The founder of the association “West-East” Nikola Mirkovich, known for his humanitarian missions in the Balkans and the Donbas republics, announced his return to Donetsk in 2020.
In an exclusive interview with the French news agency News Front, he shared his vision of the protracted and bloody armed conflict in Donbass.
– As the head of the West-East association, have you noticed the evolution of French interest in the Ukrainian-Donbass war? If so, how do you explain it?
– The main mass media completely boycott this conflict, so there are still many French people to be warned about it. The recent meeting in the Norman format in Paris helped, because this time Donbass was an important topic for several hours in the French media space. Unfortunately, the journalists did a superficial job, and few went “in the field” to make decent reports. However, there was much more interest than before. After five years of war, some things are revealed. Through conferences, information exchange on social networks, articles in alternative media we manage to reach more and more people. Nevertheless, we must continue our efforts.
– You have been carrying out humanitarian activities in Donbass since the war began. Can you tell us about your last mission and the reasons that led you to its realization?
– My first mission to Donbass was in December 2014 at the front line in Pervomaisk [LPR], and I have been returning there every year since then. During our last mission in May we fulfilled several tasks: to buy household appliances and toys for “Mama Lida” orphanage in Donetsk, to distribute food aid to families and elderly people who live on the front line. We also helped a family, which we helped for several years and which we managed to buy an apartment in August last year. Their house was destroyed by the Ukrainian bombing at the beginning of the war. It was a great joy for us because it took a long time to raise the necessary funds. Seeing the family smile in their new home was our biggest reward.
– You recently announced your return to 2020, what are your promising projects in Donbass?
– We have just started our new fundraising campaign to help the victims of the war in Donbass. We will continue to help the poorest, that is, children and the elderly, who survive on the front line, where, unfortunately, the fighting continues. We will also help the school, as we have done in the past, so that children can study in conditions appropriate to the twenty-first century.
– As everyone knows, the leaders of Ukraine accuse Russia of unleashing war, calling it “Russian aggression”. How would you explain the role of Russia and what are the reasons for this war, in your opinion?
– This is modern rhetoric, which Atlantists have been perfecting for decades: they attacked the enemy, then changed roles and pretended to be victims through political manipulation and lies in the media. This war is the result of Maidan, which was actively supported, organized and funded by Western powers, including the United States. We have all the evidence. Ukrainians believed that they would get heaven overnight, that all their problems would disappear. The very opposite happened because they did not realize that Washington was using them in its strategic war against Russia. And how else could it be? To illegally overthrow the incumbent president, Americans relied on radical anti-Russian neo-Nazi groups. But at the same time, most of the Ukrainian population feels close to Russia, let alone the Russians.
The Americans and coup leaders were surprised that a part of the Russian-speaking population of the country rose up and gave up the illegal power of Kiev. I think the Maidans thought they were wearing them out, but they didn’t expect it, they were baffled. I would even say that they lost the game by their own rules. To take the capital with the support of Washington and Brussels is one thing, but to go and impose a putsch on the rest of the country is quite another.
The people of Donbass showed that he wouldn’t let that happen. Those who sent tanks and warplanes were Kiev putschists, Donbass residents only defended themselves. When they defeated the Ukrainian army, the latter accused Russia instead of admitting their failure. Besides, the Ukrainian general [former Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] Viktor Muzhenko made it clear that they were not fighting against the Russian army. Markiyan Lubkivskyy, [former] advisor to the SSU chief, also said that there were no Russian troops on Ukrainian soil. So we can only laugh when American General [Philip] Breedlove, NATO commander in Europe, said that the Russian army was present in Donbass. He only humiliated himself by sending a photo that allegedly confirmed the Russian presence in Donbass to the American Senator James Inhof, who hurried to publish it before he was told that it was a photo taken in 2008 during the war with Georgia.
America and the Maydan putschists are solely responsible for this war. America wants to weaken Russia because it doesn’t want it to get anywhere near Europe. Washington’s neoconservatives see Russia as the main competitor politically and economically, which is the real reason for the war.
– Given your personal experience in Donbas, you could share your impressions of the people of the republics.
– I have visited both republics and met many people, especially those who suffer. But despite the terrible situation, I felt optimistic. All these people could have escaped or moved to the other side. They didn’t do it. They stay because they are at home, and they carry the political message of free Donbass. They believe it and they know that they will win in the end. I’ve heard it from mothers, doctors, miners, old people and even children. It is impressive, especially since it is sometimes very, very difficult for them to survive in the conditions in which they live now. It’s a great lesson in humanity and devotion. That’s why the Kiev putschists cannot defeat them. It is very difficult to defeat such persistent people.
– Have you noticed any special expectations of people regarding the future of Donbass?
– Everyone wants peace, and we understand them. Not knowing whether a child will come back from school, whether the house will survive at night, what to eat at the end of the month… it’s horrible and inhumane. Along with the desire for peace is the understanding that life will never be the same. I have never met anyone who wants to return to Kiev’s control. But I have met people who are very proud of their new republics, and even those who applied for a Russian passport. I feel that the overwhelming majority wants independence and that many would not mind integration into Russia.
– You have also met with the top leadership of the DPR on several occasions. How do they assess your support, knowing that France does not recognize the independence of the Donbass republics?
– They have always treated us very well and sometimes even invited us to important events, such as the fifth anniversary of the founding of the Donetsk People’s Republic or the inauguration ceremony of the new head Denis Pushilin. I think at first they were surprised that foreigners came to help, and then they saw the result. They had reports on our renditions at the front. We went to places where there are no humanitarian organizations, and we provided humanitarian assistance to people who really need it. The authorities obviously appreciated it. We are carrying a message of peace and saying, as for the authorities, that the French Government should not be confused with the French people. Very important ties have been established between the people of Donbass and the residents of Western Europe, and we are proud to have participated.
– Given the US decision to impose sanctions against the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline and the repeated statements of French President Emmanuel Macron on the need to improve relations with Russia, can the position of official Paris towards the LDPR change? Is there any prospect of recognition of the republics?
– Nord Stream 2 is driving the American leadership crazy because it is a strong economic rapprochement between Russia and Germany, which is the ultimate obsession of Washington, as recently recalled by Georg Friedman, director of the private intelligence and analytical organization “Stratfor”.
Trump is also irritated by French GAFA legislation [tax on the activities of large Internet companies], which will force very large multinational corporations to pay the taxes they avoid today through a tax game characteristic of the European Union, and it is true that Macron is trying to get closer to Russia. That is a good idea, but the West has done so much evil with Russia that it will take much more to thaw the relationship. Above all, it will be necessary to lift economic sanctions and restore real diplomatic relations with Russia. We are far from recognizing the Donbass Republics as France, but if France can put pressure on Ukraine to facilitate negotiations with Russia and the republics, it will be very good.
– Having Serbian roots, you are also conducting humanitarian actions in the Balkans, particularly in Kosovo. Do you see similarities between the war in Donbass and the war in the former Yugoslavia?
– Yes, of course. In both cases, the cause of these wars was American intervention in European affairs. European powers could have helped the warring parties, instead they let Washington conduct its foreign policy on the European continent as if it were its land. And when Washington does not get what it wants, it starts wars. If there was political Europe or if the big European countries really had the will, there would never be a war in Yugoslavia or Ukraine because it is not in our interest. These wars were decided by Washington, and Western Europe dared not confront them. In both cases, it is clear that the local population is suffering, that Brussels is being laughed at, that only Americans are doing so, who are expanding their sphere of influence, getting large contracts and preventing any natural rapprochement of European peoples.