violence, let’s be clear, even after the Maidan, southern and eastern Ukraine were peaceful for weeks apart from a couple of thousand people with hammer and sickle flags guarding statues of Lenin in places like Donetsk and Kharkiv. This ALL changed after Putin had annexed Crimea, after which he moved on to destabilize eastern Ukraine which up until then, even during the Crimean invasion, was relatively quiet. Putin immediately sent hundreds of hired thugs by bus and trains, dubbed “Russian tourists”, into the major cities of eastern Ukraine and Odessa to vandalize Ukrainian government buildings and police stations, tear down the Ukrainian flags, use violence to take over these buildings using armed ‘little green men’ if necessary and have people scream “Russia! Russia” and “Putin save us” - shouts that had never really been heard in Eastern Ukraine at all up until Putin started his troublemaking; all this was done to follow the Crimean model. To make Ukraine ungovernable and to have Russian media, (no Ukrainian media allowed because it’s free), beamed non-stop into Eastern Ukraine saying Kyiv was ruled by a fascist junta, when Putin himself comes much closer to the definition of a fascist tyrant than do Ukraine’s current leaders Yatseniuk or Turchynov.

And all this as reliable Ukrainian and American sources note Russian GRU and spetsnaz activity in these areas against Ukraine’s Ministry of the Interior and Army.

Putin himself, not Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yatseniuk, chose to use violence to completely destabilize what up until that time had been peace in eastern Ukraine’s cities. He bears the ultimate responsibility for all the unnecessary violence since he decided to run the Crimean scenario in Donetsk and Luhansk with thugs, the FSB, and a complete propaganda bombardment to instill fear and panic.

If some province or republic of Putin’s Russia decided to secede and vote on seceding from Moscow, you can be quite sure Putin by now would have flattened all opposition by any means necessary, including violence. Separatism is a crime in Russia. In Ukraine, all the major Churches, including the Orthodox Church subject to Moscow’s Orthodox Patriarch, have come dead-set 100% against any separatism - all of them are against what Putin is doing and separatism. Ask Putin if he cares what Ukraine’s church leaders think.

 

[josie_L]

Donetsk Separatists Hold Red Cross Workers Hostage Overnight In East Ukraine

huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/10/red-cross-hostage-donetsk_n_5300030.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Who kidnaps and beats up Red Cross workers? These same pro-Russian terrorists and gunmen in Donetsk have kidnapped unarmed OSCE observers, beaten up innocent Ukrainian officials, journalists - both Ukrainian and foreign - and the self-styled head of the Donetsk Peoples’ Republic’s sole claim to fame until this year was running a criminal ponzi scheme. The majority of people in Eastern Ukraine don’t support crooks like this, but Putin will as he accepted the criminal Aksyonov to “run” Crimea. Crooks and the KGB. Heck, Putin made Kadyrov, another terrorist and crook, head of Chechnya. Last presidential vote in Chechnya I think Putin received 107% of the vote in Kadyrov’s fiefdom.

In one of my posts issued today (BBC article) 70% in the Eastern Ukraine want a united country.

 

[KyivAndrew]

The venerable Economist on yesterday’s Bogus (their description) Referendum in Donetsk, Ukraine:

The biggest irony of this bogus referendum is that those who support Ukrainian sovereignty —allegedly nearly 70% of people in the region— do not recognise the referendum and so did not vote. Many in Donetsk simply left town in fear of the violence. One lady, who asked not to be named, said that “all pro-Ukrainians are staying at home.” She also said she believed that another vote, to join Russia, was going to be held on May 18th, a rumour which others repeated though no announcement has been made.

Those who did not go to vote, including Galina and Valery Polianitsa, who want to keep Ukraine united, feel abandoned by the state. “It is really dangerous to unfold Ukrainian flags on the streets or speak Ukrainian on the street…This is crazy – we are in our own country.”

economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2014/05/ukraines-bogus-referendums

 

[pepipop]

Your source is correct, pepipop: Russia had troops stationed in Ukraine long before this recent conflict broke out. They were already in Crimea long before this conflict broke out as part of long standing agreements made with Ukraine over the leasing of Russian Naval Assets in Crimea.

