The burly man with the close-cropped silver hair and his two companions ask not to be identified too closely when they talk to me in some dowdy offices near an ancient monastery overlooking the Dnieper River. They want to be described as "patriotic businessmen," they say, and one of them, whom we'll call Alexander, is a very, very rich patriotic businessman.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
The Daily Beast: Ukraine militias warn of anti-Kyiv coup
Ukrainian servicemen walk past an armored personnel carrier (APC) in the village of Peski, Donetsk region, controlled by Ukrainian forces, on Nov. 19.
