De ryska påståendena om hundratusentals flyktingar från östra Ukraina är förstås absurda lögner som används för att skapa masshysteri och bygga upp krigshetsen. Även i östra Ukraina finns det motståndare till den ryska aggressionen, men dessa förnuftets röster får dock akta sig för i flock ylande gamla tanter som drömmer om en ny sovjetisk storhetstid, och grupper av Moskvalojala män som misshandlar misstänkta "avvikare".
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d4bee520-a22a-11e3-87f6-00144feab7de.html#axzz2uPrBmoaU
Citat:
In central Kharkiv, Vladimir Lenin looms over the hundreds of protesters who are appealing for Russian help to protect them from the new, pro-western government in Kiev.
The Bolshevik leader’s statue is ringed with fences decorated with pictures of policemen killed in last week’s protests in the Ukrainian capital. Russian and Ukrainian flags flutter in the wind as Soviet military march music booms out over loudspeakers.
“The Russian people are our protectors,” says Natasha Yechkenka, to murmurs of approval from the crowd – most of whom are old enough to remember Soviet rule. “We think it’s a great thing that they’re in Crimea, and now I want the Russian army to come in here to protect us.”
Russian media outlets have reported how eastern Ukraine is in chaos, with thousands – even hundreds of thousands – said to be fleeing over the border seeking refuge from those who toppled Viktor Yanukovich, the former president. If so, there was little evidence of it on Sunday.
At the border, 40km from Kharkiv, there was a handful of cars waiting to be inspected before being allowed to cross the frontier into Russia but otherwise all was quiet.
“There are no refugees – these reports are all nonsense,” said a Ukrainian border guard officer who asked that his name not be used.---
On Saturday, thousands of pro-Russian demonstrators stormed a regional administrative building overlooking the central square, which had been occupied for several days by hundreds of government supporters. The latter were driven from the building and beaten, with some made to kneel before the furious crowd and apologise. Russia’s flag was briefly hung from the building.
Later, crowds of men roamed the streets, beating up people they suspected of supporting the Kiev government, while others blockaded roads leading into the city. “We want to stop the fascists from western Ukraine invading Kharkiv,” said one older man, looking on in approval.
But in Kharkiv, an industrial city of 1.5m – and other Russian-speaking cities in the east and south – opinion is divided. TV reports have even shown crowds protesting against Russian aggression.
“I’m a citizen of Ukraine. If I wanted to be in Russia, I’d move to Russia,” said Andrei Kuznetsov, 28. “I’ve never asked for any intervention in Ukraine – the Russians are just destabilising the situation. This is the same stunt they pulled in Czechoslovakia in 1968.”
He was quickly shouted down by a crowd of older women, yelling that they wanted Russian help and Russian passports.