But everything changed the moment that the democratically-elected, legitimate President of Ukraine - Yanukovych - was violently forced from power by the Western-backed, Maidan “protesters.” At that moment, all previous agreements with Ukraine became null and void and Russia had no other choice but to secure her national security interests in Crimea.

Now, contrast Mr. Putin’s actions in Crimea with the Western-backed Maidan in Kiev and now the South-Eastern parts of Ukraine:

Mr. Putin secured Crimea without firing a shot in a brilliant, justifiable use of military force. He did not “invade” Ukraine since there isn’t currently a legitimate Government in charge of Ukraine (neither did he “invade” Georgia as some here have incorrectly stated).

In contrast, the Kiev junta uses their “military” (it is not really the Ukrainian military since the many of them are not Ukrainian - more on that in a second - and Yanukovych is still the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine) to terrorize the ethnic Russian Ukrainians who have decided that they have had enough and will form their own Government rather than be ruled by the thieves and murderers in Kiev. Here are some videos highlighting the recent violent actions of the Ukrainian “military” against the ethnic Russian Ukrainian populations in the South-East of Ukraine during the recent referendum:

youtube.com/watch?v=PKHFgYCbgvI

youtube.com/watch?v=SU3SD6oQ7KE

youtube.com/watch?v=vLRJX5BngT0

youtube.com/watch?v=am5grM7VbPg

Now, I have a challenge for the anti-Putin crowd: find me one video showing Russian troops in Ukraine firing at Ukrainian civilians. Good Luck!

Now, back to a point I raised above - that there are many non-Ukrainians fighting for the “Ukrainian” military.

Bild am Sonntag, largest-selling German national Sunday newspaper, has just reported this past Sunday that about 400 commandos of the notorious US Mercenary company, Academi, are involved in a punitive operation mounted by Ukraine’s new government against ethnic Russian Ukrainian separatists in eastern Ukraine. According to the report, on April 29, Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) informed the Merkel Administration about Academi’s involvement in Kiev’s military operations in eastern Ukraine. If this is true, it confirms earlier videos purporting to show U.S. Mercenaries in Ukraine and is confirmation of what Russia has also been warning about, and it takes this conflict to a whole new, dangerous level.

The more I watch this disgraceful conflict unfold, the more I become convinced that when Putin “invades,” he will be fully justified in doing so. In fact, he will have an obligation to do so.

Totally agree with all your post, however I hope that Putin does not ‘invade’ Ukraine… With the ongoing baiting of Putin, by the West, for months now - i.e. everything that happens in Ukraine is ALL Russia’s fault, the US mercenaries in Ukraine fighting pro-Russian Ukrainians, the Odessa tragedy with no media coverage aside from the day it occurred, the Mariupol pro-russian civilian deaths, etc. it would be fully understandable if he did.

However, I sincerely hope he’s ‘cute’ enough to sit this out to the last and not rise to the bait. Unfortunately, he may have an ‘obligation’ to go in depending on what happens next, however I pray that this will not be the case.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I recently came across this article about the situation in Ukraine.

An astonishingly revealing article! All Catholics should read it at least once, and not only all Catholics.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Now, I have a challenge for the anti-Putin crowd: find me one video showing Russian troops in Ukraine firing at Ukrainian civilians. Good Luck!

.

And if someone did, some would demand that their photo IDs also be produced, along with absolute proof that they were not phony IDs; perhaps a chemical analysis of the ink.

And if that was produced, the pro-Putinists would deny that the apparent moment of firing really resulted in a gun being fired. And if that was somehow produced, pro-Putinists would demand a forensic examination of the rifles to ensure it wasn’t blanks that were fired.

What do we really need to know? Russia has seized Crimea despite treaties it signed guaranteeing it as part of Ukraine. Ukrainians and Tatars are being forced out of there. Russia has seized public buildings in Eastern Ukraine and held a phony “referendum” leading to annexation of two provinces to Russia.

At some point, one has to recognize aggression for what it is.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Totally agree with all your post, however I hope that Putin does not ‘invade’ Ukraine… With the ongoing baiting of Putin, by the West, for months now - i.e. everything that happens in Ukraine is ALL Russia’s fault, the US mercenaries in Ukraine fighting pro-Russian Ukrainians, the Odessa tragedy with no media coverage aside from the day it occurred, the Mariupol pro-russian civilian deaths, etc. it would be fully understandable if he did.

