Bezler is a far more interesting character than Girkin. GRU agent living in Horlivka for a decade waiting for shit to hit the fan, becomes respected in the mafia community, captures a police station by walking in and appointing some SHADY dude the new chief, 1/
Had the rare reputation of being kind to POWs even though he mock executed three captives on camera, making it look real, then couple of days later said they're fine lol wanna exchange the boys👉👈
Also kidnapped and killed political opponents and journos 2/
Despises Girkin so much you cant call it a beef, he just sees him as gay crying dumbass. When Girkin fled Sloviansk, Bezler hosted him in Horlivka and as sign of hospitality let Girkin use the sauna to unwind, then called Moscow laughing that Girkin fled Sloviansk to his sauna 3/
One of Girkin's officers overhears this and takes out a grenade, but Bezler's new bride stunlocks him with an AK. Then Girkin walks in, refreshed and ready, wearing new camo fatigues that Bezler gifted him. They are actually his wife's.
4/
Sends a squad to Donetsk to attack the central police station (he had a beef with one of the guys there). His squad captures the building and then gets besieged by Vostok, Oplot and other Donetsk-based groups. 5/
They hold them all off, because Bezler had cultivated the least idiotic and the only competent Russian militia. Hearing of their plight, Bezler sends reinforcements and heavy artillery. No half measures kind of guy. 6/
Vostok commander and essentially reluctant ruler of Donetsk Khodakovsky calls him and tells him to chill the fuck out, they'll give him the dude, call it all off. Bezler calls it off. By that time Russian and Ukrainian media alike are full of headlines about civil war in DPR
7/
Nothing happens to him because everyone realize he's actually insane and become scared of him. Khodakovsky says he wanted to make Horlivka a city-state. Plays a role in MH17 shootdown, in that the BUK had to travel through his turf. Apparently becomes somewhat of a sex pest.
8/
Realizes the state of things (Girkin & co fucked it all up, Moscow will now take over). Peaces out instead of sticking around and getting blown up in an elevator. Is old as fuck now but instead of going to SVO shitshow he jumps with parachutes and a cane, chills on yachts 9/
Several days after he takes over Horlivka, Zelenskyi does a show there. In 2020 Bezler said he regrets not "feeding him lead instead of patties"
Incredibly evil, cunning, psychopathic schemer. Still fascinating to read about. Reminds me of Beria in some ways
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Andrii Romaniuk fought off Yanukovych's police as part of the Maidan self-defence force during the Revolution of Dignity. When, on Feb 20th 2014, the security forces opened fire, he risked his life dragging the wounded to safety.
He was 15.
Right when the bloodshed seemed to stop, Russia and it's proxies invaded. Andrii tried signing up to about 10 different units to fight, but none took him because of his age.
One day, he fled his home again. To his mother's (whom he loved deeply) despair, he was finally accepted.
In March 2015, now 17, he returned home. He fought in the ATO since September. Andrii was rarely ever home for over a year. He was nearly flung out of school, and his mother Olena was fined and nearly lost custody of him because of it.
One of the most revealing tidbits about Girkin's "liberationists":
When his squad crossed the border, Gubarev's guys organised a pick-up - a mail van whose driver wasn't in on the plan. When Girkin learned that, he casually asked: "Is he ours or do we waste him?"
Even Gubarev's guys were shocked by this unceremonious death threat to a random local whom they were supposedly liberating. These fucking idiots really had no idea what sort of hell they had just helped unleash onto their home region.
Later on, when the group was driving to Sloviansk, Girkin's car was randomly stopped by some cop. It is only by miracle that the cop didn't notice the fact that these guys were decked out with assault rifles, because Girkin (again casually) recounts how he was ready to shoot him
𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘀𝗸 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿
Ten years ago.
This is Ruslan 'Baghdad' Borovyk, a paratrooper of the 90th Seperate Air Battalion. In November and December of 2014 he fought as part of the garrison in 'Donetsk Airport.'
Ruslan documented his time there, and his photographs give us a small insight into the unyielding defence of the airport, under constant bombardment in cold collapsing ruins, fighting off unending attacks by Russian paramilitaries and regular Russian army forces.
𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻 𝗸𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀
June-July 2014 (can't remember the date)
According to multiple sources, as his military situation worsened, Girkin turned more and more to religion. This is also when Russian Orthodox Army fighters began arriving in force
It is also around this time that members of the Russian Orthodox Army kidnapped two Deacons of a local Pentecostal church, V. Velychko and V. Bradarskyy as well as their sons 30 year old Ruvim and 24 year old Albert. They were taken to the vicinity of Mt. Karachun and shot.
This crime was only found out about after Girkin's forces fled from Sloviansk on the night of July 4th and bodies of the churchmen were exhumed from the mass grave they were buried in a month prior.
Igor Girkin is a man who rarely needs introduction. The former FSB Colonel would become infamous throughout the world for his command of Russian paramilitaries in Donbas. His destructive activities, however, began earlier than that.
Outside of Ukraine the annexation of Crimea is remembered as a quick event, with Moscow seizing the peninsula in a flash. This paints an incorrect picture. The annexation was a month-long standoff that saw Russia extensively employ collaborationists and non-state actors.
At the helm of the collaborationist effort to enforce Moscow’s rule in Crimea was a man aptly known in mob circles as “The Goblin” - Sergei Aksyonov. Aksyonov's extensive contacts would be instrumental in putting the Crimean underworld, police, and business in line.
Hours after the ceasefire agreement in Minsk, a total of 44 Ukrainian servicemen were ambushed and killed by Russian forces, including the neo-nazi unit “Rusich”, which were flying a Ukrainian flag
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Starting in July, Ukrainian forces were on the offensive throughout the Donbas. Near Luhansk, the besieged Ukrainian garrison at the Luhansk Airport was relieved as Ukrainian forces surrounded the city to the west, north and south.
By the middle of August, Ukrainian forces cut off Luhansk from the “Prizrak” terrorist group to the west in Alchevsk. The garrison in Luhansk itself was tiny and disorganized.
Frustrated Ukrainian soldiers say the city could be taken right now if an order was given.