That’s what it is called to face the plight. This is a brave man, hats off.
It’s a pity that leg which does not seem to look good. It seems to have been operated again?
Those who hurry to get an apartment/house, why not going to help with the work? It is a state of war and everyone should pitch in.
People are right to be tired and scared, but this pettiness surplus in a situation like this when you’re talking to a man wounded in combat.
Cassad always looks like he never misses a meal he needs to share with these people
As for the other one first to leave the fight and complaining from the sidelines
They make me sick
And Putin proberly did drag it out.
But not because he is a traitor or such things.
But because:
1. There are alot of strong interests from oligarchs. (Which needs to apease in a way until later).
2. The west has to much power of worlds institutions.
Russia needs time to find/create own alternatives (swift, visa, mastercard, and alot more).
But Russia will not forget the west betraial and attacks.
It will be dealt with eventually.
The problem now is that all the world sees that Russia is not ready to defend anyone who defies the usa-hegemoncy.
And thats why no country is ready to defy it.
They see what happend to all countries that have tried defy usa dictatorship.
They get raped.
And thats also one of the reasons even Serbia etc bow down to usa, over gasspipelines etc.
They want to grow, they want good relations with Russia. But not at the cost of them getting raped by usa in “color revolutions”, “drones”, “mystic deaths”, etc.. While Russia just watches the raping going on.
So its a twilight zone.
Many are ready to throw usa the F away. But noone dares untill Russia grows some backbones and is ready to defend them.
Untill them they will all be under usa controll (with few exceptions).
Soith america is starting to a torn in usa. So expect alot of “revolutiions” down there in comming years. To get them doctile to usa interests.
Theyve allready mini-tried with Brasil, Venecuela, Argentina lately.
Usa only need an active 5% minority-group to get color revolutions to work/started.
Looking forward to the usa-parasite is dealth with.
Russia/BRICS will proberly need another 10years before ready.
And usa has never been a good losser, so it will 99% proberbility end in big wars.
I oredict 95% for a world war, and 99% for only a civil war in usa.
Ukronazis are spreading disinfo about Zaharczenko. They call him ‘terrorist’, they spread false translations from these protests. Just search in YouTube engine “Donetsk protesters lost said the terrorist Zakharchenko – “You disappointed me” and don’t bother to watch this propaganda crap.
You are doing great job with translating this, You and Russia Insider, and stopping smearing campaing.
Zaharchenko is a brave and honorable man. True Ukrainian – not like these banderist scums, who were killing even own people for not listening their sick ordrers, who were refusing to kill Polish neighbours in 1943. Now they are doing exactly the same and only people of Donbas can stop them with leaders like Zaharchenko
An interesting article I read on ICH got me thinking :
“Sure, Obama also pays lip service to idea that the executive is subject to law. But what happens when he acts like an autocrat? Nothing. King John had to contend with rebellious barons who resisted his taxes to finance losing wars and other impositions. Obama has no effective opposition to contend with. He is free to fight wars as he pleases, never needing to worry that he might be deprived of the revenues he needs to engage in his far-flung killing.
We like to believe we’ve come a long way in those 800 years, but in important respects we have not. We’ve regressed, not the least in the sense that people no longer show an interest in resisting tyranny even through nonviolent non cooperation”.
It got me thinking as to how true this statement is. Then it got me thinking that this actually only applies to the “west”, and not to countries like China or Russia and it got me thinking as to why ?
People just couldn’t (it would seem) care less in the west. The majority are either brainwashed by the MSM and are blind and deaf to what their “elected representatives” are getting up to in their name and with their taxes, or just couldn’t give a monkeys and bury their heads in the sand with various reality and “celebrity” shows.
Could it perhaps have something to do with the neo-liberalism that has taken hold in the west ?, the growing lack of belief in God that is evident with ever falling church attendance and resulting in a society that has lost any real purpose and meaning to life and only exists for the pleasure of the senses ? A culture which has fostered an “anything goes” mentality and people no longer have any boundaries to their behaviour and call it “freedom” ? This is also what happened in the latter days of the decline of the Roman empire when the entire populace was sunk in excess and debauchery (those who could afford it). In contrast to a place like Russia where people still have a strong belief system in the existence of a God and people still have moral boundaries which seems to be anathema to the rulers of the west. And then I begin to wonder if this was actually the intention all along ? We live in interesting times indeed, God help us.
One of the issues that has brought about the fat apathy in the west is the compromise of integrity .The lack of the desire to regain it,or to value it .This is brought about by simply putting a need to lie to get a little help .There are so many conditions for disqualification within the red tape attached to social programs ,I often wonder why they would even have a Dept. for it .Small lies on tax forms become big incentives .The attitude that every one does it ,and getting caught is no big deal ,along with the political ,judicial corruption becomes a means to justifying it .Every one is looking for their share of the pie .
I am not saying eliminating poverty would help other then there would be less poor people going to jail .I know that the jail population would probably remain the same but would end up being of a higher class only due to quotas .Jail is big business and they wont let us shut them down by keeping laws .They make new laws every day to feed that beast .
“the growing lack of belief in God that is evident with ever falling church attendance and resulting in a society that has lost any real purpose and meaning to life and only exists for the pleasure of the senses ?”
“Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for Liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People in a greater Measure than they have it now, They may change their Rulers and the forms of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting Liberty. They will only exchange Tyrants and Tyrannies.”
~ President John Adams, 1776
what you describe is a consequence of “Consumerism”, where everyone is just busy making the next buck to buy/consume something. The society keeps creating lots of “wants”, which people think are “needs”. Of course, along the way, the government takes a cut at part of what you make, causing you to have to work longer and harder to get the bucks that you “need”.
Another point is that by now, I realize Obama (or any Democrat) is actually worse than if a Republican is the the WH. This is because all the lefties give the Democrat a pass – thus there is no outrage when a Democratic President acts aggressive, or droned to death more people, or increase surveillance on all citizens; why ? because all those who tend to be against such things are democrat-leaning, but if the president is a democrat, they simply ignore such transgressions. I still remember clearly there were lots more lefties protesting during G.W Bush’s reign then under Obama for this reason.
I believe for the next election, I will actually vote for some one that I think will trigger more anger and protests, than less, believe it or not!
Go ahead and participate in the election scam. Hope it makes you feel you are involved in the democratic process that actually is nonexistant. A dog and pony show. Hope it makes you feel you matter.
You”re reasoning is off the charts ridiculous. One who truly hopes for change and reform refuses tp engage in a system that has been a sham since its enception. That my friend means not voting for candidates who abhorr the individual rights of man. Voting sure makes you feel patriotic I hope. Protesting accomplishes nothing. Believing that by voting in right wing facists will promote action is ludicrous. Blaming abstract things like consumerism instead of willfull ignorance is like blaming your mother for your being born where you were. It is each persons responsibility for their behaviors.
Believing that by voting in right wing facists will promote action is ludicrous.
I’m pretty sure Alan was trying to be funny. Sometimes I say that when I vote, I would write-in “Edward Snowden” for all the positions. That doesn’t mean I would actually do it or think it would change anything.
“If voting made any difference, they wouldn’t let us do it.”
~ Mark Twain (?)
” It is each persons responsibility for their behaviors.”
“… we see that the people themselves have no original convictions of their own. Their convictions are formed, of course, just as everywhere else. The decisive question is who enlightens the people; who educates them? Capital actually rules in those countries; that is, nothing more than a clique of a few hundred men who possess untold wealth…”
~ Adolf Hitler, 1940 http://www.therealistreport.com/2015/01/adolf-hitler-man-who-fought-bank.html
No one makes their choices in a vacuum. Mindless consumerism is part of how the Banking Empire dumbs people down; it’s modern day bread and circuses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses
I think one of the ways that the US has been attacked for decades is thru the idiot box. On it you have seen every emotion and occurrence of your life trivialized. Integrity isn’t portrayed and their idea of a hero is someone who can shoot down 6 people without batting an eye. This is what they hold up for people to identify with. These are the actions that we are to vicariously share.
Crazy world with crazy people doing crazy things . I agree with you on the God issue with you btw . I still remember a time when honor and integrity was valued more even among none believers though . I could have been when the Church was smaller and usually in the community that made the difference . Now unless you have some kind of a mega church it become not viable .
It is a laughable comment when you point to obama as being the decision maker on these matters. He is nothing more than a cutout, a mouthpiece for those actually making the decisions. And before someone responds with a diatribe about if others are really in control provide names, as I have witnessed previously in comments here, they are readily available. However, if you want to know do your own research. I have. Though the Russian and Chinese people may be somewhat better informed or care more because they are a direct target for destruction by empire, many there have fallen under the spell of the west and its so-called better opportunities. If they are so much more aware and informed why do so many flock to the west, especially for higher education? Do you not believe those institutions of higher learning are propaganda enterprises for the empires shadow government? Know there are many here among us residing in the empire who know the deal and are aware that the facade presnted is a joke.
well, it seems the Russians are no better than Americans when the welfare checks stop. instead of relying on their own skills, brains, ingenuity, etc. to survive, they whine, beg, and plead for the oligarchs to take care of them. Saker community, now you know why evil rules the world, because we ask them to.
if you believe that Zakharchenko is not and/or work for oligarchs, then God bless you. they are in their predicaments because of what, you guessed it, oligarchs!
Niet.
Zacharchenko is there because he is capable of leading.
And leading has to do with realities and transforming realities, but only within the boundaries of Politics.
And he wishes and will do what his people want, as expressed by their majorities. DOnt tell me this is utopia because they are in full blown state of war.
They choices that suffering people around him want would be great -but great such as dreams can be great. If accepted and implemented by zacharchenko, and this is sad, they would implode the whole dream in a span of few years.
And, even more, if implemented by means of a Russian intervention ,all russian existing soft power would vanish, local guerrillas would be implemented forever in the region and SURE as hell, the fingers on the
III WW trigger would become much nearer, much more nervous all over the globe. pUTIN cannot risk that
and I would not either.
No.1 problem, being shelled all day. How do they stop that with their own skills or brains? The housing they are in belongs to the city, and they’re entitled to equivalent if they are moved out. They can’t just go and rent somewhere else as there is a shortage of intact housing everywhere. And they have no pensions and no jobs.
Some HAVE been using their own ingenuity to survive — collecting scrap metal. Some of which unfortunately belonged to people. So they want that stopped.
DPR should learn from this, to insert policing into every danger area, where shelling may be used as cover for looting, whether by their own or by outsiders.
That was not an evil oligarch they were asking to help — it was their elected and war-wounded Prime Minister.
They should just give the local population guns, that will stop looting over night.. Give every family a gun and put up signs “ARMED AREA, LOOTERS WILL BE SHOT” spread a few rumours about dead lotters also and it will be looting no more.
And yes, guns curb the crime somewhat. D/LPR have relatively free gun ownership, guns need to be registered but that’s it so far, anything under .50 caliber is fair game, no exams or heavy fees.
