What About the Perspective of Donetsk and Luhansk?
As Western media makes claims that the Russian military has suffered such devastating blows that it is in retreat and refocusing its efforts on the Donbass region, the hardships of war continue for the Ukrainian civilians trapped in the fray. By no fault of their own, their cities and livelihoods have been destroyed, while Russian President Vladimir Putin sits in his mansion directing the shots. While the images of dead bodies in Bucha and other towns near Kiev are horrifying, when President Joe Biden calls Putin a war criminal, it is both hypocritical and nationalistic. President George W. Bush invaded Iraq and committed similar atrocities as Putin, and Biden pushing the nation’s narrative to focus on regime change and support for war against Russia will only be detrimental to the American people, if a war is to ensue. Still, rally-around-the-flag cries continue, despite the United States government’s human rights record in the Middle East and lack of any real moral high ground on the Ukraine issue.
What is interesting, though, is that while Americans are focused on Putin’s imprisonment and censorship of dissidents, which is certainly wicked, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, through executive edict, consolidates the news media to a single narrative and prohibits opposition parties from practicing political activities. And yet, the Biden administration and Congress have just pledged an additional $13.6 billion in aid (in addition to Stinger and Javelin systems, grenade launchers, mortars, and other lethal aid that go to the coffers of the defense contractors) to one of the most corrupt countries on the planet. With all of this unconditional support for a non-ally, perhaps we should be aware of the brutality that the Ukrainian regime has committed over the years.
Knowing which belligerents in the Ukraine crisis are more to blame for the deaths and warfare in eastern Ukraine and which side did or did not violate the Minsk I and Minsk II agreements at what time are currently impossible to determine, and Russian and American propaganda abounds, making alleged atrocities difficult to confirm. However, we do know that shortly after the Crimean referendum of self-determination and Russian occupation of the peninsula, the oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk declared independence (by a margin of roughly 90%, according to the electoral commissions of the separatist regions), and although Russia was unable to recognize the breakaway republics until February 21, 2022, the Russian-speaking majority of the Donbass (of which, a large portion are also ethnic Russians) was fighting to retain their separation status from Kiev. Just like with President Abraham Lincoln’s Union Army against the Confederacy, King George III’s Redcoats against the American colonists, or Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s Mexican troops against the Texan revolutionaries, centralized governments do not tolerate violations of their “territorial integrity,” regardless of whether the will of the people would prefer secession or the altering of the status quo conditions of governance. American foreign policy centers around corporate interests and global hegemony, so although officials claim to care about the will of the people in other countries, the reality shows us something entirely different.
Almost immediately after the referendum, the new Western-friendly interim government (formed from the unconstitutional coup supported by Victoria Nuland and company, of the Obama administration), under Alexander Turchinov, and the subsequent presidency of Petro Poroshenko (a chocolate tycoon and corrupt Ukraine oligarch) waged a war against the separatists to force them back into Ukraine. In 2014, the Ukrainian government blocked Crimea’s fresh water source with a dam, leading to lost agricultural production and humanitarian concerns.
Poroshenko, who even put large swaths of the country under martial law and may have done so to postpone the election (but yeah, Ukraine is a shining beacon of democracy, as the United States government claims), even used the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion as part of the National Guard of Ukraine to combat separatist forces (yeah, the United States government aiding Nazis does not quite make the headlines). The Azov Battalion, which was classified as a terrorist group by the United States and had to be given an exemption in order to be funded, has been accused of many human rights violations, and it still operates under the approval of the Ukrainian government. Torture, kidnappings, and executions of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine by Nazis are not a good look on Poroshenko or Zelensky, both of which claim to be the victims.
One could argue that releasing militias to commit terrorist attacks against the populations of Donetsk and Luhansk could serve the purpose of intimidation and provoking genocide without tracing it directly to Kiev. Right-wing militias do plague Ukraine, and this has even been acknowledged by Reuters (though presumably this 2018 admission was to provide evidence of growing fascism and authoritarianism worldwide, in order to make comparisons with Donald Trump). Ukrainian-backed terrorists were even charged with having bombed a café in Donetsk that killed the elected prime minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko.
