Reaction of the Donetsk Public to Events in the City

Reaction of the Donetsk Public to Events in the City

The Donbas News collected feedback from members of the public in Donetsk regarding the events in the city.

The chairman of the board of the Donetsk regional organization All-Ukrainian NGO "Committee of the Voters of Ukraine" Sergey Tkachenko wrote the following statement on his Facebook page:

"Grief, anger, irritation. It is obviously hard under such influences to give a proper evaluation everything that has transpired today in Donetsk. Many of us sensed what was about to happen already in the morning. The helplessness of the police (to some extent even their complicity), poor organization of the demonstration (the request to hold a pro-Ukrainian rally had been submitted 3 hours prior to its start), activeness and aggressiveness of the pro-Russian instigators (everyone knew beforehand who we were going to meet on Lenin Square) - all of this and a lot more now seems to have clearly indicated the worst turn of events. The professor from Lviv, who appeared on Donbass TV today, was right to point out that the provocateurs are not just those, who have Russian passports and attack the administrative buildings in Ukraine, but often they are those, who wear traditional embroidered shirts and speak perfect Ukrainian. They are those, who put "something" above human life and health because for this "something" they pay with their own life. This day is going to change a lot of things - but at what price? It is probably not the time to look for the guilty ones and settle the scores. But I trust increasingly less to people, especially those, who call for me to do something, even if their calls are to Love Ukraine".

The director of the Donetsk regional NGO Institute for Social Studies and Political Analysis, well-known political scientist in Donetsk Vladimir Kipen reacted to the following reaction to the events in Donetsk:

"Donetsk's fascists with St. George's ribbons openly control the city! The massacre of those, who want to live a free country is an indicator of the genuine face of both that scum who committed such a thing and all of the Donetsk authorities with their cynicism, bargaining and fears to answer for the pillage of the people, ready to sell their country to the fascist Putin and overt criminality. Eternal glory to the guys who were murdered for no reason by the Donetsk fascism. Bring to justice those officials, traitors-politicians and oligarchs who protect Gubarev's bandits!"

A well-known Donetsk blogger, Denis Kazansky, reacted in the following fashion on his Facebook page:

"Today in Donetsk Nazi bastards murdered Dima Cherniavsky. I knew him well. He was harmless, somewhat shy guy, not a fighter, not a radical. Today his mother was waiting for him to get home, but he didn't come. His was butchered by some chimp, mercenary or an idiot inspired by provocateurs. Just because Dima came to a rally for the unity of his country. To a peaceful demonstration. Some say that two more people were killed, I don't know yet who they are. There are many injured in critical condition. Today the peaceful and unarmed citizens in my city were attacked by terrorists for the first time in history. They killed people for no reason, just on the spot, in order to create chaos and panic. In order to submerge the city in fear. The cops just stood there and watched it being done.
The arrested Pavel Gubarev deserves to be given another sentence for what had happened today - organization of mass murder. Shut him up forever, for life. Those are his jackals who were running around there. Besides, other leaders of the terrorist bandit groups openly calling for violence and reprisals must be caught right away. Khriakov, Buntovsky, Baryshnikov, Purgin. They and a few other people incited hatred and set Nazis upon the peaceful citizens of Ukraine. Arrest them and put in prison! If this doesn't happen, consider Avakov and the police authorities in the Donetsk region, appointed by him, as accomplices of the terrorists".

The general director of the "Consulting League of Donbas" Boris Dudka evaluated through his social network pages the yesterday's events as follows:

"The Russians who arrive behave like savages. Orcs. At this moment it is clear that we have lost an entire generation that is now being used against us".

The head of the All-Ukrainian Union of Scholars-Economists Aleksandr Kendiukhov commented on his Facebook page the article in Dzerkalo Nedeli newspaper regarding the event in Donetsk:

"Winston Churchill once said that the fascists of the future will be called anti-fascists. The first victim has been burned in the anti-fascists flame of inquisition. The inquisition has named every with a national flag a witch. The Great Lent. The Christian church keeps silence. If today the second coming of Christ would occur and He had the Ukrainian flag in His hands, He would be crucified again, but this time by those, who call themselves Christians".

The head of the Donetsk branch of the organization called "Ukrainian Association for European Studies" Igor Todorov commented on the events in Donetsk to the Commersant Newspaper:

"Up until recently Donetsk distinguished itself by the calm and tolerance and, with the exception being a few unpopulous 'EuroMaidans', the city stayed quiet. The situation started to escalate in January and became edgy in early March, when massive demonstrations hit the city. On the eve of the referendum in Crimea the situation in the city became very tense - he said. - The police was were not in any hurry to take down the Russian flags raised on buildings, and coming out on the street with a Ukrainian flag became dangerou. Many residents are going to try to stay at home, afraid of provocations: the policy, unfortunately, did not counteract the beatings and the rumor has it they were given an order not to detain the attackers".