Phew that’s good cause the .338 lapua is a good size for distance work and well utilised in NATO and other organisations so I would imagine ammo easy to come by after a pocket.
Of course there is always 7.62mm or 5.56 but I would prefer the larger for decent hunting.
Gun forced ownership seems to work for Switzerland. Also looking at stats from the USA it seems there are more gun fatalities in the states that ban them. Also Military spec assault rifles are the least used in firearm homicides. Most are from personal firearms i.e. pistols.
Should be some basic handling training and common sense tests but not much more. Mass killings like Martyn Bryant in Australia and Anders Breivik are setups design to deliver a message and serve a political purpose, in Australia it was the outlawing of Semi Automatic Rifles and Norway, well we can see which way the Government has changed its tune since that day. Sad but true, for the victims and for Norway in its new attitude to its neighbour.
Anyone that blindly believes in any ideology, parks his brain and is too lazy to look at the context of each situation thru the eyes of common sense and sapient analysis. Such a person is a lost cause and a timid follower rather than a leader.
Btw for the fake “rugged individualist” ideologues, No-one has made it on their own, your mother gave birth to you, you didn’t create yourself, people fed you as you grew up (you didn’t do it on your own). You used infrastructure paid by other people, you didn’t pay for it. You got breaks in jobs and business thanks to other people, not because you’re so hot and competent, but because of the whims/mercy and decisions of other people.
And the biggest recipients of Welfare in US history were returning GIs and their families, (Look up the GI-Bill, it was a welfare plan). So spare us the self-righteous attack on these innocent pensioners, women and children that are being shelled by Nazi’s and their cowardly minions. I’m sure if you were the same situation you’d be begging for all kinds of aid.
You don’t understand posters like this — they can make a cheese sandwich out of two bricks and shell fragment — and then pass it out to feed the widows and orphans.
They *could* be totally self reliant if they ever had to. They never had to — but they could…
I know all about these people because they are all over the US and I hear them all the time — or I did when I used to listen to the TV and Radio, or read right wing message boards. So I don’t hear them now — but even so there are fewer of them found, unless you see them walking the streets looking for work after they got laid off, or at the unemployment or DHS office, especially in cities that have gone bust.
Turns out brick sandwiches don’t taste that great.
I saw the comment from Les, and I understood the video just before I read it.
But you don’t make any point here — you’re just ragging, and making noise in your reply, which seems to be echoing your attitude and bias about people who have run out of resources and options around in your head.
People have used their initiative, for example, and such to grow gardens, and then were shelled, and the gardens were blown up, or their houses destroyed, or they were killed. But gardens take time to grow (and you can’t eat them in the meantime), and need water, which may be cut off, and maybe electricity too. A person also needs money for various necessities, and the money has been cut off. People who are old and sick can’t do a lot of things. And people who are expert teachers but know how to do other things can’t teach when the schools are destroyed and the children hiding, moved away, or injured or killed.
Your ‘ingenuity’ comment is very glib but has nothing to do with reality and the real limits to what a person can do there — or any place where poverty and lack of resources is inflicted on people.
how about reading the comment bellow by anonymous (me, i forgot to put my name), and the subsequent replies, just maybe [maybe] you could understand the point of the comment. i bet you missed the whole point of my original comment. if so, let me repeat:
” Saker community, now you know why evil rules the world, because we ask them to.” no??
“evil rules the world, because we ask them to.” no??”
No.
People depend on a central community organization because we are not solitary, but social creatures. The problem of oligarchs, chiefs, and authoritarians is not that we depend on social organization but that people are bamboozled into thinking that power does not corrupt — or more specifically that the corrupt and the sociopaths do not seek power, and often get it because they are good at that, through deception.
Evil does not quite rule the world although it gets close at times, because people want that but because they are too trusting and think the would-be rulers are benevolent, like mommy and daddy were, and are conditioned from early childhood to be naive about it. The solution is not to get rid of government, but to control the predators and assume responsibility for government by running it themselves, democratically.
“If the people of the world rebelled against ALL oligarchs and succeeded, how peaceful would the world be??”
wouldn’t take long.
true story…i lived in a village of some 350 people, huge wool era church, one pub, and a small six person parish council. people with allotments would give surplus lettuces and the like to neighbours. in a glut year people with fruit trees told neighbours to help themselves. my family had quite a few apple and blackberry pies, blackberries gathered from the hedgerows of the farmers, large farms with no tresspassing problems.
a couple of london business families moved into the village.
in six months had weedled their way onto the parish council,
maybe because they were perceived as the kind of people who
‘got things done’.
the got rid of the pensioner treasurer, who produced the parish
newsletter on his home computer for the cost of the paper, then
‘appointed’ a treasurer AND secretary, bought a state of the art
computer, a filing cabinet (fill size, four drawer) and were proposing
to rent or buy an office space for them to work in.
that’s when the village erupted. people who had never attended
a parish council meeting and were quite content with the previous
arangement turned up in droves at the next meettng. i was there.
the ‘bluster’ of these wannabe’s when confronted was very amusing
and also very scary to see. hey beieved their speil.
they were voted out, there and then at that meeting.
later it was found they had spent all the ‘reserves’ and borrowed
from the bank, on the strength of parish council reputation, in order
to ‘get things done’ which when you looked into it, were never
defined.
now imagine those kinds of people in the donbass/donesk situation.
how do you think the ‘oligarks/sharks’ get their ‘assets?
there are quite a few people who when not restrained will join
a mob/junta/mafia for the perks and have to show ‘loyalty’
at some point doing criminal, bad or unspeakable things.
perhaps when you have been persuaded to join the march
you know you cannot step away or you get what the ‘colorado
beetles’ get.
when the situation changes it is easier to say…’i didn’t know’
‘it wasn’t me’ and hide back into the people again.
Ukraine’s been strong on the appointed-government style. The republics seem to be more democratic, but have a Soviet memory. The latter is that every workplace, every village, every street, had its political organisation. to keep them on the straight and narrow. They can take that physical format, replace the appointed party apparatchik with elected local leaders.
Make laws that local council members must have minimum 5 or 10 years residence, to be eligible. Otherwise I can see takeovers, like oldenik’s example, where related groups take over numerous nearby councils, therefore a whole district, in a few short years. Suddenly opposition can’t find work (or a child care place, or buy medicine) within travel range. The same should apply on a larger scale, at district or city council levels, and even oblast elections — keep it to locals everyone has had a chance to get to know.
Kat, similar system to direct democracy as practiced in Libya I believe before NATO destroyed it. Ground level politics whereby people participate and are part of the decision making process. Nothing is perfect and never will be as that is life but a system that empowers people to be responsible for their local environs and at the political level will be much stronger than huge centralised systems.
I grew up in a supposed “Democracy” taught how the Soviet System was all run out of the Kremlin. Seems that the “Democratic Countries in the West” tend to use the reflections they see in the mirror of themselves to describe others. I do not know but I do know that the former CCCP states are in a poorer condition since the break up compared to when as part of the Soviet System. I also know that the West is well down the road to Fascism and that the core is rotten to hell and back.
Funny how things turn out when one takes to their own studies instead of relying on what they are told.
I still think of that recent Russian joke told on Fortruss, “Two things the Russians learned about with the fall of the Soviet System, the good was what they had been told about the Soviet System was all lies and the bad was what they had been told about the West was all true”. Brings a smile to my face thinking of it. Waking up from indoctrination though is hard when others are still asleep in it.
These heroic individuals are born in the cauldron of Revolutionary struggle. Zakharchenko is living proof of the resurgence of Russia.
To see Zakharchenko patiently answering the people he serves is a glowing tribute to the rebirth of political culture, which is the rebirth of people’s Liberty.
Democratic Republics, such as that at Donetsk, are among the the highest achievements of humanity. These videos are a beautiful testimony to the strength of the human spirit. These videos should be circulated throughout America and the imperialist world.
Zakharchenko: Yes, as one lady said when he asked ” Is this about housing because we are working on that .” and she shouted” No. it is that they are shelling us daily. ” To sit and have to fight the fight that Zakharchenko has been handed and to have to ask the people of Donbass to keep on taking it and taking it means doing exactly what he did. A popular struggle has to win the loyalty and faith of the people.People fight harder not just for their physical survival but because the struggle has to been seen as fair and the leadership worth following. ( I could insert my usual rant about Mozgovoi but restrain is a good thing.)
Maybe mass evacuations of civilians with everyone who stays having a job–growing food, cooking it, distribution, block committees established which are responsible for food distribution and local security etc. will be necessary.
Good luck Zakharchenko and be creative. Old solutions may not work best. And usually petty crime drops in times of national/group solidarity in times of struggle.
There’s an hour lone video of Zakh from this meeting with the people. It does not yet have Eng. subs.
He is a true warrior. He is loyal to his values, his land, his people and to Russia and Putin. He’s been shot several times. This foot injury was at Debaltcevo.
You know his head is worth millions to any sniper that can get him.
Yet, he went out to the people to show them the faith they have in him is well-placed.
Some yelled at him and rudely spoke, but early on other women wanted to get close to hug him.
Imagine the love they have for the man.
As with Motorola and Givi, Zakharchenko needs our prayers so all of them will survive and see their dream of freedom and peace come true.
One day, Putin will pin medals on these Russian heroes.
Well boosh was telling a story about men and sheep to children that morning. Of course we never saw all the armed men with guns keeping the parents in line outside the room and the armored tanks behind the trees… And there was the great doiter.. who disarmed the cadets before giving them a speech about exceptionalism and how they were the next exceptionalist. Its called freedom where the leaders of the free world are afraid of their own children..
Having to stand there with the blood pressure on his leg is bringing the sweat out on Zakharchenko
but he stands there and keeps answering questions.
Has to be a difficult situation. If they move the guns back Ukies will have a field day on residential areas. As the US has admitted, the Donbass counter battery fire is devastating accurate (some Russian tech there I guess) so no doubt what Zakharchenko is saying about the Uki positions being destroyed is true.
Look at the crossfire episodes in Lugansk and down at Shirokino, and Marinka. The manpower losses were from very directed artillery, zeroed in on the militia by American technology.
These are very deadly barrages, taking out commanders and top fighters in good units.
Yes, the militia has done well, but they have lost heavily in the exchange of shelling.
The drones also are a huge problem. They can spot hiding places quite easily.
Russia need to ratchet up the counter-measures.
I read an OSCE report some months ago where they were complaining about melted electronics in their drones. I guess they were civilian spec rather than mil spec.
Russia must be able to do something to make it a no fly zone for Uki drones?
I can’t see this ending in Ukraine until the US dollar is defeated.
Syria, four years now. And they have just started on Yemen.
I look at the destruction in Ukraine , the people, families, hopes for the future, same as families anywhere, in Syria, Yemen and everywhere else the US has brought death and destruction…..
