by Stephen Lendman

Imagine Western-supported putschists toppling Ukraine's legitimate government. Imagine usurping power lawlessly.

Imagine fascism replacing democracy. Imagine it with US complicity and support.

Imagine waging war on ordinary people. Ones rejecting putschist power. On freedom fighters.

On Ukraine's best and bravest. On people wanting to live free. For fundamental rights everyone deserves.

Imagine being called terrorists for doing so. On May 16, Kiev declared Donetsk and Lugansk regions "terrorism organizations."

On May 11, they held legitimate referendums. They voted overwhelming for local autonomy. They proclaimed themselves sovereign states.

Kiev's coup-appointed deputy prosecutor general Nikolay Golomsha responded, saying:

"The two so-called 'people's republics' in Donetsk and Lugansk regions are terrorist organizations, which have a clear hierarchy, financing, and channels of weapons supplies."

Kiev's coup-appointed justice minister Pavel Petrenko lied. He wrongfully claimed both regions "were created by assaulting people, intimidation, sabotage, terrorist attacks, beatings, and murder of our citizens."

Criminal cases were initiated, he added. They investigating the "formation of the terrorist organizations."

Activists in both regions are defending their democratic rights. They're doing so courageously.

They're victims, not criminals. They're wrongfully blamed for Kiev crimes.

They continue out-of-control. Kiev declared war. It's attacking its own people. It's killing them in cold blood.

It's doing so with full US support. On May 17, powerful blasts rocked Slavyansk.

Eyewitnesses said local self-defense forces battled Kiev aggression. The battle began in Andreevka village.

Shelling came from Mount Karachun positions. One resident reported blasts feeling like "lightning struck."

Kiev wants hardline rule institutionalized. It wants opposition elements eliminated. It's waging war to crush them. It's doing so lawlessly.

Russia's Foreign Embassy responded. It expressed outrage. It demanded Kiev aggression stop, saying:

"The situation around Slavyansk in the Donetsk region dramatically worsened in the early hours of May 17."

"Ukrainian troops supported by aviation once again attempted to storm the city."

"This time, civilian installations were shelled by heavy artillery."

"Some people were wounded. A real threat to peaceful civilian lives was created. All this provokes Russia's rightful outrage."

"We are insisting once again on the immediate stoppage of military actions by Kiev in the southeastern part of Ukraine."

"Such punitive actions against their own citizens show the hypocrisy of the Kiev authorities who falsely declare their willingness to comply with the provisions of the Geneva Declaration concluded on April 17, 2014 and with the road map, developed by the OSCE."

"The question also arises (whether May 25) election(s) truly meet the democratic norms of the electoral process, when…carried out against the backdrop of the continuing military crisis in Ukraine?"

Moscow wants diplomatic conflict resolution. It wants all fighting halted. It sharply criticized Kiev aggression. It escalated. Its forces attempted to storm Slavyansk.

"There's a real threat to the lives of civilians" said Moscow's Foreign Ministry. "All this arouses rightful indignation in Russia."

Fighting rages during so called national unity talks. They're fake. They have no legitimacy whatever.

Freedom fighters are excluded from participating. Coup supporters alone were invited.

"It seems that the self-proclaimed Ukrainian authorities simply use this forum to cover up their aggressive actions," said Russia's Foreign Ministry.

"We hope that our Western partners will have a drastic influence on Kiev in order to start a real, not ostentatious, work on moving towards national reconciliation in the country."

Washington deplores peace and stability. It prioritizes violence, conquest and control. Chances for diplomatic conflict resolution are nil.

Slavyansk's People's Mayor Vyacheslav Ponomarev said Kiev forces suffered heavy losses. He claimed:

"The total losses of the punitive fascist Kiev junta during May 2 -12, 201 amount to 650 killed and wounded…"

They include "285 Right Sector extremists, who joined the National Guard, 120 Ukrainian mercenaries, 90 employees of the Security Service of Ukraine, and 70 foreign mercenaries."

Self-defense forces lost eight fighters, he added. Three more were wounded.

On May 17, the Donetsk People's Republic prepared a query for joining Russia. Its Prime Minister Alexander Borodai said:

"Our industry is linked with Russia. If we maintain close economic relations with Russia, the Donetsk People's Republic economy will develop."

"The query will be sent to the Russian Foreign Ministry after the republic’s government is formed. The official draft has been prepared."

"It is timely to talk about the concrete date for sending the query."

Days earlier, Co-Chairman Denis Pushilin said:

"We, the people of Donetsk, based on results of the May 11 referendum and the declaration of sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic, declare that from now on DPR is now a sovereign state."

"Given the will of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic, and in order to restore historical justice, we ask Russia to consider the issue of our republic’s accession into the Russian Federation."

On Friday, Right Sector thugs tried seizing Zaporizhia's Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). It's Europe's largest. It's fifth largest worldwide.

It's near Enerhodar. It's in Southeastern Ukraine. It's on the Dnieper River. It includes six VVER-1000 pressurized light water nuclear reactors.

It generates over one-fifth of Ukraine's electricity. Local police detained 20 Right Sector thugs. The previous day, others were captured.

Days earlier, they took over a Ukraine recreation center. Police responded. They seized machine guns and other weapons. They found Right Sector symbols.

On May 9, radicalized elements tried seizing Mariupol's administration building. They were dressed in black. They opened fire on activists guarding the City Executive Committee building.

Latvian European Parliament member Tayyanan Zhdanok addressed fellow MPS. She urged them declare the neo-Nazi Right Sector's movement a terrorist organization.

Asset freezes would follow. They'd be isolated. They'd be denied entry into EU countries.

They'd be wanted. They'd be subject to arrest and imprisonment if captured. According to Zhdanok:

"(I)t is the Ukrainian interim government that is to bear the main responsibility for defeating the Right Sector, as it will have to finally draw a clear line between political organizations and far-right extremists."

"This line is now vague, and a number of state posts are occupied by radicals of fascist views, their reputation besmirched with participation in violent actions against their opponents or law enforcement authorities."

"After the appalling tragedy in Odessa, where Right Sector militants burnt 43 supporters of Ukraine's federalization alive, the need to prohibit the Right Sector became evident."

"And an ordinary ban on its activities is inadequate here. There is a need to defeat this extremist organization, disarming its militants, arresting activists and court trial."

Thousands of Right Sector thugs operate in Eastern Ukraine. They arrived to commit violence and mayhem.

They're targeting area freedom fighters. They're murdering civilians in cold blood.

They're cold-blooded killers. They masquerading as nationalist defenders. They're responsible for massacring 300 Odessans two week earlier.

They're Ukraine's worst, most ruthless and sadistic. They're neo-Nazi thugs. They're polar opposite Eastern Ukrainian freedom fighters.

They hold enormous power. They're aligned with likeminded elements. They transformed Ukraine into a fascist police state.

They aim to crush all opposition groups. They want hardline rule institutionalized. They want fundamental freedoms destroyed.

They want what most Ukrainians oppose. Perhaps Western ones will join Eastern counterparts against them.

Perhaps once they learn they were had. Perhaps in the fullness of time. It remains to be seen what follows.

The battle for Ukraine's soul continues. It's not over. It just began. It's got miles to go.

It's for fundamental freedoms. Ones too precious to lose.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity"

http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com

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