However, I sincerely hope he’s ‘cute’ enough to sit this out to the last and not rise to the bait. Unfortunately, he may have an ‘obligation’ to go in depending on what happens next, however I pray that this will not be the case.

Putin already announced that he’s “authorized” by the Russian Duma to go into Ukraine militarily, so whether he feels an “obligation” to conquer more of Ukraine or not is solely his judgment to make.

Nobody said “everything that happens” in Ukraine is Russia’s fault. Only the takeover of Ukraine by Russia is Russia’s fault, along with the means employed to do it.

I someone going to produce the photo ID of the alleged “western mercenaries” fighting the Russians in Ukraine? What’s sauce for the goose…

In any event, that’s laughable. Obama wouldn’t send a mercenary to protect anybody, anywhere. He’s terrified of Putin. And more’s the pity.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Returning to the earlier question why Ukraine is not keen on a visit by Russian Orthodox bishop Hilarion. From JimG’s article, this can explain quite a bit:

“In the western Ukrainian city of L’viv, the Holy Father blessed the cornerstone of the Ukrainian Catholic University, for which Fr. Gudziak was then Rector. We witnessed communists and Russian Orthodox marching hand-in-hand on the streets of the capital, Kyiv, protesting the Pontiff’s visit—spouting some of the most hateful language imaginable. Many times we visited the holiest place of Eastern Orthodoxy—the Monastery of the Caves in Kyiv, currently under the control of the Moscow Patriarchate—”

 

[Ridgerunner]

Again, from Jim’s article:

“Ukrainian citizens are puzzled over seemingly ineffectual “warnings” and “sanctions” against certain Russian authorities … all while Russian military jets repeatedly violate Ukrainian airspace, Russian-trained separatists take school children and OSCE observers hostage and torture innocent coal miners, Russian troops have massed on Ukraine’s eastern border, and Russian military personnel already operate on its territory. Moreover, international agreements are hardly worth the paper upon which they are printed—given the West’s failure to live up to its obligations to support the territorial integrity of Ukraine, while, according to one observer, “Putin has laid waste to a host of international agreements. It’s not that he rejects the need for them; he just wants others to recognize that the Kremlin has the right to its own interpretation of international agreements and principles.” And, we now know the numbers: the so-called Crimean referendum was fraudulent, with few participating, and those who did were “protected” by machines guns.”

 

[Ridgerunner]

And also: (And keeping in mind this is from a Catholic publication)

"The modus operandi of Putin’s “diplomacy” is, first, to gain domestic support by manipulating Russian public opinion through oppressive control of the media and saturating the news with Soviet-era propaganda. The victim of Russian territorial piracy—Ukraine—is faulted, while orders are issued to Russian special forces operating on Ukrainian territory and Russian separatists are directed to take over government facilities. Then, Putin keeps complacent and risk-averse Western powers guessing—countries overly dependent upon Russian fossil fuels, especially conflicted Germany: he masterfully employs doubt to magnify threats and conceal weaknesses to gain the initiative. Putin’s proximate goal is not so much to invade eastern Ukraine—although, de facto that has already happened—but to destabilize in order to delegitimize upcoming elections …

 

[Ridgerunner]

and:

"Why delegitimize elections and destabilize Ukraine? To keep it from moving towards European integration and NATO. Putin cannot permit May 25 elections in Ukraine (which, not accidentally, coincide with European Parliamentary elections) to gain legitimacy, for this will surely “lose” Ukraine for Putin. Not only will Ukraine’s European aspirations eventually be realized, but Moscow and Kyiv understand very well that the West cannot—at least openly under the current circumstances—provide an unelected interim government serious military backing, and Putin will go to great lengths to keep it that way. And, Putin has a very potent ace up his sleeve: by quietly employing agents (while using the more overt and violent separatists to deflect attention), people in eastern Ukraine will be coaxed to boycott the May 25 elections—an outcome of no war … but also no peace.

