Thread by @ahatanhel

Alexander Khodakovsky, the pro-Russian Donetsk commander, admitted that Ukraine prepared for a defensive war, while they were preparing for an offensive one. So he refuted the RU myth that the invasion was a reaction to Kyiv's alleged preparations for an attack on Donetsk
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Quote: "Ukraine, assuming a clash with Russia and realizing the difference in potentials, was preparing for a defensive war. Among the many documents that fell into our hands and determined the tactics of Ukraine's actions…

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…there was not a single one that would regulate actions in the offensive - only in defense. Under this task was built an intelligent system that had more than one echelon of defense and good engineering support, and overcoming this, we suffered losses…

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…Our toggle switch continues to remain in the “offensive” position, and the measures necessary for deep defense are practically not being taken. Indeed, why "concrete" if tomorrow we will attack again? But in practice it turned out that it would not be superfluous."

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Source - t.me/aleksandr_skif…

So even pro-Russian military commanders already admit that it was a Kremlin lie, but some Western tankies are still repeating it.

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Until 2014, Khodakovsky was the commander of the special unit of Security Service of Ukraine in Donetsk. But when the war in Donbas began, he switched to the Russian side.

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At that time a large part of the police was enraged by the victory of the Maidan, so the most pro-Russian among them joined the separatists.

Many Russian far-rights also joined them.

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One of the leaders of Russian far-right nationalists, Dmitry Demushkin, said in an interview last year that in February 2014, even before the start of the war, the then Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Rogozin offered him to become the mayor of one of the Donbas cities.

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Demushkin: unian.net/war/rogozin-za…

When the war started in April 2014, only a minority in Donbas wanted to join Russia. But at the same time, about 70% in Donbas considered the post-Maidan government illegal. Russia and the separatists took advantage of this power vacuum.

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kiis.com.ua/?lang=eng&cat=…

As a result, they turned the Russia-controlled part of Donbas into a zone of lawlessness and decline.

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jacobin.com/2022/03/donbas…

Millions of residents left. In combination with the unfair policy of the Ukrainian government towards those who remained, this led to the fact that the majority of residents of this part of Donbas began to support joining Russia.

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On the other hand, in the Ukraine-controlled part of Donbas, the mood changed in the opposite direction.
In autumn 2020, the majority in these territories believed that the separatist regions should return to Ukraine without any autonomy.

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washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/…

This part of Donbas has been developing in recent years, especially Mariupol. And it was these cities that the Russian army destroyed the most.
Khodakovsky also took part in the siege of Mariupol.

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When Zelensky won the 2019 election with a peaceful program, I was skeptical about the chances of a quick resolution to the conflict. But I hoped that at least it would be possible to stop the hostilities. I hoped that this would give a chance for gradual progress on this matter.

The policy towards the residents of Donbas has indeed become fairer. And in the summer of 2020, it was finally possible to stop hostilities. But then the Kremlin showed that they do not need peace without the subjugation of Ukraine.

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P.S. For those who want to write about civilian casualties in Donbas, here is a good article by @mkaradjis

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mkaradjis.com/2022/06/16/on-…

And here is my short thread

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https://twitter.com/ahatanhel/status/1573232805949087746

And for those who want to write "what about NATO", here is my other thread.

https://twitter.com/ahatanhel/status/1570416670136750088

Forgot to add. There is a simple mathematical proof that the results of separatist referendums and elections in Donbas in 2014 were not even falsified but simply invented. They first came up with percentages, and then calculated the number of voters from it.

The author of the analysis is a Russian emigrant
web.archive.org/web/2014110511…

In the case of the referendums they are holding now, they are making even less effort to create the appearance of some legitimacy