This is a fairly long letter, but I hope you will be able to read the whole thing, since it contains information that you may not otherwise encounter, and I think it's important to have all the facts before there is a chance of making the right decision. And some of your upcoming decisions regarding the sending of 'lethal aid' to Ukraine could be very important. A lot of people seem to have the idea, at least unconsciously, that Russia and the former Soviet Union are one-in-the same. They also seem to have the strange idea that Ukraine is not related to the Soviet Union or was an involuntary member, like the Warsaw pact states. This is a very interesting perspective, especially considering the fact that the Soviet Union was dominated by Ukrainian leadership. (https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/how-ukrainian-origin-leaders-dominated-the-soviet-union-53 932) Brezhnev, who ruled the Soviet Union for 18 years, was born and raised in Ukraine. He was the leader of the Soviet Union during its invasion of Czechoslovakia, and while in office, he appointed many Ukrainians to important government posts in the KGB and defense ministry. Khrushchev, who led the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis, was born in Russia, very close to the Ukrainian border. He grew up in Ukraine, and became local head of the Ukrainian state before taking over as leader of the Soviet Union after Stalin. While Khrushchev was ethnically Russian, you could say that he 'identified' as a Ukrainian. Khrushchev encouraged Ukrainian nationalism, built-up and beautified Kiev, and was the guy who took Crimea from the Russian RSFSR and transferred it to the Ukrainian SSR, an act that is having repercussions today. Can you imagine if the president of the USA took some land from California and gave it to Nevada? If such a thing were even possible, it would certainly negate any claim that California rules over the other 49 US states. So why is it that Ukraine is seen as some unwilling victim of the former USSR, rather than a dominant force that rivaled, or even surpassed, Russia? Likely, it's for superficial reasons. Russia was the most populous state in the USSR, and also the location of its capital, Moscow. And when the USSR broke apart, Russia naturally had to be the last to leave, since Moscow (Russia's capital) was the very core of the Union, just as Washington DC would have to be the last political body to leave the United States, if the USA ever broke up. And finally, Russia took over many of the rights and obligations of the former Soviet Union, including its nuclear stockpile and treaties. Another thing that is often brought up to 'prove' Ukraine's victimhood and innocence is the Ukrainian portion of the Soviet Famine of 1930-1933, known as the Holodomor, which took place at the same time as 'The Great Depression' in the USA, a period of worldwide economic atrophy. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor) This Holodomor, which took place under the leadership of Stalin (who was not Russian, but Georgian) was not perpetrated against Ukrainians by Russians. Instead, it was perpetrated by communist leaders against rich landowners, to force compliance with communist policies like collectivization of agriculture. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_famine_of_1930%E2%80%931933) And it was exacerbated by Stalin's rapid industrialization of the Soviet Union, which led to a sudden decrease in food production. All-in-all, many Ukrainians, Russians, and other citizens of the Soviet Union became victims of their communist dictators. And many more citizens, both Ukrainian and Russian, supported these leaders and their communists policies. The Soviet Union wasn't about Russians destroying non-Russians. It was about communists destroying capitalists. And by the way, Stalin's Ukrainian lieutenant, who oversaw the Holodomor, was a Ukrainian Jew named Lazar Kaganovich. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazar_Kaganovich) (This might be useful information for those of us who can't comprehend the possibility that Zelinskyy could be associated with torturers and murderers, due to his ethnicity. In actuality, torturers and murderers are represented by every ethnicity.) But the fact is, Russia is not the Soviet Union. Russia is not a communist dictatorship, but a free market economy with democratic elections. And yes, I know that Russia's rivals say their elections are rigged and Putin locks up or kills his opponents, but some people say the same thing about elections in the USA. In terms of locking up political opponents, there are plenty of people in the USA who are working on Trump at this very moment. Whether you're OK with that or not, there is a comparison to be made. And in terms of Putin killing political opponents, that is debatable. Not to mention that Russia might not have the same influence as the USA, in terms of forcing Britain to turn over political enemies like Julian Assange. (And I won't even mention Osama BinLaden, Saddam Hussein, or Gaddafi. Sure, we call