Kremlin propaganda is in full swing. As more crimes come to light in Ukraine, their lies become more aggressive and outrageous. However, Russian bloggers continue to try to open the eyes of their compatriots.
After several weeks of siege and shelling, the Russian army withdrew from the Kyiv region – without having taken it. But the joy of the Ukrainians was short-lived: when they invaded the liberated suburbs of their capital, the Ukrainian troops found traces of war crimes, to which the civilian population fell victim.
The murders, shootings and executions committed shocked the world. Russia too – at least those sections of the population that receive independent information. Prominent bloggers try to pass them on in social networks. Among them are both those who have already left the country and those who still have to live under the Putin regime. Their comments express shame, horror and helplessness.
Anastasia Fazulina
“Corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses… How to live after what happened in Bucha, Mariupol and other cities where my compatriots came as ‘liberators’.
This is sheer horror. Bodies, bodies everywhere. women, children, men. Bodies, countless bodies. Each of these people had a life, plans, memories. You came and destroyed everything. It’s impossible to forget.” To the post.
Konstantin Sonin
“Now the whole world sees these recordings. Executed civilians in the city of Bucha near Kyiv, with their hands tied. They were killed by Russian soldiers who occupied the city for several weeks of the war. (…)
The word Putin will now accompany executed civilians in every history book and in every biography. In any book on the history of Russia, there will be a black, black page. And the situation is only going to get worse – this pack will commit many more crimes before it is put to an end. But you don’t have to take part in it,” Konstantin Sonin appealed to Russian Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin, the head of the Duma’s Audit Committee Alexei Kudrin and the director of the Central Bank of Russia Ksenia Yudayeva. To the post.
Ilya Klishin
“I understand that people who have been propaganda brainwashed will say that these were their own people, that this is all Photoshop, that these are all actors. I was told something like that, for example, about the pictures of tortured Belarusians in Okrestina tells (a prison in Minsk notorious for the inhumane treatment of inmates, ed.) I’m afraid in other circumstances these people would have said the same thing about pictures from Auschwitz from Bucha and other cities in the region around Kyiv”. To the post.
Dmitry Koletsev
“What will Russian propaganda say? Will they declare the photos fake, and will the fake producers from RT’s circle claim that the pictures show actors being asked to lie down briefly with their hands tied? But the photos of the Bodies in mass graves cannot be faked. Photos of bodies in wells cannot be faked. Will the propaganda say that it was the Ukrainians themselves who shot those who collaborated with the occupying forces? Will they blame the atrocities on the nationalists? push?
Many Russians will believe it. As the past few weeks of the war have shown, supporters of the ‘special operation’ often simply ignore information that does not fit into their worldview of a heroic Russian army liberating Ukrainians from fascism. They are ready to believe any ridiculous and hasty explanation of Russian propaganda. And yet, these shocking footage will get through to someone. That’s why it’s important for people to see them.
(…) The recordings from Bucha will once again change attitudes towards the war, towards Russia and towards Putin. (…) It is clear that not all soldiers shot civilians, but all combatants now bear the mark of the crime. Worse, the stigma of Bucha now carries all citizens of Russia. That’s why I want a fair and honest trial against those who gave and carried out criminal orders. If such a process could ever be carried out by Russia itself, it could save us as a nation. Because until certain criminals, from the smallest to the biggest, are found and convicted, collective guilt will consume us all.” To the post.
Marat Guelman
“It’s not Putin anymore. Atrocities are personal crimes of every military man. With every day of war, people increasingly lose their human face.
This must end. Understand that these people will return to Russia with a taste of the blood of a defenseless person, knowing that everything is theirs and everything must be theirs. They will come to schools to tell their children about their heroic deeds,” Marat Guelman warns his own compatriots. To the post.
Abbas Galliamov
“What we saw in Bucha could have been a spontaneous outburst of violence by Russian soldiers and young officers avenging their shameful defeat. It could also have been a centralized order from the leaders of the ‘War Party’ trying to complicate the ongoing negotiations and to sabotage if possible.
I would like to believe the second version – not to have to think that Russian citizens are capable of atrocities of this magnitude. But reason tells me it would be better if the first version were true. Because the presence of such a radical ‘war party’ in the domestic leadership can block the negotiation process for a long time.” To the post.