Russian Roulette: The Invasion of Ukraine (Dispatch Eleven & Twelve)

[snooper2]

(Russian assholes, and death edition)

Russian commandos stormed the Moskva Hotel in Simferopol, and nobody really knows why. It was the eve of the referendum and the hotel is where many of the international journalists covering the situation in Crimea are staying. VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky tries to figure out if the troops were sent on a manhunt, or on a mission to intimidate members of the press.

On March 13, two people were killed during clashes between pro-Russian & pro-Ukraine groups in the eastern Ukrainian town of Donetsk. Two days later, friends and family gathered for the funeral of Dmytro Cherniavsky — a former press secretary for the Ukrainian Nationalist party, Svoboda.