them 'bad guys', but we might not know about every bad thing Litvinenko did, besides committing treason, an act that has historically been punishable by death.) As far as Ukraine goes, this pinnacle of democracy makes both Russia and the USA look very good in terms of political freedom and fairness. Zelinskyy was banning political parties, imprisoning political opponents like Medvedchuk, shutting down independent media, and intimidating/imprisoning critical journalists long before the 2022 invasion. (https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/independent-ukraines-free-speech-gains-are- under-threat/) One of the political parties banned by Zelinskyy had 44 seats in the 450 seat parliament, over 10%. (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/20/ukraine-suspends-11-political-parties-with-link s-to-russia) So much for democracy. In just a few years, Zelinskyy has restricted freedom in Ukraine more than Putin has in Russia over decades. Ukraine also has serious problems with vote-buying and human trafficking. (https://freedomhouse.org/country/ukraine/freedom-world/2021) Ukraine is no democracy, and has long been considered one of the most corrupt countries in the world. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Ukraine, https://news.gallup.com/poll/247976/world-low-ukrainians-confident-government.aspx) Unfortunately, Ukraine has much larger issues than corruption. The 2019 Ukraine Human Rights Report compiled by the United States Department of State found that Ukraine's government and Security Forces (SBU) committed significant human rights abuses, including "unlawful or arbitrary killings; torture and other abuse of detainees by law enforcement personnel; harsh and life threatening conditions in prisons and detention centers; arbitrary arrest and detention; substantial problems with the independence of the judiciary; restrictions on freedom of expression, the press, and the internet, including violence against journalists, censorship, and blocking of websites; refoulement; widespread government corruption; and crimes involving violence or threat of violence targeting persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons." The report also noted that "The government generally failed to take adequate steps to prosecute or punish most officials who committed abuses, resulting in a climate of impunity. Human rights groups and the United Nations noted significant deficiencies in investigations into alleged human rights abuses committed by government security forces." (https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/UKRAINE-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT .pdf) Kateryna Handziuk, an investigative journalist who participated in the Euromaidan protests, died in late 2018, months after having a liter of concentrated sulfuric acid poured over her head. Police initially tried to pin the crime on an innocent man, until Kateryna and her supporters were able to prove this man's alibi. Eventually, the culprits were caught. They were five members of a volunteer battalion who had fought against the rebels in Donbas. It is believed the men were paid to commit the act by Andriy Gordeev, who was the governor of the Kherson oblast at the time of the murder. The men were told that Kateryna was pro-Russian, which wasn't true, by the way. For the murder, the men were given prison sentences ranging from 3-6 years each. (https://www.eu-ocs.com/one-year-after-her-death-the-question-remains-who-killed-kateryna-ha ndziuk/) This validates much of what Putin has been saying, regarding his reasons for invading Ukraine. There ARE violent nationalists in Ukraine's armed forces, who are willing to commit brutal murders and tortures against civilians with pro-Russian political preferences. Furthermore, these violent nationalists are in close contact with some of the highest levels of Ukraine's government. And if the lazy police work and light sentences are any indication, these crimes against humanity are endorsed by Ukraine's government, courts, and police. And please note that all my sources throughout this letter are taken from western media (unless otherwise noted), and therefore cannot be dismissed as Russian propaganda. This particular story was written by the European Observatory of Crimes and Security. I've also read that the guy who masterminded the attack, Serhiy Torbin, was released early from prison and armed by the Ukrainian government, in order to fight the Russian invasion. I haven't been able to confirm this information from western sources, since none of the names of released criminals have been revealed in western media, as far as I can tell. However, Ukraine has admitted to releasing and arming criminals with combat experience. (https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-releases-prisoners-combat-experience-war-russia-volodym yr-zelensky-1683175) Does this seem like a good practice? Could these criminals endanger Ukrainian civilians, or leave the combat zone and cause suffering elsewhere? Which is more dangerous... violent