OSCE has civilian drones, from Austria, at round $3500 each. UAF seem to have something similar but from NATO I guess. Same size and shape as the OSCE ones, from what I saw of one NAF allegedly captured. NAF also has a few like that/ These are airplane shaped and have a wingspan a bit less than an adult’s outstretched arms. NAF also has some “toy” grade quadcopters they assembled from kits bought on the internet. Russia also supposedly flies drones in the area; a few weeks ago UAF was showing off one they said they downed, a very serious drone, Israeli design costing around $6 million each (more than 20ft wingspan) .
OSCE regularly complain their drones are shot at or radio jammed. Both sides accuse them of passing info to the other side, so this is not surprising.
Pin-point original fire can be done just from Google maps (if aiming at infrastructure), provided you have artillery or rockets with such fine aiming mechanisms. For return fire they use radar, which calculates the exact position of the artillery they want to knock out. USA provided 3 of these to UAF last year (one was smashed, one left behind at Debaltsevo). These are meant to be networked to auto-aim guns but Ukies dont have those, so there’s a delay while they transfer the data and aim by hand. NAF appear to have some similar technology but in smaller more portable units.
Do they really think he can wave a wand and stop the UAF from shelling? Are they so consumed with themselves that they cannot see anything but their own “needs”??
This video brings back memories of taking relief to families fleeing a war zone… while generally we were able to organize and arrange distribution fairly, and it was received with gratitude, on several occassions the people lined up with lists of demands… some even had the gall to get in my face and tell me it was my job to get them everything on their list – yes, they had lists!
While such people were the exception, it only took a couple encounters like that in day to make a person question why they were trying to help/bring change.
May Zacharchenko get good people around him to protect hm from such leeches.
re: ” Do they really think”. . . of course not and this is where tactics and questions of morale come into play. That the other side which violates every agreement and norm of war keeps shelling them with impunity is intolerable to them as well it should be. So I agree with Red Ryder…the response has to be just as precise and deadly . Otherwise you are asking people to just sit and be killed ? For what? to be an anti- anti-Russian force as pawns in the game of global politics. Well, excuse me if it is being “selfish” to question that when maybe having a little enlightened self interest is what it really needs to be called. Or perhaps the old school yard chant comes to mind—“He who runs away, lives to fight another day.”
The leadership needs to be clear. And did I hear Zhakarchenko actually kind of maybe quesiton Minsk II? Heresy? more like everyone in Donbass knows very well that they are getting the shaft daily in regards to that but he had to address it at least obliquely. Even kids in the school yard know when the game is rigged and they are getting screwed. Yes, there are opportunists at every level of the struggle of a people—just because you experienced a few at the lower levels does not mean they are not in levels of command and control hiding under the facade of leadership either. Be real.
They want him to stop the shelling by going out to attack the UAF and knock them out.
He listed a few places where they did that, where they’d killed someone. It must be incredibly hard for him to explain why they need to at least pretend to keep to Minsk.
The older people grew up in Soviet times. The authorities did everything. Private sector activity was rudely discouraged. In later times successful private activity got taken over by gangs/oligarchs. They learned to be passive.
The ONLY form of “democracy” they had in Ukraine was the original real close-up democracy they are demonstrating everywhere — the people go and scream in protest meetings, until the ones with the power and resources listen and do what they need done. In time this will translate into useful and functioning local government, right down to block level.
Zak really is a gem – straight, take-no-prisoners, upfront. The very definition of integrity and courage.
It makes me wince that he feels compelled to make a personal visit to allay fears: he is on crutches and still in pain. Isn’t there anyone to delegate to in situations like this? He’ll be dead of fatigue before bullet gets him at this rate..
‘Vostok’? Isn’t that the battalion headed by the ex-SBU guy? Are they implicated in the looting?
It may be a real militia group looting, or others claiming to be them, or both. Or official collection of shells with some private scrap collection added on. But he said it’s their own local people, neighbours. And everyone shouted agreement when he said don’t complain if we end up having to go after someone of yours. “Shoot them” – “no we don’t work that way, a good beating and a month in jail should teach them” he replied.
Yes it is concerning that he is still on crutches, after going on 3 months. There must have been bone damage to his leg, not just a flesh wound. There is no need for him to retire; he can sit in an office and be Prime Minster with a bad leg; no need for him to go out with the soldiers to the front line anymore.
When I was 19 I got a compound fracture of the tibia. Nine months in a cast. I likely stressed it more than I should have, walking around at a trade, and playing badminton, but even so, it can take a long time to heal things below the knee (and Zak isn’t 19!). And he’s not staying off it, really — he had been using a cane, which doesn’t take much weight off it, and may have had some operations in the meantime.
They should carry a folding chair for him — folding stool if he needs the height to talk to people. But he seems to sort of guy who would playing badminton and he’s walking around on it a lot — so it will take some time to heal, and he may end up with some permanent damage.
Still, it shows he doesn’t give up or give in, and that carries over to what else he doing. The man is very tough.
Probably has a bone infection. Sorry to be so dismal but piece of shrapnel inside … sliver … will eventually cause infection…serious stuff. He’s probably been on antibiotics for months too. Not good for the liver.
I doubt a metal fragment — it could seen with an x-ray and removed. It’s just a hard area to heal and circulation there is not that great, especially with some soft tissue damage. But not giving it enough rest and putting weight on it too quickly will slow down recovery significantly too, and it’s been only a few months — the healing bones will be soft yet. That it’s painful is an indication that there is too much strain on it too early.
I ended up getting a settlement for 15% permanent disability with my leg, and that fracture was away from any joints. It depends on what and where, specifically, the damage was, and some other factors, I assume. I’ll guess it could be up to a year before it’s usable in a normal way again.
Not to long ago, Rozhin (Colonel Cassad) commented that he suspects Zakharchenko to retire within the next two months due to his health problem (wound complications).
Yes, but in the case of Zakharchenko not being 100% functional is detrimental to his military service. He could continue as the president of DPR (only as civilian).
that scene gives much food for thoght on may levels….
Imagine the west’s mollycolded ‘leaders’ going amongst the
people in peace time with their ‘security’ let alone in war time.
wouldn’t happen.
With people suffering the loss of limbs, children, mothers, fathers,
grannies, grandads, homes, pensions, food, water, eletricity, petrol to flee,
the west’s ‘leaders’ would make a ‘statement’ from a cozy
security controlled studio, or from ‘home’ (purchased and
maintainted by the taxes of the people they despise).
Cameron would be lynched, so would Obama without
the secret service. and all the other fakers too.
Even on the Charlie Hebdo thingy they had to gather in
a side street away from the people in a huge fake pretending
to ‘lead’ the ‘people’s march.
Sadly, not only in times of turmoil, some people see an
opportunity for gain at all levels…
What was that meme….never let a crisis go to waste,
it’s an opportunity.
When morality, such as it is, goes out of the window,
the window remains open for those who would loot.
I was mightily impressed with this man, and some others,
before, but now…….no words
Ibrahim
You mentioned how Minsk is saving lives, and that it would be worse without it. But is that actually true? Or, to rephrase things, “Wouldn’t more lives be saved if the NAF had taken more territory before Minsk was agreed upon?” Not a lot of territory, but just enough that artillery couldn’t easily hit major cities. We don’t know what the Kremlin’s thinking was based on, but certainly a lot of folks believe it was simply economic pressure that made the Kremlin stop in mid-tracks when the NAF was on a roll.
If the NAF takes more territory, the West will increase the costs for CEOs and oligarchs, and this will harm the Russian economy. And those CEOs probably feel like they are already paying a heavy price for the Donbass. They would probably like the NAF to give up some territory right now if it could lessen the costs the West has imposed.
In any case, it is not really clear to everyone that Minsk saved lives. You might be right. I think there is a much stronger case that is saved money and the allegiance of the rich inside Russia. And this is quite important for Russia in the current situation.
The morality and integrity of this guy are very inspiring, there’s no chest thumping – shows of fake moral superiority -just a guy with courage for the truth!
From Zakharchenko’s recent interview:
— It lies in the Truth. First of all, “living keenly” is the way every male should live. You see, one cannot be half-way pregnant or be a semi-male. A man should live keenly. Not in the sense that a man should be a muscle-bound person – he should have a masculine backbone. If a person has a backbone – not only a man, but a woman as well — they’ve got stamina. The stamina is more important that physical strength, because the stamina breaks every barrier. Physical strength has a definite limit, and stamina is limitless. This limitless force is life itself. Only the force should be righteous.
So far I’m very impressed by Zakharchenko. He seems like a good leader. His ideas, do though, seem to not be totally in agreement with the Kremlin’s (not necessarily a bad thing). All of his interviews say he doesn’t support Novorossia being part of Ukraine (or at least for long).I really think that unless the junta can be toppled and the fascists eliminated,no “united” Ukraine can exist that includes Donbass. I understand the Kremlin’s stated views on the subject (if they reflect their true view is yet to be seen).But they don’t really make sense.Even if Donbass was given the rights the Kremlin wants for them, how could they accomplish the purposes the Kremlin hopes for.They would only make up (at best) 15% of Ukrainians.And if 85% of the Ukrainian Rada stayed pro-NATO. That would be all they would need to outvote any pro-Russian Donbass deputies.And so, the Empire would still have their stooges working against Russia, as they do today.The only solutions favorable to Russia are, either the junta falls and a neutral/pro-Russian Ukraine wide government comes to power (the best one).Or,an expanded Novorossia becomes a separate pro-Russian state.At least saving half the country from NATO (second best).Surely,someone in Russia must understand that.It seems many ordinary Russians understand.Why is it so hard for the Kremlin to understand.
Why is so hard for the Kremlin to accept that Novorossia had a vote just like Crimea – yet the Kremlin ignores Novorossia desire for independence because of how it affects Russia?
I think Putin is waiting for Ukraine to collapse, say by the (latest) end of June next year.
The USG does not want the responsibility of paying off Ukraine’s debt, they have shoved it onto the EU; with Greece, there is NO way the EU is going to bail out Ukraine. This way, the USG etc can’t blame Russia for Ukraine’s internal collapse, as it surely must, once the price hikes kick in with runaway inflation without the matching salary/wage increases, and the protests turning into riots in central, western Ukraine, which will FORCE poroshenko to withdraw his military from the Donbass to deal with it. Hopefully, the volunteer battalions will refuse to withdraw, thereby being annihilated.
P.S. Any news on what exploded in Donetsk approx 9pm yesterday? They think it was NOT a Tochka but maybe a fuel air bomb, meaning NATO supplied. Soil samples should be taken and sent to Russia for analysis.
Here is another interview with this courageous man:
Aleksandr Zakharchenko – On love, death, war and life
Exclusive interview of the Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic for “Ukraina.ru” internet resource
– How did the war start for you?
— You know, it started in a pretty banal way – with internet news. I watched the situation in Kiev in the end of 2013. Then I actually left for Kiev to see with my own eyes what was going on there. And I realized that that war started.
– When you returned home, you found yourself on the front line. What does a person feel, when he has to stand upright and shoot?
