Sunday, June 26, 2022

Learn about the Aidar Battalion and its actions in 2014. That will give you a primer on this conflict, the real reasons behind it...

I still contend that the US doesn't have a dog in this fight.

I also contend that the simplistic idea that this is a fight between good and evil is childish.

You know about Azov (and you've made your excuses for them) but what about the Aidar Battalion?  A tidbit from Wikipedia.
In July 2014, Russia began a criminal investigation of Aidar's commander, Serhiy Melnychuk, for "organizing the killing of civilians".[26] Its volunteer pilot, Nadiya Savchenko, was captured by pro-Russian separatists near Luhansk, transported to Russia and charged with killing two Russian journalists.[27][28]

On 8 September 2014 Amnesty International claimed that the battalion had committed war crimes, including abductions, unlawful detention, ill-treatment, theft, extortion, and possible executions.[18]

On 24 December 2014, Amnesty International reported that the unit was blocking humanitarian aid from Ukraine reaching the population of the separatist-controlled areas. Over half the population in these areas depended on food aid. According to Amnesty International, the Aidar, Donbas and Dnipro-1 battalions said they are blocking the aid because they "believe food and clothing are ending up in the wrong hands and may be sold instead of being given as humanitarian aid".[29] Denis Krivosheev, acting Director of Europe and Central Asia for Amnesty International, stated that starving civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime.[30]

In April 2015, the Ukrainian government-appointed Governor of Luhansk Hennadiy Moskal stated that Aidar battalion was "terrorizing the region" and asked Ukrainian Defense Ministry to rein in its members after a series of thefts, including ambulances and the takeover of a bread factory.[31]

Is there a right and wrong here?  No.  In my opinion you have different perspectives that have led to violent confrontation.

Are the Ukrainians right?  Are the Russians?  At this point it doesn't matter.

This fight will end up killing far more people outside the borders of Europe than will die on its battlefield.

A cessation of hostilities is necessary, not continued warmongering.  The only way to win this game is to stop playing it. 


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