Ukrainian veteran from Luhansk. Ukrainian warrior since February 2022. Debunking propaganda. Stories from the frontline/Donbas. PayPal [email protected]
Joined May 2021
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Who does Donbas historically really belong to?
As a native of Donbas and someone who knows the history of my homeland well, I couldn't help but laugh at Putin's latest nonsense claiming that Donbas has always been Russian.
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In this thread, I'll share brief historical facts about the region along with my own observations as a local. It might be a lot of text for casual scrolling, but it'll be valuable for anyone who genuinely wants to understand the issue — instead of swallowing empty, manipulative propaganda.
(In the photo: Donetsk, 2014)
#Ukraine #Donbas #RussianPropaganda
A toddler sleeps through the Russian shelling.
Soon, children who have never known life without war will start school. Children who rarely see their fathers because they are defending them from the Russians on the front lines.
This will be a strong generation. Because it is in times like these that strong people are raised.
And while some European politicians ask whether Ukraine needs Europe, the new generation will ask whether Europe needs Ukraine.
Rest in peace, @jet9977.
You were a bright and kind person.
The evil of this world will no longer hurt you.
Kremlin propagandists are once again openly discussing an attack on Europe.
Many people underestimate this threat. Just as Russia once underestimated Ukraine. And just as Trump underestimated Iran.
Yes, European countries have more advanced weapons and technology than Russia. But wars aren’t won by technology alone - they’re won by people. And Russia already has plenty of battle-hardened soldiers with real experience of modern warfare. The Kremlin can throw them mercilessly into meat-grinder assaults anywhere.
Most importantly, Russia is significantly stronger in hybrid and sabotage operations inside Europe. Their powerful propaganda machine and agents of influence in European political circles are already highly effective. Right now, Russian political aggression poses an even greater threat than its military one. A combination of both could lead to tragic consequences for the continent.
It seems that some European leaders are finally starting to understand the Russian threat. But it’s difficult to say whether enough is actually being done to counter it.
Never underestimate the enemy. Underestimation gives the other side a huge advantage.
Interesting how recently Netanyahu called on Europe to join the war against Iran.
And right after that, he supports Viktor Orban - the puppet of Iran’s ally Russia, which is already waging war in Europe.
A very interesting situation is unfolding in the world right now.
March 20, 2014, Sevastopol.
The Russians were tearing down Ukrainian flags at the Naval Academy and raising their own.
But despite the pressure and intimidation, a group of cadets walked out of the building and sang the Ukrainian National Anthem loud and proud.
These archival videos still give me chills every single time.
Young guys who refused to betray their oath and stood firm against the enemy.
In total, more than 100 cadets rejected swearing allegiance to Russia.
By early April they were evacuated from occupied Crimea. Later, many of them stood up to defend Ukraine - and some even survived Russian captivity.
The Russians launched their largest offensive in recent months.
Over 500 infantrymen, dozens of armored vehicles, and more than a hundred motorized units.
It all turned into a brutal meat grinder.
The Third Army Corps reports:
• Nearly 300 infantry eliminated
• 3 tanks destroyed
• 11 APCs and IFVs
• 84 motorized vehicles
This is a total failure for the Russian army.
The last time the occupiers took such heavy instantaneous losses was during their mass assault phase. That's exactly why they switched to small-group infiltration tactics.
Why they reverted to these suicidal mass attacks now - despite the explosion in FPV drone numbers on the front - is anyone's guess. But they'll most likely abandon large mechanized assaults again and go back to small groups.
Orban stated that Russia should become part of European security.🤡
How can the main threat to this security be part of that security?🤦♂️
I was cracking up at this video 😂
Russians who literally refuse to believe they're in Ukrainian captivity until the bitter end. And in the final moment they're still going: "Wait... are we actually prisoners for real?"
They're tied up and aren't even fazed that their "own guys" tied them?
Apparently that's just normal practice in the Russian army
A video for those who still claim "Russia is not a threat to Europe".
Classic 2015 Kremlin propaganda: subtly showing how Russia defeats both Europe and the United States.
These narratives existed long before 2015 and continue to this day.
Yet while marching towards Warsaw, the Russian army got bogged down in Donbas.
Context: In 2015, Poland’s Foreign Minister proposed celebrating the end of WWII in Gdansk rather than Moscow (where the war was actually planned). The Kremlin threw a fit and pretended to forget that World War II began with the Hitler-Stalin Pact and the joint Soviet-German invasion of Poland in 1939.
