Regarding Ukraine

“[The Ukraine situation is tragic,] particularly for the people involved […] and it is only going to be solved, I think, by negotiations. […] There is going to have to be a settlement there between the two. [...] Russia wants a Ukraine that is not a threat to them – a friendly Ukraine […] and the people who seized power in Kiev in February are openly and vehemently anti-Russian. But that view is not shared by the people in the east, who don’t necessarily want to be a part of Russia, but they also don’t want a country which deprives them of free contact with Russia. This is in essence a family fight. […] Ukraine is a very complex country which has been put together rather artificially, to be frank, and without any real consultation of Ukrainians as to where the borders were. And to treat it as if it’s some primordial unified state is simply incorrect. Ukraine is basically a house which sits, since independence, divided against itself. That is the basic problem, and outsiders taking one side or the other doesn’t help. It is inevitable that Russia is going to take a side because it is part of their back yard - many Russians would say part of their own heritage. So we’re dealing with highly emotional issues when outsiders get involved. And when we start talking about military action and military alliances, we cause very irrational and very damaging reactions.” – Former US Ambassador to Russia Jack Matlock  Democracy Now! September 3, 2014

And we do it so often in so many places, that it’s almost like that’s our goal.

If Westerners could see what is really going on in Donbass, they would have a completely different picture. Plenty of videos can be found on various websites showing dead civilians, slaughtered by Ukrainian artillery or aviation. On the videos, survivors say clearly that people are being killed by Ukrainians from Kiev and not by the rebels. But pro-Kiev media and its Western allies turn a deaf ear to their sufferings.

  Counterpunch

Video links and accounts of the Ukraine government’s bombing are included in the Counterpunch article (linked above).  The Democracy Now! live report includes an interview with a Human Rights Watch reporter who had been on the ground in Ukraine. He reports that there “may be” some instances of the rebels doing the bombing (a claim made by the Ukrainian government), but that his organization did not see any evidence of it.  They did, however, see plenty of evidence of Ukrainian government bombings.

Such events have become part of everyday life for the inhabitants of Donbass. Independent cameramen are trying to bring the truth to the Ukrainian and Western public but this is no easy task.

Firstly, it is very difficult to publish the videos, because internet connection is now a luxury for Donbass. The Ukrainian army has destroyed not only electricity plants but water pipes and gas lines as well.

Secondly, Ukrainian forces are arresting journalists and people making videos, and treating them as criminals. Kiev has unleashed a real war against freedom of speech. Any video or text criticizing the Ukrainian government is considered as “support for Donbass terrorists.” Making such videos means risking your life or freedom.