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Remarkable story! "22 Days inside the Donetsk Republic:" a Russian volunteer militant's story


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Mattias,

 

I'd say ask Steve of BFC, since he more or less is conducting all-source analysis of the Ukraine Crisis/War and has been from before the "green men" first appeared. He's a voracious reader of info from all over the spectrum when it comes to sites and has long since learned to sort the rat manure from the coffee, as Dad used to put it. To me, that story rang true and was informative on many levels.

 

Regards,

 

John Kettler

Edited by John Kettler
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John,

 

That was an excellent article a step above anything else I've read regarding Ukraine recently. So good, in fact, that I felt compelled to stop lurking and make an account to make this comment. Thanks for posting it. 

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Euromaidan Press is mostly a portal for information, not a source of journalism itself. In the case of this article, it came from a Russian website:

http://www.colta.ru/articles/society/5329

It appears to be a crowd funded publication that has been around for a few years now:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colta.ru

For sure Euromaidan Press is biased, however since it doesn't write most of the stuff it publishes one has to look at the original source to determine its credibility. In other words, Euromaidan Press publishes things which fit its agenda, which might be true or might not be. This is different than organizations which create its own content to fit a narrow agenda. Even when such organizations print stories based on fact, the stories themselves are usually quite distorted. Personally, I have not found Euromaidan Press publishing inaccurate information on a routine basis. It should also be noted that they publish many articles critical of the Ukrainian government.

It is of course quite difficult to verify some of these first person accounts, even more difficult to verify the specifics within. However, as the war goes on it's inevitable that the number of Russian participants willing/able to talk about their experiences will grow. This one is from last summer. Nothing in what I read makes me doubt its veracity. It is consistent with other separatist volunteer accounts as well as other information. Though that doesn't mean it is legit.

Steve

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Sounds like "The Hole" is as much a right of passage (hazing for newcomers) as it is a prison. :D

Indeed :) There was another Russian volunteer account where he and another guy moved over the border on their own and were not treated very well by the separatists they ran into. Like the author in the above story, they were arrested and roughed up because they were suspected as being "spies". They were eventually let go and, IIRC, dumped near the border and told to go home. I don't remember the details beyond that.

 

 

Timing of this article is mid of August-September 2014

Yes, the article was posted around then. However, the repeated references to Slavyansk and no references to the chaos and major loss of territory that came in late July and August makes me think the timeframe is mid July. But of course that is just a guess. Certainly it is between July and September, not before or after.

Steve

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makes me think the timeframe is mid July

 

There is a line in the article: On Sunday it’s one of the main holidays in Donetsk: Miner’s day.

 

Miner's day is celebrating on 30th August. Thus, if author was in DNR during 22 days and also meant cease fire (since 5th September) and further work as military correspondent, he have to arrive in Donbas not early than in mid of August.  

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