Although both sides of the conflict were responsible for deaths and destruction, the difference is that the separatists were interested in defending their homeland from the Ukrainian invaders, so when soldiers sent from Kiev destroyed hospitals, roads, and other infrastructure belonging to the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, it was viewed very negatively by those living in the regions (just like western Ukrainians view Russia’s destruction of their infrastructure as extremely devastating). The people of the Donbass just wanted to left alone and not attacked by Kiev, as brilliantly articulated by Zakharchenko in his announcement of the release of captured Ukrainian soldiers (the separatist leader even allowed them to contact their loved ones while being prisoners of war, and he welcomed them to return as friends, not enemies).
Yet, despite the will of the people, the Ukrainian government continued waging the war for eight years, and Minsk II’s promise of talks on granting special status to Donetsk and Luhansk as semi-independent from the unitary government in Kiev (similar to that of Crimea prior to 2014) never occurred. If decentralization of those two oblasts were to have occurred, perhaps we would not be in the situation in which we find ourselves.
Calling the Ukrainian military campaign to coerce the breakaway republics back into the union a genocide, as Russia has claimed, may be a stretch to some, but consider what citizens of the Donbass have said on the matter. We do have to consider that circumstantial evidence is not always an accurate way to understand a situation, but there are accounts of Ukrainian genocide against ethnic Russians and indiscriminate killings against the people of Donetsk and Luhansk. Citizens of Donetsk have suggested:
“Ukrainian “warriors” are not fighting the Russian army, and they understand this very well, they have always understood it. They kill us purposely. And each of them knows perfectly well that – according to the UN definition – it is genocide.”
“...murderers who justify their desire to kill and to punish disobedient people via cowardly shelling by citing “Russian aggression” and “defending national interests…” – I remember you, the time will come and I will definitely find you… And all your kind, murderers, will be found… All of you will be punished in accordance with what you have done.”
As Americans, we sit here and judge the events unfolding as clear-cut, without considering the nuances involved. Although what Russia has forced upon the Ukrainian people is horrific and should be condemned, the Zelensky and Poroshenko regimes are far from angels. It is all about perspective, and the Biden administration rallying Americans around the nationalistic prospects of war in Ukraine (blood for profit motives) and unconditional support of Kiev will not benefit anyone. Bloodshed is never acceptable, but please consider that the people of Donetsk and Luhansk really do want independence. It is important to remember that there are two sides to every story, and both American (and European) and Russian propaganda will always suggest that the other party committed atrocities, without considering that culpability lies with all belligerents involved in war. We sit here on our high horse condemning Putin for his aggression, but we will not remember how the Bush administration did the exact same thing in Iraq (under as dubious of justifications as Putin utilizes in Ukraine). God will judge the actions of Bush, Biden, Putin, Poroshenko, and Zelensky, alike.
Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website.
What is interesting, though, is that while Americans are focused on Putin’s imprisonment and censorship of dissidents, which is certainly wicked, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, through executive edict, consolidates the news media to a single narrative and prohibits opposition parties from practicing political activities. And yet, the Biden administration and Congress have just pledged an additional $13.6 billion in aid (in addition to Stinger and Javelin systems, grenade launchers, mortars, and other lethal aid that go to the coffers of the defense contractors) to one of the most corrupt countries on the planet. With all of this unconditional support for a non-ally, perhaps we should be aware of the brutality that the Ukrainian regime has committed over the years.
Knowing which belligerents in the Ukraine crisis are more to blame for the deaths and warfare in eastern Ukraine and which side did or did not violate the Minsk I and Minsk II agreements at what time are currently impossible to determine, and Russian and American propaganda abounds, making alleged atrocities difficult to confirm. However, we do know that shortly after the Crimean referendum of self-determination and Russian occupation of the peninsula, the oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk declared independence (by a margin of roughly 90%, according to the electoral commissions of the separatist regions), and although Russia was unable to recognize the breakaway republics until February 21, 2022, the Russian-speaking majority of the Donbass (of which, a large portion are also ethnic Russians) was fighting to retain their separation status from Kiev. Just like with President Abraham Lincoln’s Union Army against the Confederacy, King George III’s Redcoats against the American colonists, or Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s Mexican troops against the Texan revolutionaries, centralized governments do not tolerate violations of their “territorial integrity,” regardless of whether the will of the people would prefer secession or the altering of the status quo conditions of governance. American foreign policy centers around corporate interests and global hegemony, so although officials claim to care about the will of the people in other countries, the reality shows us something entirely different.
