Born in the USSR in 1970, Russian by both nationality and ethnicity, and as such, have my own opinion on everything.
People, just try to think different. Maybe it won't make you happier, but the world will be a much better place to live in, if populated by thinking people.
A young woman (she's as real as you and me; I know her personally) living now in Donetsk region, writes in her LiveJournal:
Twig As a Door Lock
When there's a shelling, I take the locking bar off my door and change it with a twiglet. Why? There were lots of cases when doors got jammed during shellings and people could hardly get out. And how many deaths are unknown just because they failed? So, put a twig instead of your metal locking bar. It will be either a blast wave that breaks it, or myself. Thus, correspondingly, we shall survive :-)
And it's not only Ukraine. Reading (or watching, or listening to) Western media, you'd be always aware that you may be getting quite a perversed image of reality.
It is surely not an easy job to think different under a coordinated pressure of mass media of US and EU that turned long ago into media of mass disinformation; yet it well worth giving a try. Being a human, not just a being.
Using Google Map resource, some volunteers of Donetsk have created and are constantly adding data to a map of shelling and bombing sites of Donetsk region.
Here is a couple of screenshots made at various scales:
Enlarged one is of the district adjacent to the Donetsk Airport (there's its taxiway, top left).
I am not sure the map opens for you in English, so what you have to know is:
Donetsk = Донецк
All capital leters in italic are names of districts of the city of Donetsk or Donetsk Oblast.
At present they've collected data for the period since September 4, 2014 to January 16, 2015.
You a welcome to check yourself that Anti-Terroristic Operation carried on by the Kiev/Kyiv regime since before Poroshenko was elected as president (by the way, who does remember now he promised to finish the ATO in just days?) in fact is a countinuous act of state terrorism against civilian population of their own country, effected illegally using all armed forces including army, that according to their constitution has no right to carry on warfare without declaring the war state, let alone shooting at own population.
You are free to see that all their statements regarding 'pro-Russian separatists and terrorists' shelling their own houses is a total bullshit. Because the Ukrainian state supported by the USA and the official EU carries own a true bloody civil war. But they cannot win, as the people cannot lose; the people either win or die, tertium non datur.
Just open your eyes and see. It is the 21st century.
Europe (geographically; though those maidan jumpers would like to go to Europe still farther, evidently, to better spread their nazi ideas of national supremacy).
I'd like to tell everybody who speaks about "deceived, zombified Ukrainian military and inhabitants of Ukraine"; who believes they "need time to get it", "to be able to sort through the political situation" and so on; I'd like to tell you that all you are indirectly guilty of the bloodshed in Donbass. You excuse the Ukrainian murderers and their accomplices referring to their mental disability they have not. You say the boy (being 20 or 40 years of age) was under a misapprehension and killed a woman with a baby in hands in their own home. And the mother of this boy was also under a misapprehension blessing him to kill... So was the military comissar... So was the driver who got him to the scene of crime...
You give a pardon to all these people, and doing so you prepare other Donbass mothers with babies in arms to be victims.
As a psychiatrist with 40 years of experience who have conducted tens thousands labour, military and forensic examinations I state that the references of the Ukrainian examinees to "being zombified, deceived" are apparent lie, malingering. It is believed that only people with heavy mental disorders, those who are found insane and incapable in court, are unable to sort through the political situation in their country. (Though some of these people are sorting through Ukrainian and world politics perfectly.) All the rest are not only able, but obliged to sort good from evil. This is their duty. Especially when there are rivers of blood in the country. A delusion, whether true or imaginary, does not grant a discharge.
One of the most important targets of propaganda is dehumanization of adversaries, opponents, enemies.
When your opponents are properly dehumanized, you perceive them as Untermenschen, subhumans. And, e.g., information about bombing and shelling those subhumans comes in easier: killing or oppressing subhumans is not a tragedy at all, they are not like us, they are worse, those bad guys well deserve what they are getting...
The current propaganda of Kiev (Kyiv) regime reached great success in dehumanizing of mostly ethnically Russian* population of Eastern Ukraine, especially of the unacknowledged Donetsk and Lugansk Republics. And 'vatnik'** or 'kolorad'*** are one of the softest terms they use for their formal compatriots that have enough nerve not to share with Bandera-followers their Western Ukraine-born extremely nationalistic ideology.