For their domestic audience, the war "magically" starts in 1941. Many Russians still believe that to this day.
This is what childhood in Ukraine looks like right now.
Meanwhile, Viktor Orban is complaining that Ukraine wants to colonize Hungary. And that Ukraine has to repair the oil pipeline under Russian shelling, just so he can continue buying Russian oil that flows through our territory.
Neighboring countries living in completely different realities
It's hilarious that Orban first calls Ukraine a buffer, non-sovereign state - and then plays the victim with the slogan: "We will not become a Ukrainian colony!"
So… a "non-sovereign buffer state" is now capable of colonizing Hungary?😆
This isn't even peak absurdity yet. Knowing the style of Russian political technologists and propagandists - the provocations and escalations will only get worse from here.
Wonder if Orbán will end up following Yanukovych's path?
Iran is now openly threatening to launch missile strikes on Ukraine.
But let’s be honest - Iranian weapons have been attacking and killing Ukrainians since 2022. They’ve simply been launched from Russian territory the entire time. Iran has been Russia’s strategic ally from day one, so these "new threats" change absolutely nothing for us.
What is genuinely valuable is Ukraine’s nearly four years of real combat experience fighting Iranian-designed drones and missiles (Shaheds and more). Without Iran’s massive support for Russia, we would never have gained this hard-earned expertise.
Ukraine has transformed. We are no longer just a country that needs help - we have become a country that others are now turning to for help and knowledge. We are sharing critical expertise with (or negotiating assistance for) Great Britain, the United States, Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
All we can hope is that our allies truly appreciate this contribution and will not leave Ukraine fighting alone against the Russia–Iran–North Korea axis - because North Korea is also rapidly gaining modern warfare experience at our expense.
Today marks the anniversary of the death of the first victim of Russian aggression in Donbas.
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Starting March 13, 2014, a genocide began in the region. Its goal was to silence the locals who opposed Russian occupation and ruined the picture Kremlin propaganda was trying to paint.
That day in Donetsk, another multi-thousand-strong pro-Ukrainian rally gathered - as it had many times before.
Collaborators and Russian "tourists" had already started organizing counter-rallies for every such event: to provoke, to create pressure, and to intimidate anyone who supported Ukraine.
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To protect the women and elderly people, as was already tradition, young men formed a perimeter around the rally, shielding them with their own bodies. And it wasn’t for nothing.
Pro-Russian provocateurs started throwing eggs, stones, bottles, and firecrackers at the Donetsk people. This forced the organizers to end the event early for everyone’s safety.
The men who had been guarding the rally pulled together and covered the retreat of the other participants. But while protecting the safe exit of others, several dozen people did not have time to leave and were surrounded.
They were attacked by pro-Russian radicals armed with bats, knives, and other bladed weapons.
The result: several dozen seriously injured Donetsk residents and one killed.
3/3
The one killed was 22-year-old Dmytro Cherniavsky, born in Bakhmut, Donetsk region.
In fact, he was a hero who sacrificed himself so that women and elderly people could safely leave the pro-Ukrainian rally. He died from stab wounds.
From that moment on, the murders of active pro-Ukrainian citizens in Donbas became more and more frequent.
The Kremlin has always claimed it was protecting the people of Donbas. But this victim - and all those who followed - prove the opposite: the people of Donbas needed protection first and foremost from Russia.
Despite the brutality of the Russian "tourists" and collaborators, pro-Ukrainian actions in Donetsk and Luhansk continued. So did the violence against their participants. These rallies went on until the end of April - until Russian militants finally came out with automatic rifles in their hands.
One of many incidents that Russian propaganda desperately tries to hide.
In March 2014 in Donetsk, Russian "tourists" mixed up the flags and tried to burn the flag of FC Shakhtar Donetsk - the most popular and beloved club across the entire Donbas region.
The funny thing is they couldn't burn it.
Watch the video to see their awkward attempt and hear what real Donetsk residents said about it the next day.
As someone born and raised in Donbas, I never met a single person who didn’t know Shakhtar. Almost everyone in the region followed the team passionately and went absolutely crazy with joy when we won the UEFA Cup.
This is exactly why Kremlin media and their local collaborators always silence this story. It completely destroys the myth that these "protests" were organized by locals.
It reminds me of the April 2014 incident in Kharkiv, when Russian "tourists" confused the buildings and stormed a theater instead of the regional administration headquarters. Russian propaganda stays silent about that one too.
Yet pro-Russian trolls still come to tell us - actual Donbas residents - that "it was all organized by locals", not by Russians.