In Mariupol, Ukraine's government wins one, loses one

[MBS]

Source: Kyiv Post


EXCERPT 1"These strange people came to us and demand that we put all of our weapons in storage and leave the base. This is madness," Kalinichenko (deputy commander of the base) says, angry at the protesters' demands."
(Mairupol resident) Tymoshenko says she didn't see any men who resembled professional soldiers among the attackers. "But they were quite organized, it didn't seem like a chaotic attack," the woman adds.

At the same time, the Interior Ministry reported that most of the wounded attackers turned out to be drunk.
. . .
EXCERPT 2 The entrance, (to the City Council building), a hole in the barricade, is guarded by an unarmed teenager. He sits on a pile of bags, stretching his legs to block the passage. A schoolgirl sitting on the nearby sidewalks' edge complains loudly that she will have to lay on a rocky beach in the summer because all the sand was taken to fortify the fence.

Inside the building, several dozen protesters sit and walk, looking bored. The protesters, most of them young men, are armed with bats and metal bars. Most prefer to cover their faces. "Take that off, we are peaceful people. Are you afraid of an infection or what?" Sergey Belvitnev, who calls himself the chief of the building's guard, tells a protester whose face is covered with a medical mask.







Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/multimedia/photo/pro-russian-protesters-in-mariupol-settle-down-in-the-city-council-344048.html

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Comments on the first quote (Ukrainians "win one&quot
quotes relating to the fact that Ukrainians were able to push back against Russian "protestors" at the Mariupol National Guard base (noting that the Russians seemed to be chiefly after their weapons). .

Comments on the second quote (Ukrainians "lose one&quot :Russians occupy the City Council building. . .but somehow at least two Ukrainians (the teenage girl and Sergey Bevitnev) are able to respond with humor (the fact that anyone there HAS any sense of humor left is a reassuring sign of resiliency among the populace.. )

[cosmicone]

1. So much for the heavily armed Russian soldiers in uniforms

without insignias ....

[blackspade]

2. Meaning what?

That these incidents didn't include them but others have?

[cosmicone]

4. Meaning the professional Russian soldiers being the protesters

was a part of a disinformation "psy-ops" campaign.

[joshcryer]

5. Was that ever seriously suggested?

Pretty sure I called them drunkards and that only in small actions they were trained.

[blackspade]

7. Maybe not in this incidence

But they are undoubtedly there.

[cosmicone]

8. mmmmm hmmmmm

a lot of people saw them with clairvoyance or while high on neocon fervor <whistles>

[blackspade]

10. Yeah, right......

[iamthebandfanman]

3. I see the smug comments

are already starting in the replies.

the sooner you guys realize both sides are losers and corrupt as hell.. youll realize you guys arguing over your 'team' is super childish.

there are no winners in this struggle.

there is no 'left' in this fight.

just corrupt corporatists against corrupt corporatists. I truly feel sorry for the people of the Ukraine.

[Benton D Struckcheon]

9. Pretty much my feelings.

Screwed no matter. Ukraine is turning to the EU to try & buy a little independence from Moscow, but they will find it a deadly embrace. I've been beating up on Putin, but only because he seems, for whatever reason, to actually want war. But besides that, Ukraine is just in a really bad place.

[MBS]

6. Guys, all I was trying to do was to offer some human, humorous anecdotes

The LBN required format made it extra-difficult to explain the reason for the excerpts, but I offered remarks in "Excerpt 2" -- the two witty taunts by Ukrainians to the pro-Russian "protestors" -- because these were the first thing in MONTHS that made me laugh about this very very very dangerous situation.
I've been so anxious and upset and angry about this situation for so long (seriously, it's made me physically ill) -- an anxiety that has only grown with every passing week, along with my fear that there is no good solution to the problem, barring a miraculous change of heart by Russia (not holding my breath on that one) -- that I was just grateful to see some evidence that some people in eastern Ukraine were strong enough in spirit to retain some sense of humor.
Actually, real and dangerous events WERE happening in Mariupol, and the entire situation in eastern Ukraine remains very scary. That's in fact what made the humor so remarkable in my eyes.