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Pando reporter Yasha Levine, whose roots are in Ukraine, just returned from a month on the border with Russia. He provides candid comments on the situation, cutting through layers of propaganda.
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Levine published this dispatch at Pando in August, and more are in the pipeline.
Noting his jetlag, we open with Levine’s personal history and roots in Ukraine, and his interest in getting to the real story by seeing it first-hand. We talk about the origins of the recent confrontation, and that Obamaco has not been honest about the US role in the coup of Yanukovich and has hurt American credibility. While confirming that there was no Russian “invasion” of Ukraine, Levine offers semi-comical descriptions of the unmarked fighters and equipment in Ukraine.
We talk about the makeup of the separatists and the role of Kiev’s oligarchs in the conflict, and Putin’s upper hand in the resolution.