— I will tell you honestly, there was no fearlessness and recklessness. I am an ordinary human being. Ordinary people get scared. It’s scary, when bullets whistle overhead — you have a great problem standing up. Those, who experienced it, will understand me. The first three steps are the most difficult ones, and then the reflexes kick in. You must have heard the good old commandos slogan: “no one but us”. You realize that there’s no one but you, and rush forward! Gritting your teeth, clenching the fists, you go forward, because there is no other way. Someone has to do it.
– You mentioned fear. Are you afraid of dying?
— No. You see, when you are in the front line, the fear of death gets dull. Only one scare remains: that if you are killed, you will not succeed in what you are doing. This is, perhaps, the principal feeling.
– What about the loss of friends and comrades? There are different kinds of fear, aren’t there?
— You seem to be trying to single out its constituent parts. The fear of losing friends and comrades, who are in the rear – this fear, on the contrary, urges you to move forward, whatever the outcome. You see, here one fear replaces the other fear. The task is fulfilled. The enemy is defeated. And as for the consequences – well, the consequences are different for different people.
– Do you remember your first battle?
— I do. It was in the Lugansk region. After that battle I set down and became aware of a very frightening thing. I realized that the enemy would not stop, that it would go on. However, looking at those people, who tried to kill me just half an hour before, I saw them as the same young guys, 25 year old, perhaps a bit older than my own son, and I was horrified by the thought that they were also Slavs. Then I realized who we fight against. The horror was in the fact that it was possible to fool those people, to dope them in such a way. That was a horrible feeling indeed. To be frank, I pitied them.
– You wore a T-shirt to one of the press-conferences with the quote “Oplot [“Stronghold” – the name of a People’s Militia unit, headed by Zakharchenko] — live keenly”. What does “living keenly” mean? Where does the Force lie, bro?
— It lies in the Truth. First of all, “living keenly” is the way every male should live. You see, one cannot be half-way pregnant or be a semi-male. A man should live keenly. Not in the sense that a man should be a muscle-bound person – he should have a masculine backbone. If a person has a backbone – not only a man, but a woman as well — they’ve got stamina. The stamina is more important that physical strength, because the stamina breaks every barrier. Physical strength has a definite limit, and stamina is limitless. This limitless force is life itself. Only the force should be righteous.
– In Shakhtersk you united the units into a single army. Many people claim that it was in Shakhtersk (and not in Snezhnoye, e.g.) that you experienced certain upheaval: you encouraged the militiamen and inspired them in fighting… What happened then?
— It was a critical point there in Shakhtersk at the time. After the enemy captured the town of Slavyansk, Shakhtersk became the stronghold we could not afford losing. If we did lose the town of Shakhtersk and were not able to recapture it at once, there would have never existed any Donetsk People’s Republic as such. The enemy had amassed the critical force, having pulled up all the reserves, everything they could consolidate. In the first days of Shakhtersk defence the enemy outnumbered us tenfold. Under such circumstances we had just to make the people see that there are moments, when one’s goal in life should be nothing more, but gaining freedom. Even by your death you are fighting for life. That is, by your death you are changing the course of life. That was why I had to stand upright, not to duck the enemy’s fire, walk in between the trenches. Thing is, when the guys see that the commander walks upright and does not duck, they begin to follow his example. Each of them finds the courage in their souls that had to surface. It was then when I woke up the courage in them that they are displaying now. It had to be done, although I had been scared myself.
– Who do you consider your enemies?
— If you mean those Ukrainian soldiers that are on the other side of the front – they are mere children. Each time I talk to captives, I can watch them arriving at understanding of real state of things here in the course of 2-3 days and changing their point of view. The real enemies are the castigators, who attacked our land, the mercenaries, the United States of America that provoked the conflict in Ukraine and the corrupt scum that bears the name of Ukrainian authorities.
– And what do the captives generally tell?
— They tell that they thought only apes lived here, that the city is in ruins, and we are robbing the last remaining civilians amidst the rabble. They thought there were Russian soldiers, terrorists, half-drunk “padded jackets” and “Colorado beetles” here… Nevertheless, when they see a beautiful city, which is tidied up, in which people stroll along the streets and children are playing their outlook changes. Although, you know, there is another problem: when they send them here, they are told they’d be given a mine and 50 slaves here. This is what they are coming here for. They crave land and slaves.
– Just in several hundred meter distance from the front line people are still living. Entire families refuse to abandon their homes.
— In order for you to understand, I should say that the mentality of my countrymen is quite different. Margaret Thatcher once said that the psychology of a miner is similar to the psychology of a soldier. They both constantly risk their lives. The feeling is adherent to these people. Imagine that I left for a mine this morning – it can happen so that I will fail to come back. You know everything about gas blasts. The recent one was in the Zasyadko mine. Our women and children also see things in a somewhat different light. We are a bit different. Kuzbass (coal mine basin in Siberia) dwellers will understand us, sailors will understand us. That is, the people who realize that death is only in one-step distance from them. Only one wave, one blast and one bullet separate their life from the end. They are soldiers deep down. And this psychology will not even let them leave their homes.
– According to the last reports from the front line, Ukraine is trying to wreck the Minsk Agreement. Can you list the provisions of the accord that are being violated by Kiev? What is the goal that Ukrainian authorities pursue by such actions?
— Ukraine is not trying, it is wrecking. All the provisions are being violated: the ceasefire regime, the withdrawal of heavy artillery, economic issues, political issues. In fact, the Minsk Agreement in the form, in which it was signed by Poroshenko, was meant for the curbing of our offensive. That is, he tried to transfer the conflict from the military context to the political dimension in order to freeze it, to increase the personnel, to train and arm it, etc. At the moment the process is nearing completion. They have consolidated forces, thus, they no longer need the Minsk Agreement. Provocations are going to occur again and again. Eventually they will grow into full-scale hostilities. Until the moment when we trap them into the next pocket, Kiev will not recognize any Minsk agreements.
– According to your instinct, when will the full-scale hostilities start?
— I as the head of state have access to all the intelligence data we’ve got, and I should say they can start any moment. The forces and means they have consolidated allow them to carry out operational tactic tasks, though not the strategic ones, of course, and start actions any moment. That was proved by the Maryinka events. No one expected them to start an offensive that night. We got ready for it, we carried out a developing attack. Nevertheless we did not expect such a full-scale assault. In the course of four days before it they tried to find our soft spots and carry out developing attacks. We got ready. We consolidated the forces necessary to rebuff the enemy at all times. In my opinion, we defended out territory with flying colours. We wrecked the enemy’s offensive.
– Has the Novorossiya project been frozen or not? Certain politicians consider Donetsk and Lugansk parts of Ukraine, and that the followers of Novorossiya idea will try to reach their goal with the help of a constitutional reform in Ukraine. What is behind such claims, in your opinion?
— We are looking forward the implementation of this project and we will keep on doing this. Those who make such claims have the right to their own vision. You should realize that we are building this project with our own hands and paying for it with our own blood, in contrast to those people, who claim that it was frozen, terminated or whatever. For us it is one of the main goals we are fighting for. I will not tell you right now what it should look like. I will not go into the details of our vision, or speculate about abstract notions. I know that it ought to exist and it will exist. Everything else will become clear eventually, and we will talk it over once this Novorossiya comes into existence. We will discuss the territories it will include, the plans it will implement and what issues it will tackle in political context.
– Is Novorossiya possible in composition of Ukraine?
— No. I am puzzled by the ability of journalists to snatch quotes out of their context. It is evident that there are politicians who are entitled to certain statements and those, who are not entitled to any. I will not tell you whether I am entitled to anything. I will say the following: I do not see either myself or my side of the conflict in composition of Ukraine, as well as in composition of any other country. I see us as equal partners. Yes, I see us as good neigbours or simply neigbours. Yes, I see Novorossiya as a strong state, but I do not see Novorossiya in composition of Ukraine. That is, Novorossiya can exist as a transformed Ukraine. It surely can. I am one hundred per cent sure that what had happened in Donetsk can any moment burst out in Odessa, Kiev, Kharkov, Mukachevo [Transcarpathian region of Ukraine]. They have already proclaimed themselves the Mikachevo People’s Republic. Pay attention to what is going on in Lviv. The way we will communicate with these republics, the agreements we will make with them is a matter for the future. Nevertheless, sooner or later it will happen. Ukraine as a state is at the end of its resource, and it became clear after the first air raids on Donetsk and Lugansk. Everything that followed was the agony of the statehood. A new state is being born right now – a fruit of this agony, this death of the old system. What it will be like depends on us only. However, by that moment we should be ready; we should have a strong army, well trained and hardened in battles.
Aleksandr Zakharchenko was interviewed by Darina Yevtushenko
Thank you, Dean.
Posting this interview is very much appreciated. With all the good info and material that we have here, many time these little gems get lost and forgotten.
Regarding lost & forgotten, although I hope that amongst us long time Saker fans this is never forgotten, every once in a while I need to go back and re-read the Saker’s post on Nov 13, last year about all of us Submarines in the desert”. It never ceases to give me the spiritual lift that I need to keep my sanity in this war on our minds.
Vic.
Just to round out the collection, an interview Graham Phillips did (English subs) with numerous women at that meeting. They are mostly the yelling kind, though that’s the type of question he asked, too.
Interesting moment in the main videos, talking about alcohol, a few people put their hands up when he asks has no-one ever bought from babushkas? that sounds like it’s fairly widespread for pensioners to make moonshine as extra income. That can be one seriously toxic drink, if they’re not careful. Probably a good trade to try and close down.
That’s what it is called to face the plight. This is a brave man, hats off.
It’s a pity that leg which does not seem to look good. It seems to have been operated again?
Those who hurry to get an apartment/house, why not going to help with the work? It is a state of war and everyone should pitch in.
People are right to be tired and scared, but this pettiness surplus in a situation like this when you’re talking to a man wounded in combat.
This is a project for brave man,
I mean what will be the answer of Putin?
None?
It is time for Saker to notice what is going on and place some news and anylysis here on this topic:
http://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/2241673.html?page=1#comments
What the f has this got to do with putin?
Cassad and Strelkov what are they doing?
Cassad always looks like he never misses a meal he needs to share with these people
As for the other one first to leave the fight and complaining from the sidelines
They make me sick
Strelkov did not leave volunterly
Alot of behind the scene politics.
And Putin proberly did drag it out.
But not because he is a traitor or such things.
But because:
1. There are alot of strong interests from oligarchs. (Which needs to apease in a way until later).
2. The west has to much power of worlds institutions.
Russia needs time to find/create own alternatives (swift, visa, mastercard, and alot more).
But Russia will not forget the west betraial and attacks.
It will be dealt with eventually.
The problem now is that all the world sees that Russia is not ready to defend anyone who defies the usa-hegemoncy.
And thats why no country is ready to defy it.
They see what happend to all countries that have tried defy usa dictatorship.
They get raped.
And thats also one of the reasons even Serbia etc bow down to usa, over gasspipelines etc.
They want to grow, they want good relations with Russia. But not at the cost of them getting raped by usa in “color revolutions”, “drones”, “mystic deaths”, etc.. While Russia just watches the raping going on.
So its a twilight zone.