Putin doesn’t hide his ultimate intention to rebuild the Soviet Union (the collapse of which he characterized as “the greatest tragedy of the twenthieth century”)—except this time not propped up by communist ideology (which he loathes) but based upon his nationalist vision of a “Great Russia” as the alleged protector of any ethnic Russia no matter where they are. To this end, at a 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest (the same year he invaded Georgia) Putin claimed Ukraine was “an artificial state.” Moreover, Russian commentators routinely assert the borders of countries which formerly constituted the USSR were incorrect—thus subject to change. Putin is on a westward march—the question is, how seriously does the West take this? "

 

[Ridgerunner]

JimG’s article goes on to say that while Putin is conquering Ukraine by infiltration and disruption, the Russia Far East is ripe for China to do a similar thing to Putin. Massive numbers of Chinese have moved into the area, which is an area always claimed by China.

Does he possibly think “moving Russia west” is the salvation of the country? Stalin, as we know, moved Poland and the Soviet Union west, so it would not be something entirely new to the KGB thinking.

 

[josie_L]

An astonishingly revealing article! All Catholics should read it at least once, and not only all Catholics.

This part of the article is absolutely worth reading:

The modus operandi of Putin’s “diplomacy” is, first, to gain domestic support by manipulating Russian public opinion through oppressive control of the media and saturating the news with Soviet-era propaganda. The victim of Russian territorial piracy—Ukraine—is faulted, while orders are issued to Russian special forces operating on Ukrainian territory and Russian separatists are directed to take over government facilities. Then, Putin keeps complacent and risk-averse Western powers guessing—countries overly dependent upon Russian fossil fuels, especially conflicted Germany: he masterfully employs doubt to magnify threats and conceal weaknesses to gain the initiative. **Putin’s proximate goal is not so much to invade eastern Ukraine—although, de facto that has already happened—but to destabilize in order to delegitimize upcoming elections … including this weekend’s illegitimate and very localized “autonomy referendum,” whose result appear chaotic at best. All this is in support of Putin’s vision for a new world order. As one scholar noted in the Washington Post: “Putin not only seeks to revisit the results of the end of the Cold War; he also wants a final say in establishing the new world order. **Briefly, the Kremlin offers a new trade-off: In return for continued economic benefits for the West, Russia wants Western consent to its interpretation of the rules of the game.”

Why delegitimize elections and destabilize Ukraine? To keep it from moving towards European integration and NATO. Putin cannot permit May 25 elections in Ukraine (which, not accidentally, coincide with European Parliamentary elections) to gain legitimacy, for this will surely “lose” Ukraine for Putin. Not only will Ukraine’s European aspirations eventually be realized, but Moscow and Kyiv understand very well that the West cannot—at least openly under the current circumstances—provide an unelected interim government serious military backing, and Putin will go to great lengths to keep it that way. And, Putin has a very potent ace up his sleeve: by quietly employing agents (while using the more overt and violent separatists to deflect attention), people in eastern Ukraine will be coaxed to boycott the May 25 elections—an outcome of no war … but also no peace.

Putin doesn’t hide his ultimate intention to rebuild the Soviet Union (the collapse of which he characterized as “the greatest tragedy of the twenthieth century”)—except this time not propped up by communist ideology (which he loathes)** but based upon his nationalist vision of a “Great Russia” as the alleged protector of any ethnic Russia no matter where they are. To this end, at a 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest (the same year he invaded Georgia) Putin claimed Ukraine was “an artificial state.” Moreover, Russian commentators routinely assert the borders of countries which formerly constituted the USSR were incorrect—thus subject to change. Putin is on a westward march—the question is, how seriously does the West take this?** Sanctions, while a nuisance to Russia, betray a misunderstanding on the part of the West who think limited economic pain will necessarily persuade a people who have grown accustomed to doing without; as author and journalist Edward Lucas observed: “[Putin] will accept economic pain if he believes it’s in Russia’s national interest. He is prepared to use force. And he is prepared to lie—blatantly and repeatedly.”

 

[pepipop]

Here is a video from 11th May in Krasnoarmeysk when the local civilians followed and taunted the National Guard as they withdrew from the town. Shots are then fired back at the crowd and one man is shot badly in the leg.

I never watch these videos and read the commentaries attached to them or other threads, as they make me feel sick. This shows how ‘untrained’ the ‘guards’ are, by shooting at unarmed civilians because of verbal provocation.

Yes, they are shouting at the guards as they walk away but with no rioting, throwing of objects or anything, just shouting. The response by the guards is to set off a rounds of bullets shooting back at the unarmed men and then hitting one in the leg.

youtube.com/watch?v=MHtJbyTTZyM&fmt=18

 

[Ridgerunner]

Here is a video from 11th May in Krasnoarmeysk when the local civilians followed and taunted the National Guard as they withdrew from the town. Shots are then fired back at the crowd and one man is shot badly in the leg.

