Former so-called ‘commander’ of the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ Igor Girkin a.k.a. ‘Strelok’ sometimes comments on the situation in Ukraine and ‘translates’ these events into Moscow’s political language. According to Girkin the situation in Donbas looks like a complete failure of the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

‘Strelok’ underlined that if Russia decided to start a “direct confrontation” with Ukraine a year ago, it would have gotten a lot of drawbacks in economy and politics, but it would have gotten the territory from Kharkiv to Odesa. He believes that such outcomes could have been achieved. Now, he says, such outcomes are impossible. Girkin admits that today a plan of occupation of Ukraine lacks understanding of the realty, and the drawbacks of the military campaign are only increasing with time. Russia, as a result, will not get what it might have achieved.

Now he admits that the number of Ukrainian Armed Forces exceeds a potential of the mock republics, strengthened with the Russian military contingent. That is why he does not believe in the victory of the mercenaries. In his interview to ‘Kolokol Rossii’ while asked what is his attitude towards the leaders of Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics Igor Girkin said:

“A lot of things they do are not their own will, but orders which were given to them from ‘from the Staraya Square’. All talks about the independence Mr. Zakharchenko and Mr. Plotnitski are fairy tales for children of elementary-school age. That is why a lot of what they do is not done on their own initiative and they are not the ones to be blamed. They were chosen on purpose, since they are the people who can sell themselves for power and comfort living. That is why I dislike them. Mr. Mozgovoy was the last decent person there, but he was killed. He was not a politician, he was a commander. I cannot see any people there now, who would meet my criteria of decency.”

Igor Girkin expressed an opinion that a social revolt and uprising is quite possible in Russia. Concerning the revolution in Ukraine he gave rather unusual feedback, saying that ‘people simply wanted to live a worthy life’:

“What happened in Kyiv during the so-called “Revolution of Dignity”? That was a harmonic combination of the palace coup d’état and mass release of the social tension which was artificially stimulated. It is true that Mr. Yanukovych was hated by everyone. And I believe that he completely deserved it. Nobody liked him! By the way, I was surprised with all the pride they showed in our documentary about Crimea how this creature was saved on a personal order from Putin. It is woesome, completely squalid creature, which caused a civil war and disintegration of his country with all his corruption.”

People in Ukraine are really tired of all that oligarchic and gangster chaos which was going on for more than 20 years. People wanted social justice and European ideas. In reality, this is an idea of the social justice but a little bit masked. People saw Europe as a social paradise, where the law works, where social guarantees work, where people can live a worthy life. This all was offered to them as an imitation of a social justice and the premise that Yanukovych and his oligarchs were responsible for people’s problems. Of course, this all was sponsored by other oligarchs. They came to power as a result of the “Revolution of Dignity”, people changed six of one for the half of the dozen of the other. But the fact of social discontent did not disappear.”

Original article by InformNapalm, translated by Maksym Sviezhentsev