Many are ready to throw usa the F away. But noone dares untill Russia grows some backbones and is ready to defend them.
Untill them they will all be under usa controll (with few exceptions).
Soith america is starting to a torn in usa. So expect alot of “revolutiions” down there in comming years. To get them doctile to usa interests.
Theyve allready mini-tried with Brasil, Venecuela, Argentina lately.
Usa only need an active 5% minority-group to get color revolutions to work/started.
Looking forward to the usa-parasite is dealth with.
Russia/BRICS will proberly need another 10years before ready.
And usa has never been a good losser, so it will 99% proberbility end in big wars.
I oredict 95% for a world war, and 99% for only a civil war in usa.
Ukronazis are spreading disinfo about Zaharczenko. They call him ‘terrorist’, they spread false translations from these protests. Just search in YouTube engine “Donetsk protesters lost said the terrorist Zakharchenko – “You disappointed me” and don’t bother to watch this propaganda crap.
You are doing great job with translating this, You and Russia Insider, and stopping smearing campaing.
Zaharchenko is a brave and honorable man. True Ukrainian – not like these banderist scums, who were killing even own people for not listening their sick ordrers, who were refusing to kill Polish neighbours in 1943. Now they are doing exactly the same and only people of Donbas can stop them with leaders like Zaharchenko
An interesting article I read on ICH got me thinking :
“Sure, Obama also pays lip service to idea that the executive is subject to law. But what happens when he acts like an autocrat? Nothing. King John had to contend with rebellious barons who resisted his taxes to finance losing wars and other impositions. Obama has no effective opposition to contend with. He is free to fight wars as he pleases, never needing to worry that he might be deprived of the revenues he needs to engage in his far-flung killing.
We like to believe we’ve come a long way in those 800 years, but in important respects we have not. We’ve regressed, not the least in the sense that people no longer show an interest in resisting tyranny even through nonviolent non cooperation”.
It got me thinking as to how true this statement is. Then it got me thinking that this actually only applies to the “west”, and not to countries like China or Russia and it got me thinking as to why ?
People just couldn’t (it would seem) care less in the west. The majority are either brainwashed by the MSM and are blind and deaf to what their “elected representatives” are getting up to in their name and with their taxes, or just couldn’t give a monkeys and bury their heads in the sand with various reality and “celebrity” shows.
Could it perhaps have something to do with the neo-liberalism that has taken hold in the west ?, the growing lack of belief in God that is evident with ever falling church attendance and resulting in a society that has lost any real purpose and meaning to life and only exists for the pleasure of the senses ? A culture which has fostered an “anything goes” mentality and people no longer have any boundaries to their behaviour and call it “freedom” ? This is also what happened in the latter days of the decline of the Roman empire when the entire populace was sunk in excess and debauchery (those who could afford it). In contrast to a place like Russia where people still have a strong belief system in the existence of a God and people still have moral boundaries which seems to be anathema to the rulers of the west. And then I begin to wonder if this was actually the intention all along ? We live in interesting times indeed, God help us.
One of the issues that has brought about the fat apathy in the west is the compromise of integrity .The lack of the desire to regain it,or to value it .This is brought about by simply putting a need to lie to get a little help .There are so many conditions for disqualification within the red tape attached to social programs ,I often wonder why they would even have a Dept. for it .Small lies on tax forms become big incentives .The attitude that every one does it ,and getting caught is no big deal ,along with the political ,judicial corruption becomes a means to justifying it .Every one is looking for their share of the pie .
I am not saying eliminating poverty would help other then there would be less poor people going to jail .I know that the jail population would probably remain the same but would end up being of a higher class only due to quotas .Jail is big business and they wont let us shut them down by keeping laws .They make new laws every day to feed that beast .
“the growing lack of belief in God that is evident with ever falling church attendance and resulting in a society that has lost any real purpose and meaning to life and only exists for the pleasure of the senses ?”
That’s the one.
“Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for Liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People in a greater Measure than they have it now, They may change their Rulers and the forms of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting Liberty. They will only exchange Tyrants and Tyrannies.”
~ President John Adams, 1776
certainly truer words were never spoken about the responsibility of people to individually keep liberty alive within.
what you describe is a consequence of “Consumerism”, where everyone is just busy making the next buck to buy/consume something. The society keeps creating lots of “wants”, which people think are “needs”. Of course, along the way, the government takes a cut at part of what you make, causing you to have to work longer and harder to get the bucks that you “need”.
Another point is that by now, I realize Obama (or any Democrat) is actually worse than if a Republican is the the WH. This is because all the lefties give the Democrat a pass – thus there is no outrage when a Democratic President acts aggressive, or droned to death more people, or increase surveillance on all citizens; why ? because all those who tend to be against such things are democrat-leaning, but if the president is a democrat, they simply ignore such transgressions. I still remember clearly there were lots more lefties protesting during G.W Bush’s reign then under Obama for this reason.
I believe for the next election, I will actually vote for some one that I think will trigger more anger and protests, than less, believe it or not!
Go ahead and participate in the election scam. Hope it makes you feel you are involved in the democratic process that actually is nonexistant. A dog and pony show. Hope it makes you feel you matter.
You”re reasoning is off the charts ridiculous. One who truly hopes for change and reform refuses tp engage in a system that has been a sham since its enception. That my friend means not voting for candidates who abhorr the individual rights of man. Voting sure makes you feel patriotic I hope. Protesting accomplishes nothing. Believing that by voting in right wing facists will promote action is ludicrous. Blaming abstract things like consumerism instead of willfull ignorance is like blaming your mother for your being born where you were. It is each persons responsibility for their behaviors.
Believing that by voting in right wing facists will promote action is ludicrous.
I’m pretty sure Alan was trying to be funny. Sometimes I say that when I vote, I would write-in “Edward Snowden” for all the positions. That doesn’t mean I would actually do it or think it would change anything.
“If voting made any difference, they wouldn’t let us do it.”
~ Mark Twain (?)
” It is each persons responsibility for their behaviors.”
“… we see that the people themselves have no original convictions of their own. Their convictions are formed, of course, just as everywhere else. The decisive question is who enlightens the people; who educates them? Capital actually rules in those countries; that is, nothing more than a clique of a few hundred men who possess untold wealth…”
~ Adolf Hitler, 1940
http://www.therealistreport.com/2015/01/adolf-hitler-man-who-fought-bank.html
No one makes their choices in a vacuum. Mindless consumerism is part of how the Banking Empire dumbs people down; it’s modern day bread and circuses.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses
I think one of the ways that the US has been attacked for decades is thru the idiot box. On it you have seen every emotion and occurrence of your life trivialized. Integrity isn’t portrayed and their idea of a hero is someone who can shoot down 6 people without batting an eye. This is what they hold up for people to identify with. These are the actions that we are to vicariously share.
@Poppadop Terrible news about 8 people being killed at a church meeting “8 dead in shooting at South Carolina church Senator Clementa Pinckney killed ” http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1071361/pg1
Crazy world with crazy people doing crazy things . I agree with you on the God issue with you btw . I still remember a time when honor and integrity was valued more even among none believers though . I could have been when the Church was smaller and usually in the community that made the difference . Now unless you have some kind of a mega church it become not viable .
It is a laughable comment when you point to obama as being the decision maker on these matters. He is nothing more than a cutout, a mouthpiece for those actually making the decisions. And before someone responds with a diatribe about if others are really in control provide names, as I have witnessed previously in comments here, they are readily available. However, if you want to know do your own research. I have. Though the Russian and Chinese people may be somewhat better informed or care more because they are a direct target for destruction by empire, many there have fallen under the spell of the west and its so-called better opportunities. If they are so much more aware and informed why do so many flock to the west, especially for higher education? Do you not believe those institutions of higher learning are propaganda enterprises for the empires shadow government? Know there are many here among us residing in the empire who know the deal and are aware that the facade presnted is a joke.
well, it seems the Russians are no better than Americans when the welfare checks stop. instead of relying on their own skills, brains, ingenuity, etc. to survive, they whine, beg, and plead for the oligarchs to take care of them. Saker community, now you know why evil rules the world, because we ask them to.
Americans on welfare are not being shelled and mortared and sniped by nazis.
Just a slight difference, in your bizarre view of the world, but a difference nonetheless.
if you believe that Zakharchenko is not and/or work for oligarchs, then God bless you. they are in their predicaments because of what, you guessed it, oligarchs!
Niet.
Zacharchenko is there because he is capable of leading.
And leading has to do with realities and transforming realities, but only within the boundaries of Politics.
And he wishes and will do what his people want, as expressed by their majorities. DOnt tell me this is utopia because they are in full blown state of war.
They choices that suffering people around him want would be great -but great such as dreams can be great. If accepted and implemented by zacharchenko, and this is sad, they would implode the whole dream in a span of few years.
And, even more, if implemented by means of a Russian intervention ,all russian existing soft power would vanish, local guerrillas would be implemented forever in the region and SURE as hell, the fingers on the
III WW trigger would become much nearer, much more nervous all over the globe. pUTIN cannot risk that
and I would not either.
No.1 problem, being shelled all day. How do they stop that with their own skills or brains? The housing they are in belongs to the city, and they’re entitled to equivalent if they are moved out. They can’t just go and rent somewhere else as there is a shortage of intact housing everywhere. And they have no pensions and no jobs.
Some HAVE been using their own ingenuity to survive — collecting scrap metal. Some of which unfortunately belonged to people. So they want that stopped.
DPR should learn from this, to insert policing into every danger area, where shelling may be used as cover for looting, whether by their own or by outsiders.
That was not an evil oligarch they were asking to help — it was their elected and war-wounded Prime Minister.
They should just give the local population guns, that will stop looting over night.. Give every family a gun and put up signs “ARMED AREA, LOOTERS WILL BE SHOT” spread a few rumours about dead lotters also and it will be looting no more.
Problem is looting of empty apartments.
And yes, guns curb the crime somewhat. D/LPR have relatively free gun ownership, guns need to be registered but that’s it so far, anything under .50 caliber is fair game, no exams or heavy fees.
Phew that’s good cause the .338 lapua is a good size for distance work and well utilised in NATO and other organisations so I would imagine ammo easy to come by after a pocket.
Of course there is always 7.62mm or 5.56 but I would prefer the larger for decent hunting.
Gun forced ownership seems to work for Switzerland. Also looking at stats from the USA it seems there are more gun fatalities in the states that ban them. Also Military spec assault rifles are the least used in firearm homicides. Most are from personal firearms i.e. pistols.
Should be some basic handling training and common sense tests but not much more. Mass killings like Martyn Bryant in Australia and Anders Breivik are setups design to deliver a message and serve a political purpose, in Australia it was the outlawing of Semi Automatic Rifles and Norway, well we can see which way the Government has changed its tune since that day. Sad but true, for the victims and for Norway in its new attitude to its neighbour.
does Zakharchenko work for the people, or oligarchs??
their predicaments are because of oligarchs (devil worshipers). no??