I never watch these videos and read the commentaries attached to them or other threads, as they make me feel sick. This shows how ‘untrained’ the ‘guards’ are, by shooting at unarmed civilians because of verbal provocation.

Yes, they are shouting at the guards as they walk away but with no rioting, throwing of objects or anything, just shouting. The response by the guards is to set off a rounds of bullets shooting back at the unarmed men and then hitting one in the leg.

youtube.com/watch?v=MHtJbyTTZyM&fmt=18

This film certainly contains no information. Keeping in mind that anybody can put anything on YouTube and characterize it however he wants, the following is what we see.

A group of largely young men are walking down a street, seemingly accompanied by, or following a bus that keeps pace with them at walking speed. They seem to be following a group of men in military uniforms bearing no identifiable insignia. Seemingly there is some admixture between the uniformed people and the rather smaller group of men shown in the film. Some smoke is seen on the right from some source that is not identifiable, and one person who had been in the forefront of the people in civvies grabs his leg, appears to shed a copious amount of blood. Most of the people in civilian dress keep walking as if nothing had happened. Two people seem to duck, but most don’t even seem to notice. And that’s the film. No other shots or indication of violence.

Maybe it was the national guard reacting to something. Maybe it was Russian soldiers firing on Ukrainian civilians. Maybe someone outside the group shot the one fellow in the leg. Maybe he shot at someone and someone shot back. Maybe the whole thing was staged, as there seem to be at least two cameramen accompanying the walkers. This film cannot be characterized as anything in particular. We never do know, from the film itself, who is in the bus or why it seems to be part of the group or why most of the people in civilian clothing just keep marching with the men in military dress after the one fellow appears to have been shot. One can’t tell who actually did the shooting.

 

[pepipop]

This film certainly contains no information. Keeping in mind that anybody can put anything on YouTube and characterize it however he wants, the following is what we see.

A group of largely young men are walking down a street, seemingly accompanied by, or following a bus that keeps pace with them at walking speed. They seem to be following a group of men in military uniforms bearing no identifiable insignia. Seemingly there is some admixture between the uniformed people and the rather smaller group of men shown in the film. Some smoke is seen on the right from some source that is not identifiable, and one person who had been in the forefront of the people in civvies grabs his leg, appears to shed a copious amount of blood. Most of the people in civilian dress keep walking as if nothing had happened. Two people seem to duck, but most don’t even seem to notice. And that’s the film. No other shots or indication of violence.

Maybe it was the national guard reacting to something. Maybe it was Russian soldiers firing on Ukrainian civilians. Maybe someone outside the group shot the one fellow in the leg. Maybe he shot at someone and someone shot back. Maybe the whole thing was staged, as there seem to be at least two cameramen accompanying the walkers. This film cannot be characterized as anything in particular. We never do know, from the film itself, who is in the bus or why it seems to be part of the group or why most of the people in civilian clothing just keep marching with the men in military dress after the one fellow appears to have been shot. One can’t tell who actually did the shooting.

And maybe it’s actually the true version of events, as the people living in Ukraine say it is. There are plenty of other forums, where members speak English, that host a mix of Ukrainians nationalist and unionist, Russian other Eastern Europeans as well as Westerners that converse with each other.

No-one on such forums denied it was in Ukraine or what had happened, and it is pretty obvious for all to see. Russia, needless to say was NEVER mentioned in any of the discussions about the video - aside from the obvious fact there are NO Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

 

[KyivAndrew]

Andrei Soldatov is a well-respected Russian writer on intelligence services’ issues; he is also the co-author of the book The New Nobility about the resurrection of the KGB in modern day Russia and how the KGB/now FSB constitute the new nobility running Russia.
His website on sundry issues is agentura.ru.

He writes about The True Role of the FSB in the Ukrainian Crisis:

The intrigue is growing over the Federal Security Service’s involvement in Ukraine…it is officially confirmed that FSB generals visited Kiev on Feb. 20 to 21. Recall that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry sent a note to Moscow on April 4 demanding to know why FSB Colonel General Sergei Beseda visited Kiev on Feb. 20 and 21, and that the very next day Interfax cited a source in Russian intelligence confirming that visit.