criminals who maim and torture civilians to death with acid, or the country that invaded Crimea with few to no casualties? And does the release of these people not further signify the Ukrainian government's endorsement of their behavior? Putin has claimed that there are Nazis in Ukraine. In order to investigate this claim thoroughly, we first have to figure out what a Nazi is. In the USA and other western countries, a Nazi is defined as someone who hates Jews. While there is some truth to this, NAZI is actually a German acronym for a historical political party named after and chacterized by National Socialist ideology. The important issue is not the 'socialist' part of Nazism, but the nationalist portion. A nationalist is someone who thinks that their country belongs to one nationality, and that other nationalities should either be a sub-class, or better yet, removed from the country via deportation or death. Hence, the German Nazis wanted to get rid of Jews, the largest and most powerful non-national (non-German) group within Germany, and they ultimately chose to use death camps for that purpose. A Ukrainian nationalist, however, might instead decide that removing or killing Russians should be the main priority, since it is Russians, rather than Jews, who are the largest and most powerful non-national (non-Ukrainian) group in Ukraine. This might be why Russia, and not Israel, has taken it upon themselves to do something about these alleged Ukrainian nationalists, or Nazis. However, it should be noted that, although these alleged Ukrainian nationalists are targeting Russians especially, there is some indication that, like the party that inspired them, these Ukrainian nationalists are not especially fond of Jews. First, there is the 2019 language law, passed by Ukraine's government, that prohibits non-EU languages from being spoken in public. This law specifically mentions Yiddish as a non-EU language, which is interesting, since Yiddish contains many words from European languages, and in addition, it seems to be spoken by a very small percentage (less than 1%) of Ukrainians, which precludes the necessity of even bringing it up. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Ukraine) As you may know, Yiddish is a language spoken by Jews. (https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=CDL-AD(2019)032-e see page 10 [item 39] and page 6 [item 24]) If you watch the French documentary 'Masks of Revolution' (www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfD_CaSIxmQ&t=737s), you will see evidence of Nazi symbolism and phrases used by these nationalist groups, including the phrase "Heil Hitler", spoken at around the 12:17-12:46 mark. I should also mention the other reason why Russians and Nazis are natural enemies, somewhat independent of any reasons relating to Jews. Because of Hitler's ideas about racial purity and Aryan superiority, Hitler saw the Russians as inferior, due to their time under the Mongolian Empire. Hitler considered the Russians to be 'contaminated' by Mongolian genes. He also believed that the Germans, being the superior race, needed more land to expand their population. Since he saw western Europeans as more Aryan than eastern Europeans, he decided that Germany should expand eastward, and the inferior Russians should be wiped out to make lebensraum (living room) for the German people. In other words, the Jews were not the only ones needing to be ethnically cleansed. Adding to his hatred of Russians was Hitler's opposition to communism. Hitler believed communism was created by Jews (like Karl Marx and the mostly-Jewish Bolsheviks who created the Soviet Union) as a tool to enslave non-Jews. And being that Moscow (Russia's capital) was the center of power of the communist Soviet Union, this gave him an additional reason to hate Russians. There are numerous nationalistic groups in Ukraine that enjoy both military and political power. First, there is Svoboda, an ultranationalist political party that played a dominant role in the Euromaiden protests and overthrow of Yanukovich. Svoboda and its leader, Oleh Tyahnybok, are admirers of Stepan Bandera and the OUN-B/UPA, who fought with the Nazis in WWII and were responsible for the 1943-1945 ethnic cleansings in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, which saw 50,000 to 100,000 Poles of all ages tortured to death. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svoboda_(political_party), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleh_Tyahnybok, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Bandera, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_Ukrainian_Nationalists, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Insurgent_Army, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacres_of_Poles_in_Volhynia_and_Eastern_Galicia) Svoboda has significant representation and political support in western Ukrainian parliament and regional government. (https://www.civic-nation.org/ukraine/society/radical_right-wing_political_parties_and_groups/) According to a quick google search, Svoboda has a membership of about 15,000. Next, there is Right Sector, another political party having a paramilitary wing, called Ukrainian Volunteer Corps. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Volunteer_Corps) Like Svoboda, Right Sector bases its ideology on the untranationalistic views of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), the historical party I mentioned earlier, which fought with the Nazis and engaged in torture and murder of Poles. (https://www.refworld.org/docid/57b6d7424.html) Right Sector was reported to have a membership of about 10,000 at the time of its founding, and its paramilitary unit numbers about 5,000. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_Sector) Right Sector has engaged in many violent acts in Ukraine, including the 2014 attack in Odessa, in which at least 46 pro-Russian civilians were killed and 230 injured in an attack at the Trade Union building involving guns and Molotov cocktails. You can watch footage of this attack on the previously mentioned French documentary 'Masks of Revolution', starting at about the 29:20 mark: https://youtu.be/KfD_CaSIxmQ?t=1759 . And at 35:37, you can hear a man shouting that brainwashed, obsessive, nationalistic slogan seen and heard everywhere since the war in Ukraine started, and popularized by Stepan Bandera and the OUN, which is remnicent of the phrase 'Allahu Akbar', shouted by Islamic militants while committing terrorist attacks. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slava_Ukraini#:~:text=Ukrainian%20War%20of%20Independence %20and%20World%20War%20II,-Records%20of%20the&text=The%20phrase%20%22Slava% 20Ukraini!%22,Ukrainian%20nationalists%20in%20the%201920s.) You can also see people jumping out of the burning building, just as they did during the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, at about 35:52 (https://youtu.be/KfD_CaSIxmQ?t=2152). The killings were never investigated or prosecuted, just like many attacks perpetrated by nationalist groups against civilians with alleged pro-Russian political views. Western governments seem to have accepted this mass-murder of civilians as appropriate, democratic, and justified. Anther nationalistic group is the paramilitary UNSO wing of the former Ukrainian National Assembly, whose political faction merged with Right Sector. The UNSO has sent its fighters to multiple international wars, especially those involving Russia, and always fighting with Russia's opposition. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_National_Assembly_%E2%80%93_Ukrainian_People% 27s_Self-Defence) I don't want to name every one of the multitude of nationalistic political and armed paramilitary groups in Ukraine. There are at least 59, supported by 20-30% of the population. (https://www.civic-nation.org/ukraine/society/radical_right-wing_political_parties_and_groups/) But I must at least name the paramilitary battalions Donbas Battalion, Aidar Battalion, and the more famous Azov Battalion. The Azov Battalion must be discussed more thoroughly, since it has been officially incorporated into a unit of Ukraine's National Guard on the advice of the US Pentagon and General McChrystal (https://youtu.be/KfD_CaSIxmQ?t=3062). He seems to think that bringing Azov into the government and providing training and better weapons will prevent them from becoming the next Al Qaeda. Interesting theory. The Azov Batallion is controversial due to war crimes and torture committed by its members, as well as its use of Nazi symbols and ideology. Its logo is very similar to the Wolfsangel, used by the Nazis. (see 18:52-19:00 https://youtu.be/KfD_CaSIxmQ?t=1119) It is reported that 10-20% of its members openly consider themselves Nazis. According to a former commander of Azov Batallion, 60% of members are Nazis, but they manipulate data to hide that fact. (see 20:00 mark: https://youtu.be/KfD_CaSIxmQ?t=1201) You can see Azov Batallion members training for battle while obsessively and repeatedly shouting that slogan I mentioned earlier, 'Slava Ukraini' at about 19:10 (https://youtu.be/KfD_CaSIxmQ?t=1149) In 2015, the US House of Representatives attempted to withdraw training and funding of the Azov Batallion due to its neo-Nazi background, but they were overruled by the Pentagon, who instead decided they would be one of the first groups to receive weapons and training. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion) According to an article by Al Jazeera, a non-western, Qatar-based news outlet, a United Nations report found that the Azov Batallion has engaged in attacks against minorities, including homoselxuals and the Roma community, raped and tortured civilians in the Donbas region, used populated civilian buildings as a base for weapons and military attacks (thereby making those civilians buildings a target for counter-attacks, putting the civilian occupants at risk), and provided training for far-right nationalists from other countries. (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment) According to Lev Golinkin, who writes for The Nation, "Post-Maidan Ukraine is the world's only nation to have a neo-Nazi formation in its armed forces." (https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/neo-nazis-far-right-ukraine/) So yes, Putin is correct. There really are neo-Nazis in Ukraine with weapons and political power. And note that, while Zelinskyy has banned many opposition parties, claiming they have links to Russia, and jailed his political opponents, none of these nationalistic political or paramilitary groups have been banned or their leaders arrested. (https://www.civic-nation.org/ukraine/society/radical_right-wing_political_parties_and_groups/, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/20/ukraine-suspends-11-political-parties-with-links -to-russia) This makes it clear that the Zelinskyy regime is anti-Russian, pro-nationalistic, and couldn't care less about war crimes, assault, torture, and murder of civilians. I've noticed quite a few disturbing things reported in western media that nobody seems to see the way I do. For example, Zelinskyy and his allies continue to complain about civilian deaths and repeatedly accuse Russia of specifically targeting civilians. But if Zelinskyy is so concerned about civilians, why doesn't he simply evacuate them from combat areas? Ukraine was warned about the invasion for weeks, and it took days for soldiers to reach Kiev, and even longer for them to encircle it. There was plenty of time to forcibly evacuate civilians, which is exactly what someone would do if they cared. But Zelinskyy has done exactly the opposite. He has prevented all male civilians aged 18-60 from leaving the country, whether they're willing to fight or not, and without being conscripted into the military or given weapons. (https://thehill.com/policy/international/595802-ukraine-defense-ministry-tells-residents-to-make- molotov-cocktails-in/) This is not the behavior of someone who is concerned about civilian casualties. This is the behavior of someone who wants to use civilians as human shields and propaganda tools so they can shout 'WAR CRIME' every time a civilian is inevitably caught in the crossfire. And it doesn't fit with Ukraine's claims that Russia continually broke ceasefires for humanitarian evacuations. Russia would gain no benefit from this, first of all. If there were no civilians around, Russia could use all the cluster bombs they wanted, or even carpet-bomb the city, without being accused of war crimes or mistakenly killing civilians with possible pro-Russian political views. The Ukrainians are the only ones who have something to gain by holding civilians in combat zones. And you can also see this in Mariupol. Why were soldiers mixing with civilians in the Azov steel plant? If civilians were sheltering there, the military should've avoided the place and gone somewhere else, so as not to put the civilians in danger. Or, if they chose to make their final stand at the plant, then first evacuate the civilians and send them home or to a different shelter. Besides, if the Russians did want to commit genocide against Ukrainians, do you really think there there would be only a few thousand casualties in over 2 months? Ukraine has a population of 44 million, and only 5-6 million have fled the country. If Russia were trying to commit genocide, there would be millions of civilian casualties by now, not Ukraine's gross overestimate of only 30,000. Furthermore, Ukraine's government has openly taken extremely irresponsible, dangerous, and criminal actions that have clearly led to civilian casualties, and it has all been documented and proven by their own words. Days into the war, Ukraine's defense ministry asked civilians to report troop movements to them and to make Molotov cocktails for use against Russian soldiers. Burning soldiers alive, first of all, is inhumane, especially since (according to them) the Russian military was made up of young conscripts who were drafted and forced to fight with little or no training. Secondly, if a 'civilian' throws a Molotov cocktail at soldiers, that civilian is no longer a civilian, but an enemy combatant, meaning the soldiers will return fire. And if a civilian reports troop movements to Ukraine's government, I believe they would be considered an enemy spy. (https://thehill.com/policy/international/595802-ukraine-defense-ministry-tells-residents-to-make- molotov-cocktails-in/) Ukraine's government was also handing out guns to anyone who wanted one. Do you remember the pictures in the news of grandma learning how to shoot a gun? Again, if a 'civilian' is shooting at Russian soldiers, he or she is no longer considered a civilian. So you can see how the actions of Ukraine's government have undoubtedly increased civilian casualties. I wonder if I'm the only one who has connected these behaviors to the massacre of civilians in Bucha. How exactly is it determined whether a dead body belongs to a civilian? The lack of a military uniform? I don't think you can tell the difference between a genuine civilian and a 'Molotov civilian' by the clothing. On top of that, all of Ukraine's armed battalions