Kiev says Russian intelligence tried to kill 30 people...

On May 29, police in Kiev reported the murder of the Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko. A day later, however, Babchenko appeared at a press conference held by Ukraine’s National Security Service, revealing that his death had been staged to flush out the man allegedly recruited by Russian intelligence to organize his killing. There are still a lot of unanswered questions about this enormously convoluted story. ...

Meduza is an “independent” Russian news source...not pro-Kremlin like the others...

The whole Babchenko debacle is just that. A debacle.

It’s atrocious and mind boggling really, when one considers how many journalists, dissenters, and whistleblowers the Kremlin has *actually* had murdered or sent into exile in recent years. Yet, the international community has turned a blind eye and has instead rewarded Russia with things like World Cup hosting privileges.

Ukraine is not in the greatest shape, but at least at the beginning stages of assembling some form of a sovereign government divorced from Putin’s Stalinist 2.0 stranglehold. Don’t think this Babchenko debacle will help them any, but I need to learn more.

Today Ukraine is a corrupt, failing, puppet regime run by fascists....in another decade its doubtful the country as it currently stands will even exist.

In the short term you are right and if Hllary, Soros, and co. had won the US presidency you would have been right.

But few reasons why you're wrong: Trump is now President alongside Sec Mike Pompeo (who is very anti-Putin/pro-Ukraine) and Trump admin has already strengthened and boosted tbe morale of the anti-Putin forces in places like Poland and the Baltic states. (Poland has even offered to pay $2 billion for a permanent US base.)

Israel now has a reliable friend again in America and therefore a buffer against Putin, Assad, and Iran's whims in the Middle East.

And finally in case you haven't heard ARMENIA has bloodlessly ousted its pro-Kremlin govt and is now on a slow, but sure pro-Westward trajectory.

It is the Putin regime that should be worried. Existential threats abound especially within Russia...but are quiet for now.

As someone who has extensive knowledge of and personal experience living and working throughout the Ukraine, especially in the capital of Ukraine (I lived in the center of down town Kiev, 1/4 block off of Krischatic Street where these events took place) for well over a decade what you have posted concerning the actual events is utter BS, and an intentional, fictitious rewriting of history.

"President" Yanukovich is a known Russian, thug mobster who poisoned his opposing candidate Yuschenko during his first attempted run and with the help of Kuchma's administration tried to steal the rigged presidential election.

He is a twice convicted felon who betrayed Ukraine, his presidential oath of office, and promise to continue to move Ukraine to have closer ties with the West and instead, with the help of his corrupt cronies in The Rada (who were later proven to be "on the take") the Ukrainian parliament, they voted to reject the West and have binding ties with Russia, which was totally rejected by the overwhelming majority of people in Ukraine.

Massive, peaceful protests spontaneously broke out all over the country to legally overturn this disastrous decision. The protest was especially centered in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.

Because of Russia's, consistent, historic mistreatment, the free and independent country of Ukraine and the Ukrainians never want to be controlled by or subjugated to Russia ever again and rightly viewed this unprecedented move and new "law" as a direct threat to Ukraine's future and national sovereignty.

The protests in Kiev remained peaceful for weeks and grew to almost two million people in Kiev alone. It wasn't until Yanukovich, with the help of his personal cadr'e of paid thugs and Putin's "little green men" began violently attacking, shooting and killing peaceful protestor that thinges turned violent and only then did the protesters resort to violence in kind just to defend themselves from their government attackers.

Fortunately the police and army sided with Ukraine remaining free and independent of Russian influence and control and Yanukovich ultimately fled the country.

After he fled, the authorities learned that "president" Yanukovich had been systematically robbing the country blind and had personally robbed the Ukraine's state coffers by over 70 BILLION DOLLARS, bankrupting the country just for starters.

Yanukovich saw the hand writing on the wall and fled the country to his Russian masters in the middle of the night by helicopter. One of the first things this evil, corrupt man did with his stolen BILLIONS was to buy a FIFTY MILLION DOLLAR MANSION in Russia.

The truth of the peaceful protests that lasted for weeks, the governmental violence and the aftermath is clearly and honestly chronicled in the award winning doccumentary film "Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom". Here's a link to the entire movie:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9OeBMFYBMNI

There is no disputing President Yanukovich was democratically elected in 2010 with international observers certifying the process.