In 2004, FSB generals visited Sukhumi, Abkhazia to support the pro-Moscow candidates in their presidential race and, according to news reports from Chisinau, FSB generals personally worked with local Moldovan politicians in the mid-2000s. It also came to light four years ago that FSB intelligence services are actively involved in Ukraine. As an example, in 2010 a disaffected chekist published FSB documents on the Lubyanskayapravda.com website he created. That site was scuttled only two weeks later, but among the documents it revealed was a report on a Ukrainian document the FSB had forged with the intention of misleading the government of Turkmenistan and spoiling a gas deal between Kiev and Ashkhabad.

…all of the decision-makers in the Kremlin also share a background in the FSB… Putin’s inner circle of presidential chief of staff Sergei Ivanov, Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev and FSB head Alexander Bortnikov — all of whom, together with the president, worked in the KGB. That common “education” might help them all stay on the same page, but it does nothing to help them understand the world at large.

agentura.ru/english/dossier/truerole/

There of course are also armed Russian Military Intelligence (GRU) special forces like Igor Girkin in Ukraine.

And then are the other Russian paramilitaries in Ukraine, the “Wolves” as per my next post.

 

[KyivAndrew]

From Time Magazine:

Meet the Cossack ‘Wolves’ Doing Russia’s Dirty Work in Ukraine

The Wolves’ Hundred, a Russian paramilitary force with a dark history, is carrying on the fight in eastern Ukraine in the place of Russian soldiers. TIME interviewed its commander and his men about their motives and links to the Russian state

About a month ago, soon after arriving in eastern Ukraine, a group of Russian paramilitaries known as the Wolves’ Hundred seized an old truck from a local police station and used some spray paint to give it a makeover. They did not remove the blue siren from the roof, as it seemed to lend them an air of authority as they drove around the towns that they control. But on the hood of the black, Russian-made Hunter SUV, they drew their insignia — the snarling head of a wolf in profile.

For weeks, the central government in Kiev, along with its allies in the U.S. and Europe, have been trying to find solid evidence of Russian boots on the ground in eastern Ukraine. They need look no further than the men of the Wolves’ Hundred. In separate interviews with TIME over the past three weeks, four of its heavily armed fighters have admitted that they came from the southern Russian region of Kuban. They are part of the Cossack militias that have been in the service of Russian President Vladimir Putin for almost a decade, and they say they will not go home until they conquer Ukraine or die trying.

In eastern Ukraine, the men of the Wolves’ Hundred formed the original core of the militant fighters who took over several towns in April, and they claim to have killed numerous Ukrainian servicemen over the past few weeks. They say they got most of their weapons in April by storming Ukrainian police and security buildings and seizing their arsenals. For reinforcements, they have relied on the vast network of Cossack militias that operate in Russia and have managed to sneak across the border into Ukraine with relative ease.

“For every Cossack they kill, we will kill a hundred of their men,” says one of the militants from the Wolves’ Hundred, who goes by the nickname Vodolaz, or Diver. “We won’t just kill them. We will give their bodies back to their mothers in bags,” he told TIME on May 4 outside their base of operations in the town of Kramatorsk. Just behind him, the commandeered police truck stood parked, its snarling insignia bathed in the afternoon sun.

**The commander of the Wolves’ Hundred in eastern Ukraine is a Russian citizen **named Evgeny Evgenievich Ponomaryov, who goes by the nickname Batya, meaning Daddy or Papa.

Just as in the days of the czars, the command structure of the modern-day Cossacks in Russia now leads directly to Russia’s Commander in Chief, who holds the exclusive right to award the rank of Cossack general. In March, during the Russian invasion of Crimea, thousands of Cossack fighters went with the Kremlin’s approval to aid the Russian military in the occupation of the peninsula. Some of them returned home after Crimea was annexed into Russia, while others moved on to eastern Ukraine to continue their campaign. “We decided to go conquer some more historically Russian lands,” says Alexander Mozhaev, one of the Wolves’ Hundred members now serving in eastern Ukraine.