Wake up and see. Population of one part of Ukraine that came to power by means of a coup d'état (mistakenly taken by many for the 'Revolution of Dignity') does not want let another part live as they want. Using a real doublespeak they equated aspiration for federalization of Ukraine to separatism (which was 100% stupid, yet proved to be a very effective step in the direction of dehumanization of opponents), and that started the so-called 'Anti-Terrorist Operation' (against those who absolutely do not comply with the term 'terrorist'). Namely, a civil war.
It's not easy to see common people among those declared subhumans, yet they are. They want peaceful life, jobs, social protection. And waht seems (but just seems) to be a stumblig stone — they want to be a part of Russian World (including Russian language education), which is quite understandable, as this land for centuries was a part of the Russian Empire and than the USSR.
Evidently, some people really think the Germans in Belgium or the Swedes in Finland have more rights, because the Germans and the Swedes are first class humans, and those in Eastern Ukraine are not. In fact, following Hitler/Goebbels and their predecessors.
I hope the majority of people world wide do not share this pretty racist viewpoint, and sooner or later it becomes evident through democratic procedures.
Because people of Eastern Ukraine are just like you.
And here is a really nice proof of what I say. I do not remember who said music is a universal language, but I agree it definitely is.
Two retirees from Donetsk play music. Donbass Arena are Anatoly Bukhtiyarov (accordion, 74 y.o.) and Nikolay Gladkov (drums, 72 y.o.); they can play almost anything from Russian folk songs to classical music and hard rock.
Since this video was recorded in August, some things have happened, press says. A mortar bomb exploded 25 metres away Anatoly's house, he was contused and a splinter cut his eyebrow. He is a lucky one in comparison with hundreds of mostly civilians who have not survived the war. The civil war.
And the brave retirees go on playing in Donetsk every Saturday and Sunday (except for some days when there were heavy shellings). They complain now their open air concerts attract hundreds people (before the war there were thousands coming to listen and see), but hope that music will help Donetsk people to survive and remain who they are: humans.
Neither 'super', nor 'sub'. Just humans.
______________ * Regarding ethnicity and nationality while discussing Russian and Ukrainian matters, please follow this link. ** Please read the footnote to this post. *** 'Kolorad' has nothing to do with Colorado river. It's derived from Russian words for Colorado potato beetle as a derogatory and offensive term for those bearing so called 'ribbon of St. George'. In Ukraine, the ribbon became a symbol and distinction sign for those who stand against Ukrainian Nazism.
Have a look at the spread of a mark book of a pupil. What makes the difference is that this is a mark book of a pupil attending school in Donetsk (unacknowledged Donetsk People Republic/DNR, Novorossiya).
A teacher glued a small piece of paper onto the left page, under the Monday cell. It reads:
11.2014 a talk has been carried out...
And a bigger sheet onto the right page.
Read it thoroughly. Understand it. This is the 21st century, November, 2014. This is Europe.
Rules of Conduct During Artillery Shelling
1. Do not run if explosions are near. Fall on the ground and cover your head with hands — this is the best way to rescue.
2. During shelling at an open space, a ditch or any recess in the ground can serve as a shelter. Having found such a shelter, do not leave it until the shelling is ceased.
3. Any protrusion of the ground, or concrete blockage, or mound will do. It is not recommended to hide in basements of dwellings; there is a high risk to remain under debris.
4. It is recommended to stay away from machinery, cars, fire dangerous and explosive objects.
5. Modern buildings which are insufficiently rigid yet contain plenty of windows, glass cases and glass elements, are extremely dangerous.
6. Do not seek safety in water, river, lake or any other reservoir. After an accidental shell or bomb blast a shock wave of extreme strength will be expanding, leading to a heavy hydraulic shock (the principle of TNT fish stunning).
7. It's strongly recommended to wait through the shelling with your ears tightly closed with hands and slightly opened mouth to control pressure.
These are fruits of the so called "Revolution of Dignity" (which was not a revolution in any case and had nothing to do with dignity) the children of Eastern Ukraine, that is Novorosiya, are enjoying. This is what the so called 'civilized world' led by the USA and EU was for, helping the Ukrainian putschists to overthrow Yanukovich's "tyranny".
