Donbass militia soldiers blame US, not Ukrainians for Russia-Ukraine conflict

Johnny Miller

Press TV, Donbas

I’m heading with Donbas militia fighters to a frontline position outside the city of Donetsk. Ukrainian soldiers are only 70 meters away. I’m told not to film the skyline or any prominent markers so as not to give away their positions.

The cramped living quarters are dark and dank. A fighter nicknamed Yydra, meaning the Otter, gives me a tour. He shows me a picture sent to him by his daughter. I asked him what motivated him to fight in these conditions for the last eight years.

Another young fighter is barely 18. The grueling nature of this war is bringing a seemingly endless wave of young men on both sides to fight. Thousands won’t return home.

A motivational poster reads, “Donbas was never made to kneel to anybody, And nobody will be able to do it.” While there is raging ethnic hatred against Russians in Ukraine, after interviewing countless soldiers and civilians in Donbas, I have yet to hear any ethnic hatred of Ukrainians.

There are without a doubt many Ukrainians who want peace negotiations with Russia, but are scared to speak up. Indeed, President Volodymyr Zelensky was elected in 2019 on a promise to end the eight years of war here. But the sad truth is that with the conflict set to escalate further, peace in Ukraine has never looked less likely than it does now.

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