Their aim, as professed by the fighters themselves, is to **destroy the state of Ukraine **and absorb most, if not all, of it into Russia. “Write this down: There is no such thing as Ukraine,” says Mozhaev, who goes by the nickname Babay, or Bogeyman. “There are only the Russian borderlands, and the fact they became known as Ukraine after the [Bolshevik] Revolution, well, we intend to correct that mistake.”

time.com/95898/wolves-hundred-ukraine-russia-cossack/
(emphasis mine)

Nice, a heavily-armed unit of Russian citizens now in Ukraine and in the service of KGB autocrat Vladimir Putin wishes to wreak destruction and completely wipe off the map an entire country in Europe.

 

[Ridgerunner]

And maybe it’s actually the true version of events, as the people living in Ukraine say it is. There are plenty of other forums, where members speak English, that host a mix of Ukrainians nationalist and unionist, Russian other Eastern Europeans as well as Westerners that converse with each other.

No-one on such forums denied it was in Ukraine or what had happened, and it is pretty obvious for all to see. Russia, needless to say was NEVER mentioned in any of the discussions about the video - aside from the obvious fact there are NO Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

It’s all in Ukrainian or Russian (perhaps Chechen? Who knows?) The only “sort of” identifying element in the whole thing is the Cyrillic lettering on some signs. But that could be in Russia, in Chechnya, in Ukraine, in Bulgaria, anywhere Cyrillic is used. YouTube films are easily fabricated or misrepresented. But even the one you posted is not accompanied by any statement by “the people living in Ukraine”; not even by Russians living there.

And, of course, the whole world knows there are Russian soldiers in Ukraine, just as there were in Crimea before the conquest there. When, as they did there, the Russian military don’t wear any kind of identifying insignia, nobody can tell who they are for certain, but when they pursue Russian objectives, it’s not too hard to tell.

 

[josie_L]

This film certainly contains no information. Keeping in mind that anybody can put anything on YouTube and characterize it however he wants, the following is what we see.

A group of largely young men are walking down a street, seemingly accompanied by, or following a bus that keeps pace with them at walking speed. They seem to be following a group of men in military uniforms bearing no identifiable insignia. Seemingly there is some admixture between the uniformed people and the rather smaller group of men shown in the film. Some smoke is seen on the right from some source that is not identifiable, and one person who had been in the forefront of the people in civvies grabs his leg, appears to shed a copious amount of blood. Most of the people in civilian dress keep walking as if nothing had happened. Two people seem to duck, but most don’t even seem to notice. And that’s the film. No other shots or indication of violence.

Maybe it was the national guard reacting to something. Maybe it was Russian soldiers firing on Ukrainian civilians. Maybe someone outside the group shot the one fellow in the leg. Maybe he shot at someone and someone shot back. Maybe the whole thing was staged, as there seem to be at least two cameramen accompanying the walkers. This film cannot be characterized as anything in particular. We never do know, from the film itself, who is in the bus or why it seems to be part of the group or why most of the people in civilian clothing just keep marching with the men in military dress after the one fellow appears to have been shot. One can’t tell who actually did the shooting.

I just saw the video, doesn’t tell you much, however, let us assume that the soldiers are Ukrainian, according to the commentary I just read (assuming this is a correct translation), the crowd was apparently saying “fags”, **“we will kill you all”/B], “come here, 1one1”, i.e., threatening to kill someone is an offense is it not, i.e., you can get arrested for that, no? Moreover, these people were walking towards and not away from these armed soldiers, while continuously chanting these comments. Whoever shot the bullets did not intend to harm the protestors but to scare them off more than likely, i.e., there were many bullets shot into the air one of which could have ricocheted off of something and hit a protestor, again, we don’t know much of what is happening in this video, but there was only one person shot (in the leg). If the intent of those soldiers was to harm the protestors than they would have been harmed them en masse, but they weren’t. Assuming this is all real and not some hoax and the soldiers are Ukrainian while the protestors are pro-Russian all this video attests to is that these protestors believe all the vile Russian propaganda that is being spewed about the present interim government (which will be gone in less than two weeks from now).

p.s. Again, it seems rather odd for the separatists to go to the trouble of creating separate political enclaves when the interim government will be gone soon, but once you realize that their true intent is to join Russia with the help, of course, of Russia itself (even though the majority of Eastern Ukrainians want unification) than it is no longer odd but extremely dangerous/treasonous what these separatists are doing, hence the reason the Ukrainian army is required.**