NATO and the United States should provide additional information on Russia’s presence in Ukraine

Despite all the undeniable evidence to the contrary, the Kremlin continues to deny the existence of comrades in the area.

Russia’s presence in eastern Ukraine (Donbass) is an open secret. Since March 2014, the media, even Russians, have held high positions in the region with Russian troops, Russian advisers and Russian citizens.

In an interview with the Russian newspaper Javadra, Igor Kirkin, a former Russian soldier, elaborated on the first armed operations in March 2014 (in Ukrainian cities) in Kharkiv and Odessa. Alexander Boroday, a Russian citizen, has publicly stated that Donetsk and Lukansk would not be “People’s Republics” without Russian President Vladimir Putin in Donbass, which was once occupied by the leader of the Donetsk “People’s Republic”. Russian paratroopers “lost” in Ukrainian territory are also remembered, of course the Buck missile that killed 298 passengers from occupied Ukrainian territory.

Even some of the remaining independent media outlets in Russia inform their readers and listeners about the Russian intervention, accidentally endangering their own survival. Check out Exo Moskvi, Novaya Gazeta, Doshd TV and Republic.ru.

The United States, the European Union, NATO and other democracies are hammering Russia’s presence and demanding that Russia leave. It took a while for some media to realize what was going on in Donbass. The BBC even fought it and talked at length about the “Ukrainian separatists” fighting the Ukrainian military. But the British broadcaster eventually realized that “Russian-led separatists” was the right word.

Despite all the undeniable evidence to the contrary, the Kremlin continues to deny the existence of comrades in the area. That’s why it was important and at the same time entertaining
A few days ago I read about the verdict of the court in the Russian city of Rostov-on-the-Don, 200 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. Grovsky District Court a
Local distribution company employee jailed for five and a half years for corruption. The man paid $ 13,400 to the head of the state health and epidemiological monitoring center in the southern military district to provide food for Russian troops in Donbass.

The verdict was published on the website of the website on November 10, but it was recently noticed by the Ukrainian media. On December 16, the verdict disappeared from the site, but the original copy survived. The verdict can still be read on the sites of various Russian media outlets.

Bribery The court found that in 2018 and 2019 bribes were paid to provide food supplies to “military organizations of the Russian Federation established in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lukansk People’s Republic”. These organizations “carry out military operations. Occupied Ukrainian territory”.

According to the ruling, the company concerned was to deliver 1,300 tons of food twice a month to Russian troops in Donbass. Experts estimate that this is enough to feed 26,000 troops.

The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the reference to Russian military personnel “wrong.”

At the same time, Peskov stressed that Russia provides and will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Lukansk. He did not clarify for whom the food distribution was conducted.

Despite media reports of Russian troops in Donbass, the Ukrainian government must be very active in providing information. It should set up a specialized website with verifiable information, including English, detailing Russia’s involvement since March 2014. After all, there is plenty of information, the accuracy of which can be verified from a variety of sources: the military, the media, civilians, organizations such as Bellingate. The United States and NATO need to act more aggressively. This part. After all, there are still people in the West who suspect Russia’s active in Ukraine.

The signatories below have been in contact with NATO about this, which is strangely mediocre. His recommendation to a member of the Ukrainian government to personally communicate actively about Russia’s role was also unsuccessful. “Yes, you are right,” came the reply. However, detailed, easily accessible and verifiable information in English is not yet operational. Incomprehensible and very unwise.