Ukraine troops surround Donetsk, rebel leader says

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="cover-wrap " style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 30px; text-align: center; width: 718px;"> <div class=""> <div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"> <figure class=" cover get-lbdata-from-dom go-to-slideshow-lightbox " data-id="87691b9f-5529-368a-82fc-57bd3df1f83e" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div> <a data-rapid_p="6" data-ylk="rspns:xpnd;t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:ld;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;grpt:;edtr_vos:;g:;aid:87691b9f-5529-368a-82fc-57bd3df1f83e;ct:4;cpos:1;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/barricades-come-down-kiev-091621190.html#" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="A local woman stands on her damaged balcony after morning shelling in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014. Several shells fell this morning in a northern Donetsk neighborhood, near the airport. No human casualties were registered. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)" class="inview" height="379px" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/UKd3XcJA_XRIQS2bibPnpQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTM3OTtweG9mZj01MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz02NzQ-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/4ee74b2d20e5491f5c0f6a706700b1ea.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px); -webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; min-height: 1px; opacity: 1 !important; text-align: left; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important; width: 718px;" width="674px" /></span></a></div> <span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-small" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 7px; border-bottom-right-radius: 7px; border-top-left-radius: 7px; border-top-right-radius: 7px; cursor: pointer; height: 45px; 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padding-bottom: 56px; position: relative;"> <a data-rapid_p="10" data-ylk="rspns:xpnd;t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:ld;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:tl;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:0508c77e-6981-3910-8dbe-41fe4580ac80;aid:5551af5c-4702-3c0a-91ab-8cc7adb2d345;ct:4;cpos:1;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/barricades-come-down-kiev-091621190.html#" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;"><img class="inview" data-src-2x="" height="83.25" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/0nVENvLvOlX8CeYR_C0geA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTgzLjI1O3B5b2ZmPTA7cT03NTt3PTE0OA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/00457b5820db491f5c0f6a7067000373.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: translateZ(0px); -webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; min-height: 1px; opacity: 1 !important; text-align: left; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important; width: 100px;" width="148" /></span></a></div> <span class="icon-white-slideshow-tiny icon-slideshow" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; bottom: 3px; cursor: pointer; height: 14px; left: 3px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; width: 20px; z-index: 1;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">.</span></span></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="body yom-art-content clearfix" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Article" style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px 10px; zoom: 1;"> <div class="yom-ad yom-ad-LREC" id="yom-ad-LREC" style="border: none; clear: both; float: right; height: 250px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-height: 250px; text-align: center; visibility: inherit; width: 300px;"> <div class="darla" id="sb_rel_yom-ad-LREC-iframe" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); display: inline-block; height: 250px; position: relative; visibility: inherit; width: 300px; z-index: 9;"> <iframe allowtransparency="true" async="" frameborder="no" hidefocus="true" id="yom-ad-LREC-iframe" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://l.yimg.com/rq/darla/2-8-1/html/r-sf.html" style="display: block; height: 250px; left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; max-height: none; max-width: none; min-height: 0px; position: absolute; text-align: left; top: 0px; visibility: inherit; width: 300px; z-index: 10;" tabindex="-1"></iframe></div> </div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces have seized a key town and are surrounding Donetsk, the largest insurgent-held city in eastern Ukraine, a top rebel commander said Saturday.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The statement by Igor Girkin, a former Russian special services officer, appeared to be a significant admission by the rebels that Ukrainian government forces are gaining the upper hand in the four-month-old fight.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He said the town of Krasnyi Luch, which lies on one of two main roads between Donetsk and the other rebel-held city of Luhansk, "has been taken by the enemy."</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"The Donetsk-Horlivka group of the fighters of Novorossiya is completely surrounded," he said on a rebel social media page. Novosrossiya, or "New Russia," is a term widely used by the rebels for the eastern area that seeks independence from the government in Kiev. Horlivka, where rebels and Ukrainian forces are also fighting, is 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Donetsk.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seizing Krasnyi Luch would cut off many routes to other parts of the rebel-held east.</span></div> <div class="body-related" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 7.5px; margin-left: 7.5px; position: relative;"> <a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-pos="1" data-rapid_p="11" data-uuid="6fb0ac8d-6fe7-32b4-a772-ae8b430880ce" data-ylk="t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:embd;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:0508c77e-6981-3910-8dbe-41fe4580ac80;aid:6fb0ac8d-6fe7-32b4-a772-ae8b430880ce;ct:4;cpos:1;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/communal-worker-removes-tree-cut-down-shell-morning-photo-093527409.html" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A communal worker removes a tree that was cut&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"> <span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: 0px; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span><img alt="A communal worker removes a tree that was cut&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb inview" data-src-2x="" height="198" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Od0POWNaC.a7ezWBktj1oQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE5ODtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/9a69366420dc491f5c0f6a706700aea5.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: translateZ(0px); -webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div> </a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A communal worker removes a tree that was cut down by a shell after morning shelling in Donetsk, eas …</span></div> </div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A spokesman for the Ukrainian military operation, Andriy Lysenko, told reporters Saturday that he could not confirm that the town was under government control.