The executive director of the Center for Political Studies Sergey Shtukarin described the events in Donetsk on his Facebook page as follows:

"The ways to retreat for the people at the yesterday's demonstration, which turned into a bloodshed, were intentionally blocked by the policy buses. Next to their commanders some Nazi-looking people were easily giving interviews...While Donbas is reeling from the shock and fury, the University's Faculty of History - which gave Ukraine so many unreal personalities such as levchenkos and gubarevs - has its own little mourning. Students gave bribes for the graduate studies and now he has been laid off. what's going to happen next?"

The editor-in-chief of the Ostrov Newspaper Sergey Garmash reacted in the following way to the yesterday's events:

"We are not trembling animals! We've got to show putin's fascists they can't scare us. The blood and murder that took place in Donetsk yesterday - this is an explicit terror of the fascists, putin's traitors of the Homeland, aimed at the intimidation of the people. They are trying to scare us so that we don't dare to express our public stance, so that we would be scared in our own Homeland to show our attitude to what's happening, and become victims.
 
In such conditions of a divide among the patriotic forces and a blatant sabotage by the local authorities, calling people out to massive demonstrations means calling them to death. At the same time if we continue to keep silent it will means that the fascists with the Russian flags have accomplished their goals.

The time of peaceful protests has ended yesterday. Today each and every one of us has to decide for himself and herself whether he or she is going to be a "trembling animal" or a human being and a patriot. I personally am going to put a black mourning ribbon on my coat. And if even one fascist if going to try to take it down - he'll get a bullet from a traumatic pistol.

Three days later and mourning ribbon will change to the Ukrainian one. In the meantime the patriotic anti-fascist forces have to self-organize and create a single coordination center. We are not going to touch them. But if they touch us, fascists have to get a decent response.  If we will be many, there will be no need to shoot for protection. It's just that everyone has to decide for oneself whether he is an "animal" or a free individual with a voice and the rights".

For material : "Новости Донбасса "
NEWS DONETSK / LUGANSK ALL
23:32
How can school students and school leavers from the uncontrolled territory get Ukrainian education?
20:26
OSCE SMM records over 5,300 truce breaches in Donbas over week
16:22
Russia will never return Crimea to Ukraine – Putin
15:19
Nayev, Hug discuss security situation along contact line in Donbas – JFO press center
19:25
Moscow City Court sentences Ukrainian Sushchenko to 12 years for spying
19:21
Russia supplies cargo for military purposes to Donbas – U.S. rep to OSCE
15:00
Russian-backed militants mount 27 attacks on Ukraine army in Donbas in past day – JFO HQ
20:01
Ukraine's presidential administration believes Trump's meeting with Poroshenko should precede meeting with Putin
19:22
Donetsk regional police chief Abroskin appointed deputy head of National Police of Ukraine
00:12
Ukrainian Rada deputy Savchenko questioned in SBU about her visit to Donetsk
23:05
OSCE mission reports deterioration of security situation in Donbas
16:00
Ukraine to demand broader sanctions for those who 'nationalized' enterprises in Donbas - Poroshenko
15:16
Travelers may use passports of DPR, LPR to enter Belarus; decision on stay to be made individually - Belarusian Interior Ministry
17:20
Akhmetov's humanitarian staff reports blocking of its work in Donetsk
16:10
DPR, LPR heads demand Kyiv lift Donbas blockade, otherwise threaten to take over enterprises under Ukrainian jurisdiction
11:26
Vice News relised report from Donetsk
18:02
Lives on the Line: short documentary about situation in the Donbas region
18:02
Lawyer Feygin: Russia still refusing to let Ukrainian consul see arrested journalist Sushchenko
17:20
ICRC to repay Ukraine utilities debts for occupied Luhansk
20:17
Euronews show life on Ukraine's front line in 360-degree video
VIDEO
Pic: VICE News / YouTube Vice News relised report from Donetsk
Vice News correspondent Jake Hanrahan visited Donetsk, which stay under control by "Donetsk People's Republic".
27 December, 11:26
Pic: CIVIC Communications / YouTube Lives on the Line: short documentary about situation in the Donbas region
This 6-minute documentary tells the stories of civilians who have been living in an active conflict zone for over two years.
08 December, 18:02