{"article":{"id":264043,"heading":"Putin Blames West for Ukraine Conflict","author":"Stephen Lendman","created":"2014-05-04 07:34:14","modified":"2014-05-04 07:34:14","last_modified":"Sun, 04 May 2014 15:34:14","article":"<p>Putin Blames West for Ukraine Conflict <br><br> by Stephen Lendman <br><br> Washington bears full responsibility. Rogue EU partners share it. So do Kiev fascist putschists.  <br><br> They're convenient US stooges. They mock legitimacy. State terrorism is official policy.  <br><br> Washington fully supports it. Putin forthrightly condemns it. He represents responsible geopolitical leadership. He's polar opposite Obama. <br><br> His spokesman Dmitry Peskov released an official statement. It addressed Odessa's massacre, saying: <br><br> \"The authorities in Kiev not only bear direct responsibility, but are complicit in these criminal activities. Their arms are up to the elbows in blood.\" <br><br> Odessa reflects \"the connivance of those who consider themselves the authority in Kiev.\" <br><br> \"They allowed extremists and radicals to burn unarmed people alive. I stress that these people were unarmed.\" <br><br> Washington and rogue EU partners represent \"the highest manifestation of cynicism.\"  <br><br> \"The people who justify this punitive operation are the same ones that did not allow the legitimate President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich, to bring order to the country.\" <br><br> \"In spite of consistent attempts to encourage dialogue, Russia has hit against provocation not only from Kiev, but also its Western sponsors.\" <br><br> Kiev putschists prevent any possibility for resolving things diplomatically, he added. <br><br> Obama outrageously called unrestrained violence \"a move to restore order.\" <br><br> EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was no better. \"(T)he state's monopoly on the legitimate use of violence needs to be respected,\" she said. <br><br> Peskov called her comment \"monstrous,\" adding: \"Our colleagues in the West are basically trying to justify the large numbers of murders we are seeing.\" <br><br> Moscow got thousands of Eastern Ukrainian calls for help, he said. \"Desperate people call. They ask for help.\"  <br><br> \"The vast majority want Russia's help. All these calls are reported to President Vladimir Putin.\" <br><br> Kramatorsk shares the eye of the storm. Ukrainian military forces attacked city residents. Right Sector thugs joined them.  <br><br> Street fighting rages. Overnight Friday, at least 10 activists were killed. Dozens more were wounded. <br><br> Journalist Graham Phillips said all roads \"in and out of Kramatorsk (are) blocked off.\" <br><br> RT International's Paula Slier said one resident told her \"he heard (about) Right Sector (thugs) putting people on their knees and shooting them in (the) back of the head&hellip;\" <br><br> She believes neo-Nazi thug Dmytro Yarosh is in Kramatorsk directing cold-blooded murder. <br><br> Two city checkpoints were destroyed. A TV tower was seized. Regime snipers atop buildings fire on city residents. <br><br> Street fighting rages. Civilians are being murdered in cold blood. &nbsp;Coup-appointed Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said the operation's \"active phase\" would continue on Saturday. <br><br> \"We are not going to stop,\" he added. A Donbas self-defense forces statement said: <br><br> \"The security operation in Kramatorsk has resumed, snipers controlled by the Kiev government have occupied multi-story buildings and are firing from there.\"  <br><br> \"In addition, there is fighting on the town streets, involving the use of various weapons.\" <br><br> Casualties \"are mainly civilians, who happened to be near the scene of fighting.\" <br><br> Donetsk regional cities are under attack. Activist Nikolai Solntsev said:  <br><br> \"(F)ull mobilization (was) declared. Our security services are ready for full-scale military actions.\" <br><br> \"We will mobilize our people today in the united people's struggle resistance movement&hellip;\" It's an ongoing struggle for freedom, he added. <br><br> Yasnogorka was attacked. It's adjacent to Kramatorsk. An eye-witness said hostilities began late Friday. <br><br> Lights were turned off. \"Shots (were) heard across the city. Signal rockets (lit) up the sky&hellip;Peoples (said) the Ukrainian army is shooting at everything that moves right now.\" <br><br> Deaths and injuries were reported. Slavyansk hostilities continued. Self-defense forces headquarters was attacked. <br><br> Snipers target city residents indiscriminately. Odessa remains under attack. Lawless aggression defines official putschist policy. <br><br> Unarmed civilians are fair game. They're being killed and injured in cold blood. Fighting shows no signs of abating. <br><br> Continuing it reveals fascism's ugly face. Deaths and injuries mount. No end of conflict looms. Expect lots more deaths, injuries and suffering ahead. <br><br> Media scoundrels turned truth on its head. They ignored Kiev's responsibility for dozens of deaths and injuries.  <br><br> The New York Times reported Odessa's massacre irresponsibly, saying: <br><br> \"Violence also erupted Friday in the previously calmer port city of Odessa, on the Black Sea, where dozens of people died in a fire related to clashes that broke out between protesters holding a march for Ukrainian unity and pro-Russian activists.\"  <br><br> \"Ukrainian and Russian news media showed images of buildings and debris burning, fire bombs being assembled and men armed with pistols.\" <br><br> No mention of Right Sector thugs setting Odessa's Trade Union House ablaze. <br><br> Nothing about their blocking ways out. Nothing about their brutally beating dozens managing to escape. Nothing about around two dozen hospitalized in serious condition. <br><br> Nothing about Kiev putschists responsibility. Nothing about Washington ordering them to unleash violence against Eastern Ukrainian activists. <br><br> The Washington Post was no better. It turned truth on its head, saying:  <br><br> On Friday, \"Ukraine suffered its bloodiest day in nearly three months&hellip;when the army launched its first major assault on a rebel stronghold and 34 killed in clashes between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian mobs in the Black Sea port city of Odessa.