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In Donetsk, a city spokesman said at least one person was killed and several injured Saturday in shelling of the city's southern area. Spokesman Maxim Rovninsky also told The Associated Press that about 30 apartment blocks came under fire during the night.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The city, whose population was nearly 1 million before the fighting but has seen hundreds of thousands flee, has increasingly come under fire over the past weeks. Ukrainian officials deny that they are shelling civilians, as rebels claim, and say the rebels are putting rocket launchers in populated areas.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Explosions were also heard Saturday on the northern outskirts near Donetsk's airport.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Concerns are rising about a looming humanitarian catastrophe in Luhansk, where fighting has been heavier and more prolonged. A map released by the Ukrainian military shows Ukrainian forces near the outskirts of Luhansk on three sides, with an opening to other rebel-held territory only at the south.</span></div> <div class="body-related" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 7.5px; margin-left: 7.5px; position: relative;"> <a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-pos="2" data-rapid_p="12" data-uuid="b83ca709-14f0-3222-b279-a7c644a6448d" data-ylk="t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:embd;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:0508c77e-6981-3910-8dbe-41fe4580ac80;aid:b83ca709-14f0-3222-b279-a7c644a6448d;ct:4;cpos:2;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/community-workers-remove-tree-cut-down-shell-morning-photo-093412252.html" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Community workers remove a tree that was cut down&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"> <span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: 0px; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span><img alt="Community workers remove a tree that was cut down&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb inview" data-src-2x="" height="180" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/ON7Vg5DfXSz96hfjtEjWHg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE4MDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/77683e8c20db491f5c0f6a706700e2e0.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: translateZ(0px); -webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div> </a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Community workers remove a tree that was cut down by a shell after morning shelling in Donetsk, east …</span></div> </div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Russian news agencies quoted Luhansk authorities as saying Saturday that the city has been without water and electricity for a week and most of its stores are closed.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Russia has been pushing for a humanitarian mission into Luhansk, but the Ukrainian government in Kiev and Western countries suspect that could be a pretext for sending in troops. Western countries say Russia has assembled some 20,000 troops just across the border.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The International Committee of the Red Cross said it is stepping up work to alleviate the crisis in eastern Ukraine but warned that any Red Cross aid convoy "will be taken in strict adherence to our fundamental working principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence."</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Valeriy Chalyi, claimed Saturday that Russian forces wanted to enter Ukraine under the guise of a humanitarian mission but Ukraine had blocked the move.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the claim, saying "there was no attempt by Russian soldiers at penetration," according to Russian news agencies. But he reiterated Russia's call for humanitarian action, saying "this catastrophe now is the No. 1 theme for discussion."</span></div> <div class="body-related" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 7.5px; margin-left: 7.5px; position: relative;"> <a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-pos="3" data-rapid_p="13" data-uuid="bdee24fb-f970-3415-911f-2a86f4869f15" data-ylk="t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:embd;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:0508c77e-6981-3910-8dbe-41fe4580ac80;aid:bdee24fb-f970-3415-911f-2a86f4869f15;ct:4;cpos:3;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/local-woman-walks-past-tree-cut-down-shell-photo-093347509.html" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A local woman walks past a tree that was cut down&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"> <span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: 0px; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span><img alt="A local woman walks past a tree that was cut down&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb inview" data-src-2x="" height="206" src="http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/haoZzUCrmOJg9d8OfNZmYA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwNjtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/14087f1920db491f5c0f6a706700c5af.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: translateZ(0px); -webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div> </a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A local woman walks past a tree that was cut down by a shell after morning shelling in Donetsk, east …</span></div> </div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In Kiev, city workers and volunteers on Saturday removed the last of the barricades that had blocked the capital's main street since anti-government protests began in November.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Protesters had erected the barricades to protect a sprawling tent camp on the city's main square. Although the camp's size dwindled sharply after pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country in February and a new government came to power, a determined core of demonstrators remained.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Some tents were still visible Saturday. But Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko, one of the leaders of the protests against Yanukovych, was quoted by Ukrainian media as saying an agreement had been reached with the protest holdouts to restore free movement in the city.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Several Kiev protest tents caught on fire later in the day but it was not clear why.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Yanukovych's ouster precipitated the crisis in Ukraine's east, which was his support base. Fighting began in April, after Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed Ukraine's Russian-speaking Crimean Peninsula.</span></div> <div> <br /></div> <div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 7.5px; margin-left: 7.5px; position: relative;"> <a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-pos="4" data-rapid_p="14" data-uuid="5551af5c-4702-3c0a-91ab-8cc7adb2d345" data-ylk="t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:embd;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:0508c77e-6981-3910-8dbe-41fe4580ac80;aid:5551af5c-4702-3c0a-91ab-8cc7adb2d345;ct:4;cpos:4;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/local-resident-walks-past-tree-cut-down-shell-photo-093342437.html" style="color: #324fe1; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A local resident walks past a tree that was cut&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"> </div> </a></div> </div> </div>