who have not yet been made part of Ukraine's official military are also civilians, technically speaking. Although if they attack Russian soldiers, they are still a legitimate target. And as I mentioned earlier, Ukraine's decision to release and arm criminals with combat experience no doubt resulted in robberies, rapes, and murders of Ukrainian civilians, but not by Russian soldiers. Ukraine has also committed war crimes against Russian POWs. It was reported in western media, with a nonchalant or even positive tone, that a Ukrainian doctor ordered his staff to castrate Russian soldiers, since they are subhuman cockroaches. (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10636597/Ukrainian-doctor-tells-TV-interviewer-ordere d-staff-CASTRATE-Russian-soldiers.html) Ukrainian soldiers have also been caught shooting wounded Russian soldiers to death. (https://nypost.com/2022/04/06/ukrainian-forces-caught-on-video-shooting-dead-wounded-russi an-soldier/) And afterwards, of course, they shout "Slava Ukraini". Shortly before the alleged Bucha massacre, Ukrainian soldiers were caught beating and shooting unarmed and restrained Russian POWs in the legs. You can watch the video, if you're able to tolerate such things: https://nypost.com/2022/03/28/ukraine-to-probe-after-videos-show-alleged-russian-pows-shot/ . It seems likely that many of them died or were permanently disabled. Not a very nice way to treat young conscripts! But it has been verified as authentic. (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/07/video-appears-to-show-ukrainian-soldiers-sho oting-russian-prisoners-of-war). [You can find many more video evidence of alleged torture by Ukrainian nationalists on this British man's blog: https://beyondhighbrow.com/2022/03/29/ukrainians-torturing-people-and-war-crimes-videos/ ] It's interesting that the Bucha massacre was reported shortly afterwards, almost as if Ukraine's media was responding to negative publicity with an even bigger counter-story. There was no video proof of the Bucha allegations, only the word of Ukraine's government, and of course everyone believed it without question. Whereas the mistreatment of Russian POWs barely made the news for an hour. Few people have even heard about it. There are other suspicious circumstances surrounding the Bucha massacre as well. First, there's the incredible coincidence that the acts took place in a city with a name that sounds exactly like 'butcher', and secondly, there were no reports of the mass executions of civilians until days after Ukraine's military retook the area. In fact, Ukraine seems to have a habit of making counter-accusations to cover their own actions, as well as general dishonesty in reporting things like casualties. (https://web.archive.org/web/20150124235812/http://www.kyivpost.com/multimedia/photo/ukrain e-hides-devastating-losses-as-russia-backed-rebels-surge-forwards-378321.html) For example, you probably remember Ukraine accusing Russia of using cluster munitions a few days into the invasion. Well, Ukraine was doing exactly this, back in 2014, against civilian areas on the Donbas. (https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/10/20/ukraine-widespread-use-cluster-munitions#) Secondly, you probably heard the Ukrainians make multiple accusations against the Russians of deliberately targeting civilians. Well, Russia has reported that Ukraine has done the same, hitting residential buildings in one of its cross-border helicopter attacks. (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-ukraine-fired-mortars-bryansk-border-post-2 022-04-14/) Also, the United Nations reports that at least 3404 civilians have been killed in the Donbas since hostilities began in 2014, along with 7,000-9,000 injured civilians. (https://ukraine.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/Conflict-related%20civilian%20casualties%20a s%20of%2031%20December%202021%20%28rev%2027%20January%202022%29%20corr% 20EN_0.pdf) Unfortunately, I'm unable to find a breakdown of causualties by region for the entire period. However, from 2018-2021, 81.4% of civilian casualties took place in territory controlled by the rebels, meaning that most of the civilian casualties were the result of Ukrainian government attacks. Amnesty International, a western organization, has found evidence of war crimes and abuses, including possible executions, commited by Ukraine's Aidar Batallion in the Luhansk region. (https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2014/09/ukraine-must-stop-ongoing-abuses-and-war-cr imes-pro-ukrainian-volunteer-forces/) And weeks before the appearance of videos showing Russian POWs being shot in the leg, I came upon some incredible stories reported in western media, claiming that Russian soldiers were shooting themselves in the leg with abandoned Ukrainian guns so they could go home. (https://www.indy100.com/news/russian-soldiers-shooting-legs) It seems to me that these stories were propagated by Ukrainian authorities in order to cover their butts, in case evidence of their actions against captured Russian