Almost immediately after the referendum, the new Western-friendly interim government (formed from the unconstitutional coup supported by Victoria Nuland and company, of the Obama administration), under Alexander Turchinov, and the subsequent presidency of Petro Poroshenko (a chocolate tycoon and corrupt Ukraine oligarch) waged a war against the separatists to force them back into Ukraine. In 2014, the Ukrainian government blocked Crimea’s fresh water source with a dam, leading to lost agricultural production and humanitarian concerns.
Poroshenko, who even put large swaths of the country under martial law and may have done so to postpone the election (but yeah, Ukraine is a shining beacon of democracy, as the United States government claims), even used the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion as part of the National Guard of Ukraine to combat separatist forces (yeah, the United States government aiding Nazis does not quite make the headlines). The Azov Battalion, which was classified as a terrorist group by the United States and had to be given an exemption in order to be funded, has been accused of many human rights violations, and it still operates under the approval of the Ukrainian government. Torture, kidnappings, and executions of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine by Nazis are not a good look on Poroshenko or Zelensky, both of which claim to be the victims.
One could argue that releasing militias to commit terrorist attacks against the populations of Donetsk and Luhansk could serve the purpose of intimidation and provoking genocide without tracing it directly to Kiev. Right-wing militias do plague Ukraine, and this has even been acknowledged by Reuters (though presumably this 2018 admission was to provide evidence of growing fascism and authoritarianism worldwide, in order to make comparisons with Donald Trump). Ukrainian-backed terrorists were even charged with having bombed a café in Donetsk that killed the elected prime minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko.
Although both sides of the conflict were responsible for deaths and destruction, the difference is that the separatists were interested in defending their homeland from the Ukrainian invaders, so when soldiers sent from Kiev destroyed hospitals, roads, and other infrastructure belonging to the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, it was viewed very negatively by those living in the regions (just like western Ukrainians view Russia’s destruction of their infrastructure as extremely devastating). The people of the Donbass just wanted to left alone and not attacked by Kiev, as brilliantly articulated by Zakharchenko in his announcement of the release of captured Ukrainian soldiers (the separatist leader even allowed them to contact their loved ones while being prisoners of war, and he welcomed them to return as friends, not enemies).
Yet, despite the will of the people, the Ukrainian government continued waging the war for eight years, and Minsk II’s promise of talks on granting special status to Donetsk and Luhansk as semi-independent from the unitary government in Kiev (similar to that of Crimea prior to 2014) never occurred. If decentralization of those two oblasts were to have occurred, perhaps we would not be in the situation in which we find ourselves.
Calling the Ukrainian military campaign to coerce the breakaway republics back into the union a genocide, as Russia has claimed, may be a stretch to some, but consider what citizens of the Donbass have said on the matter. We do have to consider that circumstantial evidence is not always an accurate way to understand a situation, but there are accounts of Ukrainian genocide against ethnic Russians and indiscriminate killings against the people of Donetsk and Luhansk. Citizens of Donetsk have suggested:
“Ukrainian “warriors” are not fighting the Russian army, and they understand this very well, they have always understood it. They kill us purposely. And each of them knows perfectly well that – according to the UN definition – it is genocide.”
“...murderers who justify their desire to kill and to punish disobedient people via cowardly shelling by citing “Russian aggression” and “defending national interests…” – I remember you, the time will come and I will definitely find you… And all your kind, murderers, will be found… All of you will be punished in accordance with what you have done.”
As Americans, we sit here and judge the events unfolding as clear-cut, without considering the nuances involved. Although what Russia has forced upon the Ukrainian people is horrific and should be condemned, the Zelensky and Poroshenko regimes are far from angels. It is all about perspective, and the Biden administration rallying Americans around the nationalistic prospects of war in Ukraine (blood for profit motives) and unconditional support of Kiev will not benefit anyone. Bloodshed is never acceptable, but please consider that the people of Donetsk and Luhansk really do want independence. It is important to remember that there are two sides to every story, and both American (and European) and Russian propaganda will always suggest that the other party committed atrocities, without considering that culpability lies with all belligerents involved in war. We sit here on our high horse condemning Putin for his aggression, but we will not remember how the Bush administration did the exact same thing in Iraq (under as dubious of justifications as Putin utilizes in Ukraine). God will judge the actions of Bush, Biden, Putin, Poroshenko, and Zelensky, alike.
Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website.
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