Ukraine troops surround Donetsk, rebel leader says

. . . . . DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces have seized a key town and are surrounding Donetsk, the larg...

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A Field Guide To The Bizarre And Terrifying Pro-Russian Rebels In Ukraine

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Weeks after Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, fighting still rages as the government battles with the obstinate, heavily armed separatists who remain in control much of the territory around the crash site.</span><br /> <div class="content" id="mainentrycontent" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.235294); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.301961); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 20px 0px 10px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> In charge of the many masked rebel militiamen in the east is a collection of commanders and self-appointed politicians who are at turns ludicrous, unhinged and dangerous. With previous lives that reportedly range from Russian intelligence officials to Ukrainian candy salesmen, they now lead rebel forces flush with weapons capable of facilitating terrible atrocities and destabilizing an entire region.</div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> The WorldPost presents a who's who of eastern Ukraine's separatist leaders, a group whose members are as strange as they are troubling.</div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> <img alt="strelkov" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1938836/thumbs/o-STRELKOV-570.jpg?5" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin</strong></div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> A key figure in the leadership of the Ukrainian separatists, and one that seems to pop up in every region that's causing chaos for Kiev since the Russian annexation of Crimea began. As the BBC reports, he is considered "one of the most effective military commanders the rebels have." Allegedly a <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/25/putin-s-number-one-gunman-in-ukraine-warns-him-of-possible-defeat.html" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">former member</a> of Russian special forces, the rebel commander is at the very least a serious military enthusiast and historical re-enactor.</div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> As Oleg Kishin notes in his <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118813/igor-strelkov-russian-war-reenactor-fights-real-war-ukraine" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">excellent profile</a> of Girkin for The New Republic, the commander was avidly involved in events in which he would don period costumes to act out famous historical battles. A Russian <a href="http://ilja-nikiforov.livejournal.com/245010.html" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">livejournal page</a> shows him in the heat of these pretend battles, including one particularly striking image of Girkin armor-clad as a Roman centurion. Among the many fascinating nuggets involved in Kishin's piece is a refutation by Kishin that he controls the social media pages that pointed to his involvement in the shooting down of Flight MH17. Instead, the article says, the only online activity known to be fully managed by Girkin is an online forum for trading antiques, where his username is Russian for "Cat."</div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> U.S. intelligence says the MH17 was shot down by the rebels Girkin claims to command. Since the disaster, Girkin has relished the spotlight. Days after the event, the AP <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/20/mh17-ukraine-rebels_n_5603470.html" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">reports</a>, he began pushing the grotesque conspiracy that the plane was already full of dead bodies before taking off. Of all his strange decrees, his <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/strelkov-profanity-order-ukraine-separatists/25474850.html" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">latest proclamation</a>may be the most ill-thought-out yet -- banning his forces from using bad words.</div> <center style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DinMf_7dQK4?rel=0" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="420"></iframe></div> </center> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> <small style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 9px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Igor Bezler yells orders at a group of new recruits in a video released in April, 2014.</small><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Igor 'The Demon' Bezler</strong></div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> The man allegedly behind the shooting down of Flight MH17, if the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/world/europe/malaysia-airlines-plane-ukraine.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=Banner&module=span-ab-top-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">leaked</a> Ukrainian audio tapes said to feature his voice are to be believed, Rebel Chief Igor Bezler is perhaps the most fearsome and notorious of the separatist leaders. The claim to that title was strengthened by a recent <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/29/-sp-ukraine-rebel-igor-bezler-interview-demon" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">report</a> in The Guardian, in which Bezler threatens to have journalist Shaun Walker and his accompanying photographer shot to death.