@Mr. PoliticTruth
Anyone that blindly believes in any ideology, parks his brain and is too lazy to look at the context of each situation thru the eyes of common sense and sapient analysis. Such a person is a lost cause and a timid follower rather than a leader.
Btw for the fake “rugged individualist” ideologues, No-one has made it on their own, your mother gave birth to you, you didn’t create yourself, people fed you as you grew up (you didn’t do it on your own). You used infrastructure paid by other people, you didn’t pay for it. You got breaks in jobs and business thanks to other people, not because you’re so hot and competent, but because of the whims/mercy and decisions of other people.
And the biggest recipients of Welfare in US history were returning GIs and their families, (Look up the GI-Bill, it was a welfare plan). So spare us the self-righteous attack on these innocent pensioners, women and children that are being shelled by Nazi’s and their cowardly minions. I’m sure if you were the same situation you’d be begging for all kinds of aid.
You don’t understand posters like this — they can make a cheese sandwich out of two bricks and shell fragment — and then pass it out to feed the widows and orphans.
They *could* be totally self reliant if they ever had to. They never had to — but they could…
I know all about these people because they are all over the US and I hear them all the time — or I did when I used to listen to the TV and Radio, or read right wing message boards. So I don’t hear them now — but even so there are fewer of them found, unless you see them walking the streets looking for work after they got laid off, or at the unemployment or DHS office, especially in cities that have gone bust.
Turns out brick sandwiches don’t taste that great.
maybe you should read the comment by “les” to get a better understanding of the videos.
I saw the comment from Les, and I understood the video just before I read it.
But you don’t make any point here — you’re just ragging, and making noise in your reply, which seems to be echoing your attitude and bias about people who have run out of resources and options around in your head.
People have used their initiative, for example, and such to grow gardens, and then were shelled, and the gardens were blown up, or their houses destroyed, or they were killed. But gardens take time to grow (and you can’t eat them in the meantime), and need water, which may be cut off, and maybe electricity too. A person also needs money for various necessities, and the money has been cut off. People who are old and sick can’t do a lot of things. And people who are expert teachers but know how to do other things can’t teach when the schools are destroyed and the children hiding, moved away, or injured or killed.
Your ‘ingenuity’ comment is very glib but has nothing to do with reality and the real limits to what a person can do there — or any place where poverty and lack of resources is inflicted on people.
ok
how about reading the comment bellow by anonymous (me, i forgot to put my name), and the subsequent replies, just maybe [maybe] you could understand the point of the comment. i bet you missed the whole point of my original comment. if so, let me repeat:
” Saker community, now you know why evil rules the world, because we ask them to.” no??
“evil rules the world, because we ask them to.” no??”
No.
People depend on a central community organization because we are not solitary, but social creatures. The problem of oligarchs, chiefs, and authoritarians is not that we depend on social organization but that people are bamboozled into thinking that power does not corrupt — or more specifically that the corrupt and the sociopaths do not seek power, and often get it because they are good at that, through deception.
Evil does not quite rule the world although it gets close at times, because people want that but because they are too trusting and think the would-be rulers are benevolent, like mommy and daddy were, and are conditioned from early childhood to be naive about it. The solution is not to get rid of government, but to control the predators and assume responsibility for government by running it themselves, democratically.
if the people of the world rebelled against ALL oligarchs and succeeded, how peaceful would the world be??
the people in the videos are in their predicaments because of oligarchs, period, and no amount of emotion is going to change that fact.
as for welfare for the GI’s, they died, risked their lives, and were mutilated for who?? (hint: oligarchs)!
“If the people of the world rebelled against ALL oligarchs and succeeded, how peaceful would the world be??”
wouldn’t take long.
true story…i lived in a village of some 350 people, huge wool era church, one pub, and a small six person parish council. people with allotments would give surplus lettuces and the like to neighbours. in a glut year people with fruit trees told neighbours to help themselves. my family had quite a few apple and blackberry pies, blackberries gathered from the hedgerows of the farmers, large farms with no tresspassing problems.
a couple of london business families moved into the village.
in six months had weedled their way onto the parish council,
maybe because they were perceived as the kind of people who
‘got things done’.
the got rid of the pensioner treasurer, who produced the parish
newsletter on his home computer for the cost of the paper, then
‘appointed’ a treasurer AND secretary, bought a state of the art
computer, a filing cabinet (fill size, four drawer) and were proposing
to rent or buy an office space for them to work in.
that’s when the village erupted. people who had never attended
a parish council meeting and were quite content with the previous
arangement turned up in droves at the next meettng. i was there.
the ‘bluster’ of these wannabe’s when confronted was very amusing
and also very scary to see. hey beieved their speil.
they were voted out, there and then at that meeting.
later it was found they had spent all the ‘reserves’ and borrowed
from the bank, on the strength of parish council reputation, in order
to ‘get things done’ which when you looked into it, were never
defined.
now imagine those kinds of people in the donbass/donesk situation.
how do you think the ‘oligarks/sharks’ get their ‘assets?
there are quite a few people who when not restrained will join
a mob/junta/mafia for the perks and have to show ‘loyalty’
at some point doing criminal, bad or unspeakable things.
perhaps when you have been persuaded to join the march
you know you cannot step away or you get what the ‘colorado
beetles’ get.
when the situation changes it is easier to say…’i didn’t know’
‘it wasn’t me’ and hide back into the people again.
Ukraine’s been strong on the appointed-government style. The republics seem to be more democratic, but have a Soviet memory. The latter is that every workplace, every village, every street, had its political organisation. to keep them on the straight and narrow. They can take that physical format, replace the appointed party apparatchik with elected local leaders.
Make laws that local council members must have minimum 5 or 10 years residence, to be eligible. Otherwise I can see takeovers, like oldenik’s example, where related groups take over numerous nearby councils, therefore a whole district, in a few short years. Suddenly opposition can’t find work (or a child care place, or buy medicine) within travel range. The same should apply on a larger scale, at district or city council levels, and even oblast elections — keep it to locals everyone has had a chance to get to know.
Kat, similar system to direct democracy as practiced in Libya I believe before NATO destroyed it. Ground level politics whereby people participate and are part of the decision making process. Nothing is perfect and never will be as that is life but a system that empowers people to be responsible for their local environs and at the political level will be much stronger than huge centralised systems.
I grew up in a supposed “Democracy” taught how the Soviet System was all run out of the Kremlin. Seems that the “Democratic Countries in the West” tend to use the reflections they see in the mirror of themselves to describe others. I do not know but I do know that the former CCCP states are in a poorer condition since the break up compared to when as part of the Soviet System. I also know that the West is well down the road to Fascism and that the core is rotten to hell and back.
Funny how things turn out when one takes to their own studies instead of relying on what they are told.
I still think of that recent Russian joke told on Fortruss, “Two things the Russians learned about with the fall of the Soviet System, the good was what they had been told about the Soviet System was all lies and the bad was what they had been told about the West was all true”. Brings a smile to my face thinking of it. Waking up from indoctrination though is hard when others are still asleep in it.
General Zakharchenko is a truly heroic leader.
These heroic individuals are born in the cauldron of Revolutionary struggle. Zakharchenko is living proof of the resurgence of Russia.
To see Zakharchenko patiently answering the people he serves is a glowing tribute to the rebirth of political culture, which is the rebirth of people’s Liberty.
Democratic Republics, such as that at Donetsk, are among the the highest achievements of humanity. These videos are a beautiful testimony to the strength of the human spirit. These videos should be circulated throughout America and the imperialist world.
This particular video reminds me of Delacroix’ painting “Liberty Leading the People.” http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=imgres&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAwQjRwwAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mtholyoke.edu%2Fcourses%2Frschwart%2Fhist255%2Fla%2Fdelacroix.html&ei=e-aBVbnhC4nNsAXr44C4CQ&psig=AFQjCNF2uudOmJjBAhZUyvbQd5oX2EAb9A&ust=1434662907308734
For the Democratic Republics!
IMAGINE
Antonsen, today I have not but agree with you.
Zakharchenko: Yes, as one lady said when he asked ” Is this about housing because we are working on that .” and she shouted” No. it is that they are shelling us daily. ” To sit and have to fight the fight that Zakharchenko has been handed and to have to ask the people of Donbass to keep on taking it and taking it means doing exactly what he did. A popular struggle has to win the loyalty and faith of the people.People fight harder not just for their physical survival but because the struggle has to been seen as fair and the leadership worth following. ( I could insert my usual rant about Mozgovoi but restrain is a good thing.)
Maybe mass evacuations of civilians with everyone who stays having a job–growing food, cooking it, distribution, block committees established which are responsible for food distribution and local security etc. will be necessary.
Good luck Zakharchenko and be creative. Old solutions may not work best. And usually petty crime drops in times of national/group solidarity in times of struggle.
There’s an hour lone video of Zakh from this meeting with the people. It does not yet have Eng. subs.
He is a true warrior. He is loyal to his values, his land, his people and to Russia and Putin. He’s been shot several times. This foot injury was at Debaltcevo.
You know his head is worth millions to any sniper that can get him.
Yet, he went out to the people to show them the faith they have in him is well-placed.
Some yelled at him and rudely spoke, but early on other women wanted to get close to hug him.
Imagine the love they have for the man.
As with Motorola and Givi, Zakharchenko needs our prayers so all of them will survive and see their dream of freedom and peace come true.
One day, Putin will pin medals on these Russian heroes.
Your word in God’s ear !
Slava Boghu !
St
Well boosh was telling a story about men and sheep to children that morning. Of course we never saw all the armed men with guns keeping the parents in line outside the room and the armored tanks behind the trees… And there was the great doiter.. who disarmed the cadets before giving them a speech about exceptionalism and how they were the next exceptionalist. Its called freedom where the leaders of the free world are afraid of their own children..
Having to stand there with the blood pressure on his leg is bringing the sweat out on Zakharchenko
but he stands there and keeps answering questions.
Has to be a difficult situation. If they move the guns back Ukies will have a field day on residential areas. As the US has admitted, the Donbass counter battery fire is devastating accurate (some Russian tech there I guess) so no doubt what Zakharchenko is saying about the Uki positions being destroyed is true.
The technology is on the Ukie side, too.
Look at the crossfire episodes in Lugansk and down at Shirokino, and Marinka. The manpower losses were from very directed artillery, zeroed in on the militia by American technology.
These are very deadly barrages, taking out commanders and top fighters in good units.
Yes, the militia has done well, but they have lost heavily in the exchange of shelling.
The drones also are a huge problem. They can spot hiding places quite easily.
Russia need to ratchet up the counter-measures.
I read an OSCE report some months ago where they were complaining about melted electronics in their drones. I guess they were civilian spec rather than mil spec.
Russia must be able to do something to make it a no fly zone for Uki drones?
I can’t see this ending in Ukraine until the US dollar is defeated.
Syria, four years now. And they have just started on Yemen.
I look at the destruction in Ukraine , the people, families, hopes for the future, same as families anywhere, in Syria, Yemen and everywhere else the US has brought death and destruction…..
