Glad to hear you made it through unscathed mate!
I've been trying to emphasise to people on here and elsewhere the extent of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, like you said, pretty much laughable to describe it as a civil war. It was fostered and entirely organised by Russia from the moment Maidan was successful in toppling Yanukovych. War was more or less their sole agenda from that moment, and without Russia it would've never happened. It wasn't that long ago there were openly ran recruiting centres for the 'rebel' battalions in Moscow. Not to mention serving Russian soldiers proven to have operated within Ukrainian territory now, without a shadow of a doubt. Russian armour and tanks too.
Anyone who can't see that now is willingly blind to reality, or has an agenda to undermine/dismiss it.
The extent of the Russian propaganda really is something though, I know it was ubiquitous in the East of Ukraine, and that was central to the beginning of open conflict. But you'd be surprised by the grip the Russian propaganda has even in Western Europe and in America, lots of people are taken in by it, especially given a climate of distrust many have for their own Western governments. When MH17 was shot down it was fairly obvious who was responsible, but you'd be amazed at how many people swallowed the Russian led disinformation and obfuscation that Ukrainian forces were somehow responsible, then there were all the parroted conspiracies to further obfuscate the truth.
Russia knows how to utilise the distrust many here in the West have for their governments for its own gain. Russia Today is almost mainstream here now.
Really quite bizarre, from my perspective.
Anyway, have a good trip if you come over here mate, and I hope peace finds your country soon.
Putin Huylo!
Thans a lot! Putin is indeed what you said.) But it's quite complicated to find an ultimate answer to the propaganda question. Yes, indeed, Russian-language/ethnicity (or both) people in the East were much more gullible in terms of 'Russian world' influence, the considered (and some still) themselves 'Russia', or I'd rather say - 'Soviet'. Believing in Soviet myths, angry NATO bastards, etc. Very few (no more than 10%) of them even been abroad (Turkey for holidays - included) or even Russia (no more than 20%), which is much closer than Kiev (Rostov to Donets is like London to brighton, while Kiev to Donets is like Isle of Skye to London).
The same (a bit worse) is about Crimea - they have a lot of former black sea officers from Russia settles in Sevastopol after retirement. It started in 50ies and now (by 1991) Sevastopol is 95% hardore-soviet-Russianed. Pro-soviet and pro-communist, with huuuge Soviet-era sentiments, not really Russian. Russia with is a mirror of Soviet Union for them. Illusion, Brave New World.
In Kiev it is (and always was) different - Kiev is also predominantly Russian-speaking and vast Russian population (me being one), but none of us ever dreamed of Russia and very few (only some old people) of Soviet Union. Even though, my father speaks very poor Ukrainian in his sixties, after living 50 years in Kiev - he became huge Ukrainian patriot and the whole situation is very sad for him.
I lived and worked for US company in Moscow for two years and I can say that we, Ukrainian Russians - differ a lot from those in Moscow. A lot. Like Englishman in New York. I never managed to explain locals that there is no such a problem as 'Russian language in Ukraine' or 'oppression of Russian language in Ukraine'. The don't believe it, even educated guys. They don't understand Ukrainian (it's somewhere in the middle between Rissian and Polish, closer to Polish and Slovak). For me, speaking Russian, Ukrainan, English and some Spanish it's funny, but understandable - we are just different. We want to live in a free country open to the world, while they like the feeling of a Soviet-esqe power state that's up against the whole world with an option to nuke anyone they like.
As for the locals in Italy, France, UK (to a lesser extent) taking Russian point of view - it's understandable. Russia invests oodles of dollars in propaganda. Everybody is tired, or economic chasm we all are in, islamic tensions, etc, etc. Plus our current government is utter shit, quite close to Yankovich during Maidan (which I never supported sine I don't believe that revolutions can solve any problems here - like corruption, faith in Big Brother (Russia or US or EU) that will solve everything and bring peace and prosperity. We have to grow up and do everything ourselves - nobody wants or needs us in US or EU and our lives are in our hands.
It's a pity that Ukraine is once again a borderland between civilisations and battlefield of Russian and US interests.
