If there's to be peace in Ukraine. They will have to give up territory. So what do people living in these regions actually want?

A thread of my interviews.

Donetsk. Ukraine has bombed so much over the years. There's no going back. Mariupol. A city half destroyed. But rebuilding is impressive. Most people just want o get on with their lives.

Great to hang out with my dear friend Alina Lipp in Donestk. She’s facing three years jail in Germany for her reporting in Donbass. Here’s why her story is important for the future of Europe. Germany has effectively criminalised even talking about peace. 🧵 I’ve seen her court order. She’s facing imprisonment because she broadcast that Ukraine has been killing people in Donbass for 8 years. And that the majority of people in the region support Russia. These are both incontrovertible facts.

Five years ago I was in Palmyra. The Syrian army were fighting ISIS a couple of kms out of town. I interviewed a well known Syrian general. When we finished he ushered in an aid to bring a bottle of whiskey. We then headed to the front… 🧵 Russian jets screamed above as we passed the artillery lines on the desert road. When we arrived, we peered with the General over a defensive sandbank. Incoming fire made us retreat to a command tent…

While pro-Ukr civilians flee West, those who remain are seen as pro-Rus by Ukr soldiers. In the lawless, vengeful hellscape of frontline combat, it can mean death. Especially with the many extremists in Ukrainian ranks. A thread on the killing of civilians by Ukraine. “They cannot be called people. They are killers.”

At a press conference in Donbass this week, Anna gives a chilling account of her last days in Bakhmut.

“I lived quite well during Ukrainian rule and I live well now.”

As fiercely pro Rus or pro Ukr voices dominate debate, outside distinctly pro Russian cities like Donetsk and Mariupol, this young man’s perspective may even be the most prominent in the ‘four regions.’ I interviewed him in Volnovakha. An hours drive south from Donestk toward Mariupol. There are a lot of Russian soldiers on the streets as one of their defensive lines is not far to the north.

I went to Mariupol a couple of days ago. It was a surreal experience. From whole neighbourhoods resembling post apocalyptic wastelands, a year ago, to renewal… “Do people here want to be liberated by Ukraine?”

“What? War and Nazism again?”

A few interviews. Great when people break into song mid interview… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

“The whole world is under threat. It’s World War Three and we should all realise that.” A soldier at the front in Donbass. Our interview was cut short as an RPG hit our position. A thread on the people I’ve met on the Russian side of the Ukraine war. To understand a conflict it’s essential to cover both sides. To my knowledge only Al Jazeera Arabic has had regular correspondents in Kiev AND Donetsk.

For those who only get the ukr voice, here is the Donetsk perspective.

A Babushka at an aid drop near the frontline…

So how do people in moscow feel about the war? Like anywhere it is a diverse society full of different opinions. Many are against it. One taxi driver told me he wanted to protest but feared arrest. And of course 100 000’s fled the country in fear of mobilisation. There is also widespread support. Another taxi driver, bombastically predicted to me Ukraine’s imminent defeat. And the young woman who approached me and German journalist Alina Lipp on the street and wanted a selfie. “I appreciate the work you guys are doing in Donbass so much.”

Been mostly off Twitter for a while trying to manage PTSD and get some sleep. Thought I’d write a thread about dealing it. This war will cause so much enduring horror to so many… be kind to those who come back from war… it can make all the difference… There’s the low level. The jumping at loud sounds, the subconscious checking for landmines when walking through peaceful summer parks. Then there’s the nightmares, the inability to sleep. And another level, which thankfully I haven’t got to, mainly reserved for combat soldiers.

When I went to Severodonetsk in July just after it had been taken by Russia, my first thought was that no one would live here again. Much of it resembled an apocalyptic wasteland. I travelled there again this week, and it’s slowly coming back to life… 🧵 80% of the buildings have been damaged. But locals told me that water, gas and electricity is now running. Even central heating in some places. Around 25 000 live there now. Up from 8000 who remained during the fighting. Pre war, 100 000 plus. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

I was at a cafe today, trying to take the day off. Three men next to me were playing cards. The young waitresses were laughing with their friends at the counter. Then the booms, the building shakes and the windows shatter. A thread on working under terror bombing in Donestk… Panic as everyone hits the ground or runs down to the basement. Two missiles landed 20 meters either side of the cafe. I know this area well. There are no military targets here. If it happened an hour earlier, I’d be dead. So could the teenagers laughing at the counter be…

Had dinner last night in moscow with a ‘communist leaning, Russian establishment analyst.’ Said some interesting things… “Putinism is essentially conservative socialism. Promoting traditional values with leftist economic policies.” He said he would go down in history as when he came to power, Russia was on the verge of collapse.

