Russia's War Against Ukraine OP-ED

Dmitry Tymchuk’s military blog: Odessa police administrator under investigation for helping armed pro-Russian insurgents

By Dmitry Tymchuk.
Pro-Russian activists burn the Ukrainian flag removed from a flagpole outside the burned trade union building in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa on May 3, 2014. More than 30 people were killed in a \"criminal\" blaze in Ukraine's southern city of Odessa, as violence spread across the country during the bloodiest day since Kiev's Western-backed government took power. Ukraine's interior ministry said at least 31 people had died in the fire Friday, with local media reporting that pro-Russian militants were believed to have been in the burning building at the time. AFP PHOTO/ ANATOLII STEPANOV

Editor's Note: To counter Russian propaganda lies about the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula on Feb. 27, Dmitry Tymchuk has set up the Center of Military and Political Research in Kyiv. He served in the Army air defense from 1995-1998, the National Guard from 1998-2000 and in the Defense Ministry in subsequent years on missions to Iraq, Lebanon and Kosovo. His blogs are translated into English by Voices of Ukraine. The Kyiv Post has not independently verified his findings, but will correct any misinformation brought to our attention at [email protected] or 38-044-591-3344 or any of our contacts at www.kyivpost.com/contacts.

Brothers and sisters:

Although it’s a holiday in Ukraine, here is a brief summary for May 2, 2014. Today was a very eventful day.

The bad news:

Odesa. This lovely city and its wonderful people have become hostages of the maniacal games of pro-Russian scum. Their goal was clear–to divert the attention of security forces from the operation in Sloviansk at any cost. As a result, dozens of people are dead.

Odesa law enforcement officers showed their worst side. In one example, according to our data, a bus with “Colorado beetles” (pro-Russian protesters who wear orange and black striped ribbons) was detained at the entrance to Odessa, and then handed over to local police. But by order of a very high police official, they released all of them–immediately. The police commander is being investigated by competent authorities, but the very fact it happened is indicative.

But amongst the events in Odesa there is a bright moment. Residents of Odesa showed that their good nature and peacefulness have limits. Knuckle-draggers and pro-Russian extremists high on permissiveness were nevertheless repelled by citizens who love both their city and their country. And what a rebuff. Today’s démarche will be remembered by fans of lawlessness-under-a-foreign-flag for a long time.

Odesa–no wonder it’s a heroic city. Heroic people live here. True patriots.
Odesa: Veterans, ex-military and patriots of Ukraine protecting their city around the clock from Russian insurgents.

The good news:

The operation in Sloviansk. Finally, determination and action. Not without its problems and difficulties, but action.

And it immediately became clear that to appease the terrorists one only needs to fight back and to show strength. It’s like in life, the biggest boor messes around until the first hit to his muzzle, God forgive me. After that, he quickly conducts an internal reassessment of values, corrects his moral scale, and then begins to quietly snuffle under the sofa.

Today is the day of big lessons for all of us, and first and foremost, for the Ukrainian authorities. If we want peace, we must defend ourselves. We cannot continue to love our country and put up with its rape.

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