There is also really no question that Yanukovich was unconstitutionally driven from office by a violent movement organized/funded by Western neo-liberals for the simple reason that the opposition in Ukraine was divided into three competing factions and Yanukovich was on course to win reelection as a result.

Yanukovich may have been corrupt, but no more so than his any of his predecessors since Ukraine exercised its own right to self determination in 1991. Ukraine is/was/and shall always be corrupt...it is a part of the national identity.

Nothing Yanukovich or his “cronies” in parliament did with regard to trade policy was illegal or unconstitutional, and there is no legal or constitutional precedent in law that would enable popular protests to overrule the decisions of lawmakers.

That the protests turned violent and eventually drove Yanukovich from office in fear of his life are exhibit A against the notion that the mob in Kiev were pursuing a legal or constitutional course of action. The simple fact is that the street actions were run by a small group of hard core fascists with Western neo-liberals behind the scenes pulling strings.

So spare me your democratic fantasies comrade...modern Ukraine is a fascist failed state destined once again for the scrap bin of history.

You are spouting the usual Russian propaganda lies concerning what took place. Nor have you refuted any of the facts chronicled within the critically acclaimed documentary I mentioned or the multitudes of international press who were there that also faithfully chronicled the events.

I dare say you've never spent any length of time living and working throughout Ukraine; especially in the political epicenter, downtown Kiev the capital.

You don't know the Ukrainian people, or the overwhelming majority who want absolutely nothing to do with Russia and who do not want to be aligned with Russia or to serve as Putin's puppet state. Their visceral reaction is a direct result of the terror Ukraine and Ukrainians directly suffered for over 70 years at the hands of the Russians.

*In well over a decade of teaching on the graduate and undergraduate level and traveling extensively throughout the country I never met one person who had not had at least one family member, relative or friend starved to death, tortured, murdered, permanently "disappeared", sent to Siberia or to the multitude of hard labor gulags, many never to be heard from again, all at the hands of their Russian oppressor overlords, not one!

Nor did you provide any concrete evidence to deny the fact that Russia's corrupt, stooge "president" Yanukovich systematically robbed and stole over 70 BILLION DOLLARS from Ukraine effectively bankrupting the nation. And once he fled to Russia he spent 50 million dollars of that money to buy himself a mansion there where he continues living a life of unbridled luxury at the expense of the Ukraine, while leaving his people and nation to endure hardship and economic collapse as a direct result of his immeasurable greed.

Yeah, Yanukovich, the Russian, felon, mobster/"democratically elected 'president'" really had Ukrainians and Ukraine's best interest at heart as he used his presidential position to systematically financially rape the Ukraine and worked to turn it into a Russian satellite puppet state.

But that doesn't matter, is being protected from extradition, prosecution, conviction and imprisonment for the rest of his life by Putin and the Russian government.

I have personal long term "in country" experience since the beginning of the very early 90's and your lame excuse that "everyone is corrupt" is patently false. I know hundreds, upon hundreds of honorable Ukrainians, some in government.

Prime example: President Yuschenko, who went to great lengths to root out government corruption started his rule by firing and replacing all of the corrupt police.

*While he accomplished a lot, he was intentionally prevented from doing more because the corrupt former president Kuchma, along with Yanukovich and their personal lackeys in the Rada voted to greatly reduce the president's constitutional independent powers after Yuchenko was elected in the weeks before he took office in order to politically tie his hands.

I also challenge you to provide any proof whatsoever that the Baptist pastor who was voted in and selflessly served as interim president until new free and fair elections could be implemented was "a Nazi", or is corrupt. I know from personal experience that he is an honorable man and his reputation is impeccable.

Like I said, if you want to know the truth about what happened watch the documentary.

Prime example: President Yuschenko, who went to great lengths to root out government corruption started his rule by firing and replacing all of the corrupt police.

Ah yes, Victor Yushchenko...the original Soros puppet...what a reformer.

Got accused of corruption by his PM Yulia Tymoshenko in 2005, so he fired her and the rest of the government.

Then he replaced her with... Victor Yanukovich of all people.

Popular guy too...Yushchenko holds the record for getting the smallest percentage of votes of any sitting President in an election.

He supported Yanukovich in the 2010 runoff if memory serves correctly.

Lol...he's your white hat reformer?

Seems more like a constitutional manipulator and corruption enabler to me.

IOW just like all the other leaders of Ukraine.

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