OSCE has civilian drones, from Austria, at round $3500 each. UAF seem to have something similar but from NATO I guess. Same size and shape as the OSCE ones, from what I saw of one NAF allegedly captured. NAF also has a few like that/ These are airplane shaped and have a wingspan a bit less than an adult’s outstretched arms. NAF also has some “toy” grade quadcopters they assembled from kits bought on the internet. Russia also supposedly flies drones in the area; a few weeks ago UAF was showing off one they said they downed, a very serious drone, Israeli design costing around $6 million each (more than 20ft wingspan) .
OSCE regularly complain their drones are shot at or radio jammed. Both sides accuse them of passing info to the other side, so this is not surprising.
Pin-point original fire can be done just from Google maps (if aiming at infrastructure), provided you have artillery or rockets with such fine aiming mechanisms. For return fire they use radar, which calculates the exact position of the artillery they want to knock out. USA provided 3 of these to UAF last year (one was smashed, one left behind at Debaltsevo). These are meant to be networked to auto-aim guns but Ukies dont have those, so there’s a delay while they transfer the data and aim by hand. NAF appear to have some similar technology but in smaller more portable units.
Do they really think he can wave a wand and stop the UAF from shelling? Are they so consumed with themselves that they cannot see anything but their own “needs”??
This video brings back memories of taking relief to families fleeing a war zone… while generally we were able to organize and arrange distribution fairly, and it was received with gratitude, on several occassions the people lined up with lists of demands… some even had the gall to get in my face and tell me it was my job to get them everything on their list – yes, they had lists!
While such people were the exception, it only took a couple encounters like that in day to make a person question why they were trying to help/bring change.
May Zacharchenko get good people around him to protect hm from such leeches.
Freedom is won for the many by the few.
It is human nature for most humans to be too afraid and to think first of themselves not others.
For reference, check the fall of Adam and Eve and the loss of Paradise. What might have been, now cannot be.
re: ” Do they really think”. . . of course not and this is where tactics and questions of morale come into play. That the other side which violates every agreement and norm of war keeps shelling them with impunity is intolerable to them as well it should be. So I agree with Red Ryder…the response has to be just as precise and deadly . Otherwise you are asking people to just sit and be killed ? For what? to be an anti- anti-Russian force as pawns in the game of global politics. Well, excuse me if it is being “selfish” to question that when maybe having a little enlightened self interest is what it really needs to be called. Or perhaps the old school yard chant comes to mind—“He who runs away, lives to fight another day.”
The leadership needs to be clear. And did I hear Zhakarchenko actually kind of maybe quesiton Minsk II? Heresy? more like everyone in Donbass knows very well that they are getting the shaft daily in regards to that but he had to address it at least obliquely. Even kids in the school yard know when the game is rigged and they are getting screwed. Yes, there are opportunists at every level of the struggle of a people—just because you experienced a few at the lower levels does not mean they are not in levels of command and control hiding under the facade of leadership either. Be real.
They want him to stop the shelling by going out to attack the UAF and knock them out.
He listed a few places where they did that, where they’d killed someone. It must be incredibly hard for him to explain why they need to at least pretend to keep to Minsk.
The older people grew up in Soviet times. The authorities did everything. Private sector activity was rudely discouraged. In later times successful private activity got taken over by gangs/oligarchs. They learned to be passive.
The ONLY form of “democracy” they had in Ukraine was the original real close-up democracy they are demonstrating everywhere — the people go and scream in protest meetings, until the ones with the power and resources listen and do what they need done. In time this will translate into useful and functioning local government, right down to block level.
re: Kat Kan. Thanks for the context and explanation.
Zak really is a gem – straight, take-no-prisoners, upfront. The very definition of integrity and courage.
It makes me wince that he feels compelled to make a personal visit to allay fears: he is on crutches and still in pain. Isn’t there anyone to delegate to in situations like this? He’ll be dead of fatigue before bullet gets him at this rate..
‘Vostok’? Isn’t that the battalion headed by the ex-SBU guy? Are they implicated in the looting?
It may be a real militia group looting, or others claiming to be them, or both. Or official collection of shells with some private scrap collection added on. But he said it’s their own local people, neighbours. And everyone shouted agreement when he said don’t complain if we end up having to go after someone of yours. “Shoot them” – “no we don’t work that way, a good beating and a month in jail should teach them” he replied.
Yes it is concerning that he is still on crutches, after going on 3 months. There must have been bone damage to his leg, not just a flesh wound. There is no need for him to retire; he can sit in an office and be Prime Minster with a bad leg; no need for him to go out with the soldiers to the front line anymore.
When I was 19 I got a compound fracture of the tibia. Nine months in a cast. I likely stressed it more than I should have, walking around at a trade, and playing badminton, but even so, it can take a long time to heal things below the knee (and Zak isn’t 19!). And he’s not staying off it, really — he had been using a cane, which doesn’t take much weight off it, and may have had some operations in the meantime.
They should carry a folding chair for him — folding stool if he needs the height to talk to people. But he seems to sort of guy who would playing badminton and he’s walking around on it a lot — so it will take some time to heal, and he may end up with some permanent damage.
Still, it shows he doesn’t give up or give in, and that carries over to what else he doing. The man is very tough.
Probably has a bone infection. Sorry to be so dismal but piece of shrapnel inside … sliver … will eventually cause infection…serious stuff. He’s probably been on antibiotics for months too. Not good for the liver.
I doubt a metal fragment — it could seen with an x-ray and removed. It’s just a hard area to heal and circulation there is not that great, especially with some soft tissue damage. But not giving it enough rest and putting weight on it too quickly will slow down recovery significantly too, and it’s been only a few months — the healing bones will be soft yet. That it’s painful is an indication that there is too much strain on it too early.
I ended up getting a settlement for 15% permanent disability with my leg, and that fracture was away from any joints. It depends on what and where, specifically, the damage was, and some other factors, I assume. I’ll guess it could be up to a year before it’s usable in a normal way again.
He needs to find ways to keep his weight off it.
He needs to watch out for blood clots.
Not to long ago, Rozhin (Colonel Cassad) commented that he suspects Zakharchenko to retire within the next two months due to his health problem (wound complications).
FDR was president for years while in a wheelchair. Provisions can be made for Zak so he can take care of his foot while still doing the job.
Yes, but in the case of Zakharchenko not being 100% functional is detrimental to his military service. He could continue as the president of DPR (only as civilian).
This is real democracy in actual practice. Not the BS PR the zionazis and other fascists bleat on constantly about in the “democratic west”
that scene gives much food for thoght on may levels….
Imagine the west’s mollycolded ‘leaders’ going amongst the
people in peace time with their ‘security’ let alone in war time.
wouldn’t happen.
With people suffering the loss of limbs, children, mothers, fathers,
grannies, grandads, homes, pensions, food, water, eletricity, petrol to flee,
the west’s ‘leaders’ would make a ‘statement’ from a cozy
security controlled studio, or from ‘home’ (purchased and
maintainted by the taxes of the people they despise).
Cameron would be lynched, so would Obama without
the secret service. and all the other fakers too.
Even on the Charlie Hebdo thingy they had to gather in
a side street away from the people in a huge fake pretending
to ‘lead’ the ‘people’s march.
Sadly, not only in times of turmoil, some people see an
opportunity for gain at all levels…
What was that meme….never let a crisis go to waste,
it’s an opportunity.
When morality, such as it is, goes out of the window,
the window remains open for those who would loot.
I was mightily impressed with this man, and some others,
before, but now…….no words
Ibrahim
eimar,
You mentioned how Minsk is saving lives, and that it would be worse without it. But is that actually true? Or, to rephrase things, “Wouldn’t more lives be saved if the NAF had taken more territory before Minsk was agreed upon?” Not a lot of territory, but just enough that artillery couldn’t easily hit major cities. We don’t know what the Kremlin’s thinking was based on, but certainly a lot of folks believe it was simply economic pressure that made the Kremlin stop in mid-tracks when the NAF was on a roll.
If the NAF takes more territory, the West will increase the costs for CEOs and oligarchs, and this will harm the Russian economy. And those CEOs probably feel like they are already paying a heavy price for the Donbass. They would probably like the NAF to give up some territory right now if it could lessen the costs the West has imposed.
In any case, it is not really clear to everyone that Minsk saved lives. You might be right. I think there is a much stronger case that is saved money and the allegiance of the rich inside Russia. And this is quite important for Russia in the current situation.
The morality and integrity of this guy are very inspiring, there’s no chest thumping – shows of fake moral superiority -just a guy with courage for the truth!
From Zakharchenko’s recent interview:
— It lies in the Truth. First of all, “living keenly” is the way every male should live. You see, one cannot be half-way pregnant or be a semi-male. A man should live keenly. Not in the sense that a man should be a muscle-bound person – he should have a masculine backbone. If a person has a backbone – not only a man, but a woman as well — they’ve got stamina. The stamina is more important that physical strength, because the stamina breaks every barrier. Physical strength has a definite limit, and stamina is limitless. This limitless force is life itself. Only the force should be righteous.
So far I’m very impressed by Zakharchenko. He seems like a good leader. His ideas, do though, seem to not be totally in agreement with the Kremlin’s (not necessarily a bad thing). All of his interviews say he doesn’t support Novorossia being part of Ukraine (or at least for long).I really think that unless the junta can be toppled and the fascists eliminated,no “united” Ukraine can exist that includes Donbass. I understand the Kremlin’s stated views on the subject (if they reflect their true view is yet to be seen).But they don’t really make sense.Even if Donbass was given the rights the Kremlin wants for them, how could they accomplish the purposes the Kremlin hopes for.They would only make up (at best) 15% of Ukrainians.And if 85% of the Ukrainian Rada stayed pro-NATO. That would be all they would need to outvote any pro-Russian Donbass deputies.And so, the Empire would still have their stooges working against Russia, as they do today.The only solutions favorable to Russia are, either the junta falls and a neutral/pro-Russian Ukraine wide government comes to power (the best one).Or,an expanded Novorossia becomes a separate pro-Russian state.At least saving half the country from NATO (second best).Surely,someone in Russia must understand that.It seems many ordinary Russians understand.Why is it so hard for the Kremlin to understand.
Why is so hard for the Kremlin to accept that Novorossia had a vote just like Crimea – yet the Kremlin ignores Novorossia desire for independence because of how it affects Russia?
About the Budapest Memorandum, there is NO legal requirement to adhere to it, as admitted by Ukraine:
‘Q76 Lord Radice:…Do you still consider that the 1994 Budapest Memorandum…still holds? Do you still believe in that agreement?
Ambassador Andrii Kuzmenko:…It was a declaration rather than a legally binding document.’
http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/eu-sub-c-external-affairs-committee/eu-and-russia/oral/11977.html
I think Putin is waiting for Ukraine to collapse, say by the (latest) end of June next year.