</div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> Flying off the handle into a fury after being asked by Walker why he was keeping hostages in his compound, Bezler reportedly screamed, "Burn their notebooks! Seize their electronics! Search everything for compromising material and then destroy it! If you find anything, execute them as spies!”</div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> Like the other Igor, Bezler is also thought to have been in the Russian army prior to his involvement in the Ukraine crisis. As Julia Ioffe of The New Republic <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118770/who-igor-bezler-russian-rebel-implicated-malaysia-flight-17" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">notes</a>, it's thought he drifted listlessly through a series of jobs after his army career, including security guard and funeral director, before dusting off the fatigues once more.</div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> <img alt="borodai" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1939207/thumbs/o-BORODAI-570.jpg?3" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Alexander Borodai</strong></div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> When the separatists handed over the black boxes from Flight MH17, it was Alexander Borodai who had his hands on the evidence. The Washington Post <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/22/the-eye-rolling-russian-rebel-at-the-center-of-the-malaysian-airlines-investigation/" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">reports</a> Borodai, the prime minister of the Donetsk People's Republic, has been in charge of the area around the crash site. A shlubby, <a href="http://media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/eyeroll.gif" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">eye-rolling figure</a> who appears in civilian clothes rather than the masks and camouflage of those who usually flank him, Borodai is ostensibly the political figurehead of the separatists.</div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> As the BBC <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28450303" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">reports</a>, he has been the focus of worldwide anger over the inadequate security of the crash site and the mishandling of victims' bodies. In keeping with his habit of denying the separatists do anything nefarious, Borodai dismissed the serious allegations as "pretty impudent slander."</div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> <img alt="pushilin" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1939365/thumbs/o-PUSHILIN-570.jpg?1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Denis Pushilin</strong><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The Chairman of The Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin was a salesman in a pyramid scheme before his rise to power. As the Washington Post <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/pro-russian-separatists-in-eastern-ukraine-were-nobodies--until-now/2014/04/30/c504e687-cc7a-40c3-a8bb-7c1b9cf718ac_story.html" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">reports</a>, his former employment was as meandering as that of some of the other leaders on this list: he worked as a candy salesman before joining up with what the Post calls "a company that runs a notorious Russian Ponzi scheme."</div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> Apart from this colorful detail, there is actually not much known about Pushilin. His lack of documented history highlights how potentially ill-equipped the former salesman may be to deal with international diplomacy.</div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> <img alt="gubarev" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1939358/thumbs/o-GUBAREV-570.jpg?4" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pavel Gubarev</strong><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The second member of this list with a recorded history of wearing absurd outfits, the People's Governor of Donetsk was allegedly worked as a former hired Santa Claus, according to a New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/24/opinion/the-pushback-in-ukraine.html" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #03497e; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">op-ed</a>. Footage from one of his performances has made its way to YouTube, where it gives a bizarre look into the former life of someone now in part connected to the continued fighting and death that looms over eastern Ukraine.</div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rtmL5P6vBKw?rel=0" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="420"></iframe></div> </div> </div>

A Field Guide To The Bizarre And Terrifying Pro-Russian Rebels In Ukraine

Weeks after Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, fighting still rages as the government battles with the obstinate, heavily arme...

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