How do Jews in Donetsk feel about many Ukrainian soldiers wearing Nazi affiliated symbols? Today I spoke to Anya, a Donbass Jew. “We were all shocked that European governments supported them,” she says. “When the Soviet Union collapsed, we thought we would be friends… but we grew to understand, they would do anything that was profitable for them, whitewash Nazi crimes, anything!”

This summer, three Ukrainian missiles landed ten meters outside my front door. My old area was hit again today. Here’s an interview I did with a local lady; a stand up I recorded at the time but for obvs reasons didn’t broadcast; and a thread, on Europe’s biggest cover up…? twitter.com/i/web/status/1… This lovely woman also gives a concise explanation of how this conflict began as a civil war. And of how the vast majority, feel in Donetsk. A keen eye will notice the shrapnel marks on the car as she walks off. That’s what does the killing.

"The Pentagon is very concerned that the Ukrainians are firing at an exorbitant rate… based on the false assumption that ammunition supplies in the West are unlimited.” US DoD. Here are my eyewitness accounts on whether this is true… Ukraine fires dozens of shells everyday into random civilian areas of Donbass. No military targets. Most land and do minor damage. Some kill civilians. Here’s my eyewitness accounts from yesterday. One hit the cafe I was in. What is the use of this? twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

As a British journalist, it’s hard to get frontline access with the Russian army. But it’s possible with some Donbass militias. Our position was hit by an RPG yesterday. Ukr only 100 meters away. Here’s a window into what it’s like on the Russian side, outskirts of Donetsk… The most shocking aspect of my experience was that many soldiers told me they felt they were fighting in the opening stages of WWIII. NATO vs China/Russia/Iran.

This 15 year old girl I spoke to in Melitopol asks NATO to leave them in peace so children and parents don’t have to go to war. These interviews are being censored by the media. European people are not being told the whole truth! We need to realise, there IS a peace to be had. That vast areas of the east and the south no longer want to be part of Ukraine.

This is how I explain the 8 year war in Donbass to my British friends. I find it a pretty good analogy. Imagine if an English nationalist gov took power in London. And announced the suppression of Scottish culture…. Like ukr did to its Russian pop in 2014. What would happen? The Scots would take to the streets in protest. And then what if the English Defence League started pulling down Scottish statues with the acquiescence of the government? That’s what happened in Ukraine.

Some MSM reporting on Ukraine bares little relation to reality. This report on Mariupol from a week ago is so bad, I’m sorry, but it needs to be called out. It’s jaw dropping the lies they think they can get away with. I went to Mariupol yesterday to find what it’s really like… Many dozens of apartment blocks will have to be torn down (the process is well underway). And whole neighbourhoods resemble apocalyptic waste lands. But many parts feel like a normal city and are relatively untouched. Life is bustling again in many parts.

Had another chat with Faina Savenkova yesterday. She’s a 14 year old girl living in Donbass who’s on the Ukrainian “hit list” Myrotvorets. She’s not famous, like Greta Thunberg. But she should be. She’s an incredible young woman If you’re not familiar with Myrotvorets it is an online database of “enemies of Ukraine.” It has links with the gov. It publishes the names and addresses of hundreds of children. And marks journalists as liquidated when they are killed.

Met up with my translator, Anna, this morning. “How are you?” I asked.

“Oh,” she sighed. “My local school got bombed last night. About 11 o’clock. Pictures fell off my wall it was so close.”

“Is your daughter ok?” Her two year old was sleeping beside her… “Her body shrieked (convulsed) every time, with the whistles and explosions but she didn’t wake up.”

5 missiles hit the area. There are no military targets nearby.

I can’t get over how f**cking normal conversations like this are in Donestk.