The USG does not want the responsibility of paying off Ukraine’s debt, they have shoved it onto the EU; with Greece, there is NO way the EU is going to bail out Ukraine. This way, the USG etc can’t blame Russia for Ukraine’s internal collapse, as it surely must, once the price hikes kick in with runaway inflation without the matching salary/wage increases, and the protests turning into riots in central, western Ukraine, which will FORCE poroshenko to withdraw his military from the Donbass to deal with it. Hopefully, the volunteer battalions will refuse to withdraw, thereby being annihilated.
P.S. Any news on what exploded in Donetsk approx 9pm yesterday? They think it was NOT a Tochka but maybe a fuel air bomb, meaning NATO supplied. Soil samples should be taken and sent to Russia for analysis.
Please have a look at this video, at least the first 3 minutes, it has English subs, it’s about when the OSCE visited Gorlovka, and the remarks made by both sides. Gorlovka wins hands down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vMN5ZeTkEQ8
Here is another interview with this courageous man:
Aleksandr Zakharchenko – On love, death, war and life
Exclusive interview of the Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic for “Ukraina.ru” internet resource
– How did the war start for you?
— You know, it started in a pretty banal way – with internet news. I watched the situation in Kiev in the end of 2013. Then I actually left for Kiev to see with my own eyes what was going on there. And I realized that that war started.
– When you returned home, you found yourself on the front line. What does a person feel, when he has to stand upright and shoot?
— I will tell you honestly, there was no fearlessness and recklessness. I am an ordinary human being. Ordinary people get scared. It’s scary, when bullets whistle overhead — you have a great problem standing up. Those, who experienced it, will understand me. The first three steps are the most difficult ones, and then the reflexes kick in. You must have heard the good old commandos slogan: “no one but us”. You realize that there’s no one but you, and rush forward! Gritting your teeth, clenching the fists, you go forward, because there is no other way. Someone has to do it.
– You mentioned fear. Are you afraid of dying?
— No. You see, when you are in the front line, the fear of death gets dull. Only one scare remains: that if you are killed, you will not succeed in what you are doing. This is, perhaps, the principal feeling.
– What about the loss of friends and comrades? There are different kinds of fear, aren’t there?
— You seem to be trying to single out its constituent parts. The fear of losing friends and comrades, who are in the rear – this fear, on the contrary, urges you to move forward, whatever the outcome. You see, here one fear replaces the other fear. The task is fulfilled. The enemy is defeated. And as for the consequences – well, the consequences are different for different people.
– Do you remember your first battle?
— I do. It was in the Lugansk region. After that battle I set down and became aware of a very frightening thing. I realized that the enemy would not stop, that it would go on. However, looking at those people, who tried to kill me just half an hour before, I saw them as the same young guys, 25 year old, perhaps a bit older than my own son, and I was horrified by the thought that they were also Slavs. Then I realized who we fight against. The horror was in the fact that it was possible to fool those people, to dope them in such a way. That was a horrible feeling indeed. To be frank, I pitied them.
– You wore a T-shirt to one of the press-conferences with the quote “Oplot [“Stronghold” – the name of a People’s Militia unit, headed by Zakharchenko] — live keenly”. What does “living keenly” mean? Where does the Force lie, bro?
— It lies in the Truth. First of all, “living keenly” is the way every male should live. You see, one cannot be half-way pregnant or be a semi-male. A man should live keenly. Not in the sense that a man should be a muscle-bound person – he should have a masculine backbone. If a person has a backbone – not only a man, but a woman as well — they’ve got stamina. The stamina is more important that physical strength, because the stamina breaks every barrier. Physical strength has a definite limit, and stamina is limitless. This limitless force is life itself. Only the force should be righteous.
– In Shakhtersk you united the units into a single army. Many people claim that it was in Shakhtersk (and not in Snezhnoye, e.g.) that you experienced certain upheaval: you encouraged the militiamen and inspired them in fighting… What happened then?
— It was a critical point there in Shakhtersk at the time. After the enemy captured the town of Slavyansk, Shakhtersk became the stronghold we could not afford losing. If we did lose the town of Shakhtersk and were not able to recapture it at once, there would have never existed any Donetsk People’s Republic as such. The enemy had amassed the critical force, having pulled up all the reserves, everything they could consolidate. In the first days of Shakhtersk defence the enemy outnumbered us tenfold. Under such circumstances we had just to make the people see that there are moments, when one’s goal in life should be nothing more, but gaining freedom. Even by your death you are fighting for life. That is, by your death you are changing the course of life. That was why I had to stand upright, not to duck the enemy’s fire, walk in between the trenches. Thing is, when the guys see that the commander walks upright and does not duck, they begin to follow his example. Each of them finds the courage in their souls that had to surface. It was then when I woke up the courage in them that they are displaying now. It had to be done, although I had been scared myself.
– Who do you consider your enemies?
— If you mean those Ukrainian soldiers that are on the other side of the front – they are mere children. Each time I talk to captives, I can watch them arriving at understanding of real state of things here in the course of 2-3 days and changing their point of view. The real enemies are the castigators, who attacked our land, the mercenaries, the United States of America that provoked the conflict in Ukraine and the corrupt scum that bears the name of Ukrainian authorities.
– And what do the captives generally tell?
— They tell that they thought only apes lived here, that the city is in ruins, and we are robbing the last remaining civilians amidst the rabble. They thought there were Russian soldiers, terrorists, half-drunk “padded jackets” and “Colorado beetles” here… Nevertheless, when they see a beautiful city, which is tidied up, in which people stroll along the streets and children are playing their outlook changes. Although, you know, there is another problem: when they send them here, they are told they’d be given a mine and 50 slaves here. This is what they are coming here for. They crave land and slaves.
– Just in several hundred meter distance from the front line people are still living. Entire families refuse to abandon their homes.
— In order for you to understand, I should say that the mentality of my countrymen is quite different. Margaret Thatcher once said that the psychology of a miner is similar to the psychology of a soldier. They both constantly risk their lives. The feeling is adherent to these people. Imagine that I left for a mine this morning – it can happen so that I will fail to come back. You know everything about gas blasts. The recent one was in the Zasyadko mine. Our women and children also see things in a somewhat different light. We are a bit different. Kuzbass (coal mine basin in Siberia) dwellers will understand us, sailors will understand us. That is, the people who realize that death is only in one-step distance from them. Only one wave, one blast and one bullet separate their life from the end. They are soldiers deep down. And this psychology will not even let them leave their homes.
– According to the last reports from the front line, Ukraine is trying to wreck the Minsk Agreement. Can you list the provisions of the accord that are being violated by Kiev? What is the goal that Ukrainian authorities pursue by such actions?
— Ukraine is not trying, it is wrecking. All the provisions are being violated: the ceasefire regime, the withdrawal of heavy artillery, economic issues, political issues. In fact, the Minsk Agreement in the form, in which it was signed by Poroshenko, was meant for the curbing of our offensive. That is, he tried to transfer the conflict from the military context to the political dimension in order to freeze it, to increase the personnel, to train and arm it, etc. At the moment the process is nearing completion. They have consolidated forces, thus, they no longer need the Minsk Agreement. Provocations are going to occur again and again. Eventually they will grow into full-scale hostilities. Until the moment when we trap them into the next pocket, Kiev will not recognize any Minsk agreements.
– According to your instinct, when will the full-scale hostilities start?
— I as the head of state have access to all the intelligence data we’ve got, and I should say they can start any moment. The forces and means they have consolidated allow them to carry out operational tactic tasks, though not the strategic ones, of course, and start actions any moment. That was proved by the Maryinka events. No one expected them to start an offensive that night. We got ready for it, we carried out a developing attack. Nevertheless we did not expect such a full-scale assault. In the course of four days before it they tried to find our soft spots and carry out developing attacks. We got ready. We consolidated the forces necessary to rebuff the enemy at all times. In my opinion, we defended out territory with flying colours. We wrecked the enemy’s offensive.
– Has the Novorossiya project been frozen or not? Certain politicians consider Donetsk and Lugansk parts of Ukraine, and that the followers of Novorossiya idea will try to reach their goal with the help of a constitutional reform in Ukraine. What is behind such claims, in your opinion?
— We are looking forward the implementation of this project and we will keep on doing this. Those who make such claims have the right to their own vision. You should realize that we are building this project with our own hands and paying for it with our own blood, in contrast to those people, who claim that it was frozen, terminated or whatever. For us it is one of the main goals we are fighting for. I will not tell you right now what it should look like. I will not go into the details of our vision, or speculate about abstract notions. I know that it ought to exist and it will exist. Everything else will become clear eventually, and we will talk it over once this Novorossiya comes into existence. We will discuss the territories it will include, the plans it will implement and what issues it will tackle in political context.
– Is Novorossiya possible in composition of Ukraine?
— No. I am puzzled by the ability of journalists to snatch quotes out of their context. It is evident that there are politicians who are entitled to certain statements and those, who are not entitled to any. I will not tell you whether I am entitled to anything. I will say the following: I do not see either myself or my side of the conflict in composition of Ukraine, as well as in composition of any other country. I see us as equal partners. Yes, I see us as good neigbours or simply neigbours. Yes, I see Novorossiya as a strong state, but I do not see Novorossiya in composition of Ukraine. That is, Novorossiya can exist as a transformed Ukraine. It surely can. I am one hundred per cent sure that what had happened in Donetsk can any moment burst out in Odessa, Kiev, Kharkov, Mukachevo [Transcarpathian region of Ukraine]. They have already proclaimed themselves the Mikachevo People’s Republic. Pay attention to what is going on in Lviv. The way we will communicate with these republics, the agreements we will make with them is a matter for the future. Nevertheless, sooner or later it will happen. Ukraine as a state is at the end of its resource, and it became clear after the first air raids on Donetsk and Lugansk. Everything that followed was the agony of the statehood. A new state is being born right now – a fruit of this agony, this death of the old system. What it will be like depends on us only. However, by that moment we should be ready; we should have a strong army, well trained and hardened in battles.
Aleksandr Zakharchenko was interviewed by Darina Yevtushenko
WOWSERS ! ! !
Thank you, Dean.
Posting this interview is very much appreciated. With all the good info and material that we have here, many time these little gems get lost and forgotten.
Regarding lost & forgotten, although I hope that amongst us long time Saker fans this is never forgotten, every once in a while I need to go back and re-read the Saker’s post on Nov 13, last year about all of us Submarines in the desert”. It never ceases to give me the spiritual lift that I need to keep my sanity in this war on our minds.
Vic.
Made an article with these Zaharchenko vids – about the recent Donetsk rally and its misrepresentation in the MSM:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b39_1434771069
Just to round out the collection, an interview Graham Phillips did (English subs) with numerous women at that meeting. They are mostly the yelling kind, though that’s the type of question he asked, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DYit6yxgzc
Interesting moment in the main videos, talking about alcohol, a few people put their hands up when he asks has no-one ever bought from babushkas? that sounds like it’s fairly widespread for pensioners to make moonshine as extra income. That can be one seriously toxic drink, if they’re not careful. Probably a good trade to try and close down.
I believe Russia is as concerned that a successful socialist economy takes hold in East Ukraine as the West is-that is the problem.