'We don't matter': Fuming at Kyiv under Russian bombs

France 24 ^

[FarCenter]

Novomykolaivka (Ukraine) (AFP) – The pudgy Ukrainian policeman taking pasta and bread to villagers trapped under bombs on the eastern front sometimes feels like he is entering enemy territory.

Vladyslav Kopatskiy pulls the groceries from the back of his car and casts a quick glance at the horizon for signs of smoke from incoming Russian shells.

He then enters homes where his humanitarian mission is often greeted with misgivings -- or worse.

Many residents of this frontline village of Novomykolaivka and other areas of Ukraine's war-torn east are believed to back the Russians.

And others who were brought up with Soviet propaganda -- often older people -- simply have a deeply-engrained mistrust of any Ukrainian in authority, which can be particularly dangerous in places near the front.

The 24-year-old lists cases of locals arrested on suspicion of giving away coordinates of Ukrainian missile systems and rear bases that then come under Russian attack.

"Unfortunately, this happens," he said after coming out of a hut where a family has spent the past three days hiding in a makeshift cellar from Russian shellfire and bombing raids.

"We try to talk to them, explain things to them, but people who have a Soviet upbringing are not easy to convince. They have one point of view and they stick to it."

That view -- instilled through Kremlin propaganda that portrays Ukrainians as neo-Nazis who take orders from Washington -- makes Kopatskiy into a potential target in such frontline villages.

[montag813]

Funny how we never hear interviews with “war torn” people in Yemen or Ethiopia.

[Chad_the_Impaler]

Maybe we hear about them, but choose not to read them.

[moovova]

Apparently, he’s not impressed with Brandon’s $40 billion gift.

[Mashood]

The 40 Billion in the Taxpayer Soros Bailout Act should help.