\" <br><br> \"A pro-Ukrainian rally attended by thousands of soccer fans before a game Friday night was attacked by pro-Russian separatists.\" <br><br> Fact: Ukraine's military and Right Sector fascist thugs bear full responsibility for what's happening. <br><br> Fact: So-called Russian mobs are ordinary civilians. <br><br> Fact: They're activists fighting for freedom. <br><br> Fact: They've been indiscriminately attacked. <br><br> Fact: Hooligans and Right Sector thugs attacked freedom fighting self-defense forces. <br><br> Fact: They're Ukrainians. <br><br> Fact: They're civilians. <br><br> Fact: They want Ukraine federalized. <br><br> Fact: They want local autonomy. <br><br> Fact: They want fundamental rights everyone deserves. <br><br> Don't expect the Washington Post to explain. <br><br> Wall Street Journal editors headlined \"Ukraine Needs US Military aid,\" saying: <br><br> \"The battle for Ukraine is entering a dangerous new phase, as the Kiev government is finally making an attempt to regain control over its eastern cities from local thugs and Russian special forces.\"  <br><br> \"Is it too much to ask the US to offer the military means to help Ukraine keeps its own territory?\" <br><br> Washington bears full responsibility for Ukraine's violence. Journal editors irresponsibly blamed Putin. <br><br> He wants to \"disrupt his neighbor,\" they said. He's doing it as May 25 elections approached, they added. <br><br> They'll be farcical when held. They'll have no legitimacy whatever. <br><br> \"The Russian strongman wants to block the vote, or disrupt it enough so he can call it illegitimate,\" said Journal editors. <br><br> \"His Russian-sponsored fighters moved this week from smaller towns in eastern Ukraine&hellip;\" <br><br> Fact: Kiev-deployed Right Sector thugs attacked unarmed civilians indiscriminately. <br><br> Fact: They murdered dozens in cold blood. <br><br> Fact: Ukraine's military committed lawless aggression.  <br><br> Fact: It continues unabated. <br><br> Fact: Unarmed civilians are shot. <br><br> Fact: They're murdered in cold blood. <br><br> Journal editors want US Washington-supplied military aid. They support lawless aggression. They consider civilians fair game. <br><br> They ignored Odessa's massacre. They turned a blind eye to Right Sector thugs shooting unarmed civilians in the back of the head. <br><br> They're mindless of fascism's dark side. They expressed full support. <br><br> The Chicago Tribune misreported on Odessa's massacre, saying: <br><br> Its \"riot&hellip;ended in a deadly blaze in a trade union building&hellip;\" <br><br> No mention of fascist Right Sector responsibility. Nothing about brutally beating unarmed civilians. Nothing about murdering them in cold blood. <br><br> Western countries blamed Russia \"for stoking separatism and fear,\" The Tribune said. <br><br> \"Moscow could be planning to repeat its 'annexation' of Crimea in other parts of Ukraine,\" it added. <br><br> It turned truth on its head saying so. Tribune readers have no idea what's going on. <br><br> Nor do US TV viewers. Their Ukrainian coverage blames victims for Kiev crimes.  <br><br> Spin suppresses truth. Cold-blooded murder is called self-defense. Civilians are called \"terrorists.\" <br><br> Military aggression is called defending Ukraine responsibly. Big Lies substitute for reality. CNN misreported. It's \"unclear how (the Odessa) fire began,\" it claimed. <br><br> Fox News blamed Russian special forces. Thousands of Eastern Ukrainians asked Putin for help. According to Fox News, they asked Kiev for protection against Russia. <br><br> Other cable channels and broadcasters reported similar Big Lies. They pointed fingers the wrong way.  <br><br> They've done so throughout months of conflict. They support right over wrong.  <br><br> Western print and electronic media march in lockstep with imperial lawlessness. They support Kiev putschists. <br><br> They're propagandists. They masquerade as journalists. They turn truth on its head. They systematically lie to readers and views.  <br><br> They endorse what demands condemnation. They do it 24\/7 round-the clock.  <br><br> The battle for Ukraine's soul continues. No end of conflict looms. Expect worse than ever ahead.  <br><br> Bloodbath in a dozen or more cities could follow. Don't expect media scoundrels to explain accurately.  <br><br> Expect Big Lies to repeat ad nauseam. Expect truth to be systematically buried. <br><br> Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at <a href=\"mailto:lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net\" rel=\"nofollow\">lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net<\/a>.  <br><br> His new book is titled \"Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.\" <br><br> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.claritypress.com\/LendmanII.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.claritypress.com\/LendmanII.html<\/a> <br><br> Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.  <br><br> Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. <br><br> It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.  <br><br> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.progressiveradionetwork.com\/the-progressive-news-hour\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.progressiveradionetwork.com\/the-progressive-news-hour<\/a><\/p>\n","contact":"lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net","link":"sjlendman.blogspot.com","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"Ukraine","numcomment":0,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2014\/05\/264043.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[]}