POWs was ever reported. I guess they didn't anticipate video evidence. There are also videos of Ukrainian soldiers calling the mothers of dead Russian soldiers to taunt them. (https://www.ibtimes.sg/disturbing-video-shows-ukrainian-soldier-calling-mother-dead-russian-so ldier-mockingly-sharing-63831) The man in that video is named Ivan Sliznyak, and he is allegedly a rapist who was released by Ukraine and armed, in order to fight the Russian invasion. Luckily, he has been captured and killed by the Russians. Also, notice during his call to the Russian mother, his repetitive use of that nationalistic religious slogan, "Slava Ukraini". Here is an article in an Indian paper, dated March 29,2022, about a woman who was found tortured to death, with a swastika carved into her chest: https://thepressunited.com/updates/woman-found-dead-in-ukraine-with-swastika-carved-into-bo dy/ . Then, on April 6th, a Ukrainian MP tweeted a picture from the video, claiming that the Russians did it. (https://www.businessinsider.com/ukrainian-mp-russian-soldiers-carved-swastika-on-woman-rap ed-killed-2022-4) Of course, everyone believed her, and dismissed the previous Russian story as propaganda, if they even heard about it, because it didn’t really make it into western news. And finally, let's not forget the Ghost of Kiev and Snake Island hoaxes. Ukraine just admitted that the Ghost of Kyiv isn't real. (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ukraine-admits-ghost-kyiv-isnt-real-wartime-myth-russia- rcna26867) And it was discovered months ago that the deaths of soldiers on Snake Island who defied a Russian warship was untrue. They were actually captured alive by Russia. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60554959) But after all these lies, the Bucha Butchery is taken as truth without investigation, and used to justify increased sanctions against the Russian people and the sending of weapons. Next, I would like to examine the incessantly repeated claim that this was an unprovoked invasion by Russia. In other words, they invaded for no reason at all. They just did it for fun. Because every story I've read in western media never fails to remind me that this was an unprovoked invasion. To determine whether or not that's true, we should go back to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, a treaty signed between the USA, Britain, and Russia, agreeing not to use force, the threat of force, or economic pressure on Ukraine to influence their politics, as well as respecting the independence and sovereignty of Belarus, Kazakhstanand Ukraine in their current borders. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum_on_Security_Assurances) Then, in the 2008 Bucharest summit, NATO declared that Ukraine and Georgia would become NATO members. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Bucharest_summit) This could be seen as a violation of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, since Ukraine joining NATO would result in Ukraine losing some of its independence and sovereignty. For example, the collective defense clause would require Ukraine to send troops to a combat zone if another member was invaded. I can see how some people might disagree with this view. But later, the clause prohibiting economic pressure was manipulated by the EU's initiation of an association agreement in 2012. Of course, the USA and UK are not part of the EU, but they're part of NATO, which is closely linked to the EU. Russia responded with a less-restrictive counteroffer to join its Eurasian Economic Union, and after some conflict between the EU and Ukraine's internal politics, Ukraine chose to join Russia's economic union. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine%E2%80%93European_Union_relations#Ukraine%E2%80 %93European_Union_Association_Agreement) This led to large protests attended by nationalist groups I've mentioned earlier, and a coup against Yanukovich, in which the USA took a major part. This is indicated by a tapped phone call between leaders of the coup and USA official Victoria Nuland, who was recorded telling coup leaders who to put in charge of Ukraine's new government. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26079957) And this conversation took place before the coup was complete, and Yanukovich was still supposedly in charge. (https://www.cato.org/commentary/americas-ukraine-hypocrisy) I don't think anyone can deny that a foreign-backed coup to overthrow Ukraine's democratically elected leader is a violation of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. It should also be noted that the American CIA and other western intelligence agencies covertly supported the OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists) during the Cold War. And as I've mentioned earlier, the OUN was the predecessor of modern nationalistic parties in Ukraine, like Svoboda and Right Sector. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_Ukrainian_Nationalists) The USA has been working with these nationalists for a very long time. And as a result of the coup, there were more protests, and counter coups. And you will understand why, if you look at the 2010 election map, in which Yanukovich was elected: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Ukrainian_presidential_election#/media/File:%D0%94%D1% 80%D1%83%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%82%D1%83%D1%80_2010_%D0%BF%D0% BE_%D0%BE%D0%BA%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%85-en.png . The blue areas voted more than 50% for Yanukovich, while the red areas voted more than 50% for Tymoshenko. The darkest blue areas, with the highest rates of Yanukovich voters, were in the Donbas regions. Crimea also voted 70+% for Yanukovich. So you can imagine that the people in these areas were not pleased with the coup, hence the rebellion. Imagine if there was a partisan coup in the USA. If the January 6th rioters had been successful, do you think liberal states like California would recognize the new federal leadership? What if George Floyd rioters had successfully replaced Trump in a coup? Do you think heavily Republican states would've accepted his replacement as legitimate? This coup was the first bullet fired in the war, and it was fired by the USA. And of course, after the USA violently broke the Budapest Memorandum treaty, Russia took the liberty of retaking Crimea, after a democratic referendum. As I mentioned before, Crimea was originally territory of the Russian Federation, before it was taken away and given to Ukraine by Khrushchev. And Russia also began providing military support for the pro-Russian rebels, in order to prevent their destruction and enslavement by an illegitimate government run by nationalists. By the way, according to western media, Crimeans are glad to be part of Russia. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/18/six-years-20-billion-russian-investment-lat er-crimeans-are-happy-with-russian-annexation/) And anyone who really believes in democracy should support the people of Crimea choosing to rejoin Russia and the people of Donbas creating their own independent country after being subverted in a foreign-backed coup. But instead, the USA has been arming and training violent extremists who have engaged in war crimes against eastern Ukrainian civilians for the past 8 years, and supported a government that discriminates against their language and political rights and sees them as occupiers on their own land. The last legitimate leader of Ukraine, if you consider Donbas and Crimea to be a part, was Yanukovich. Donbas and Crimea have not voted in any election since then. And the rest of Ukraine is infested with anti-Russian nationalists in high levels of the government and military. Additionally, Ukraine has provoked Russia and shown its genuine contempt for the citizens of Crimea and Donbas by shutting off Crimea's fresh water supply (https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/597910-how-a-ukrainian-dam-played-a-key-r ole-in-tensions-with/), blocking land routes to Crimea from Ukrainian territory (https://youtu.be/KfD_CaSIxmQ?t=326), and blocking pension and other social payments to the people of Donbas (https://www.rferl.org/a/letters-from-donbas-day-to-day-life-in-eastern-ukraine/26773671.html), not to mention the slaughter of civilians in the Donbas, which I've already mentioned. Russia has coped with this savage hatred and vindictiveness in a calm and patient manner, until things became completely intolerable. On March 21, 2021, Zelinskyy signed into law a decree stating that Ukraine would retake Crimea, using military action if necessary. (https://theowp.org/ukraine-declares-all-options-possible-even-war-to-retake-crimea-from-russia/ ) That seems a little provoking, not only for Russia, but for the citizens of Crimea, who appear to be happy with their new arrangement. And anyone who genuinely cares about civilians would not want Crimean civilians to be subject to indiscriminate shelling, torture, and murder. But considering the actions on the part of Ukraine, including the blocking of land routes and water supplies to Crimea, Ukraine doesn't care about Crimean civilians, but only about the land and territory under their feet. The timing of this conflict is also interesting. Why did Zelinskyy suddenly feel empowered to make threats against Crimea and Russia? I think Zelinskyy was well-behaved during Trump's presidency, because the mass media continually claimed that Trump was colluding with Russia, which led Zelinskyy to worry that the USA wouldn’t have his back if conflict broke out. And he knew Biden owed him for refusing to investigate his son, and for the first impeachment trial, made possible by his fellow collaborator and countryman, Vindman. Plus, Biden was part of the group that organized the 2013 coup, along with Nuland, who was brought back into government by Biden. Furthermore, the Biden Administration holds Russia responsible for election interference, which they believe led to the election of their political rival, Donald Trump. So they want revenge for this, and don't care how many Ukrainian and Russ