Exclusive interview of the Head of the Donetsk
People's Republic for "Ukraina.ru" internet resource
- How did the war start for you?
- How did the war start for you?
— You know, it started in a pretty
banal way - with internet news. I watched the situation in Kiev in the end of
2013. Then I actually left for Kiev to see with my own eyes what was going on
there. And I realized that that war started.
- When you returned home, you found
yourself on the front line. What does a person feel, when he has to stand
upright and shoot?
— I will tell you honestly, there
was no fearlessness and recklessness. I am an ordinary human being. Ordinary
people get scared. It's scary, when bullets whistle overhead — you have a great
problem standing up. Those, who experienced it, will understand me. The first
three steps are the most difficult ones, and then the reflexes kick in. You
must have heard the good old commandos slogan: "no one but us". You
realize that there's no one but you, and rush forward! Gritting your teeth,
clenching the fists, you go forward, because there is no other way. Someone has
to do it.
- You mentioned fear. Are you
afraid of dying?
— No. You see, when you are in the
front line, the fear of death gets dull. Only one scare remains: that if you
are killed, you will not succeed in what you are doing. This is, perhaps, the
principal feeling.
- What about the loss of friends
and comrades? There are different kinds of fear, aren't there?
— You seem to be trying to single
out its constituent parts. The fear of losing friends and comrades, who are in
the rear - this fear, on the contrary, urges you to move forward, whatever the
outcome. You see, here one fear replaces the other fear. The task is fulfilled.
The enemy is defeated. And as for the consequences - well, the consequences are
different for different people.
- Do you remember your first
battle?
— I do. It was in the Lugansk
region. After that battle I set down and became aware of a very frightening
thing. I realized that the enemy would not stop, that it would go on. However,
looking at those people, who tried to kill me just half an hour before, I saw
them as the same young guys, 25 year old, perhaps a bit older than my own son,
and I was horrified by the thought that they were also Slavs. Then I realized
who we fight against. The horror was in the fact that it was possible to fool
those people, to dope them in such a way. That was a horrible feeling indeed.
To be frank, I pitied them.
- You wore a T-shirt to one of the
press-conferences with the quote “Oplot [“Stronghold” – the name of a People’s
Militia unit, headed by Zakharchenko] — live keenly”. What does “living keenly”
mean? Where does the Force lie, bro?
— It lies in the Truth. First of
all, “living keenly” is the way every male should live. You see, one cannot be
half-way pregnant or be a semi-male. A man should live keenly. Not in the sense
that a man should be a muscle-bound person – he should have a masculine
backbone. If a person has a backbone – not only a man, but a woman as well —
they’ve got stamina. The stamina is more important that physical strength,
because the stamina breaks every barrier. Physical strength has a definite
limit, and stamina is limitless. This limitless force is life itself. Only the
force should be righteous.
- In Shakhtersk you united the
units into a single army. Many people claim that it was in Shakhtersk (and not
in Snezhnoye, e.g.) that you experienced certain upheaval: you encouraged the
militiamen and inspired them in fighting… What happened then?
— It was a critical point there in
Shakhtersk at the time. After the enemy captured the town of Slavyansk,
Shakhtersk became the stronghold we could not afford losing. If we did lose the
town of Shakhtersk and were not able to recapture it at once, there would have
never existed any Donetsk People’s Republic as such. The enemy had amassed the
critical force, having pulled up all the reserves, everything they could
consolidate. In the first days of Shakhtersk defence the enemy outnumbered us
tenfold. Under such circumstances we had just to make the people see that there
are moments, when one’s goal in life should be nothing more, but gaining
freedom. Even by your death you are fighting for life. That is, by your death
you are changing the course of life. That was why I had to stand upright, not
to duck the enemy’s fire, walk in between the trenches. Thing is, when the guys
see that the commander walks upright and does not duck, they begin to follow
his example. Each of them finds the courage in their souls that had to surface.
It was then when I woke up the courage in them that they are displaying now. It
had to be done, although I had been scared myself.
- Who do you consider your enemies?
— If you mean those Ukrainian
soldiers that are on the other side of the front – they are mere children. Each
time I talk to captives, I can watch them arriving at understanding of real
state of things here in the course of 2-3 days and changing their point of
view. The real enemies are the castigators, who attacked our land, the
mercenaries, the United States of America that provoked the conflict in Ukraine
and the corrupt scum that bears the name of Ukrainian authorities.
- And what do the captives
generally tell?
— They tell that they thought only
apes lived here, that the city is in ruins, and we are robbing the last
remaining civilians amidst the rabble. They thought there were Russian
soldiers, terrorists, half-drunk “padded jackets” and “Colorado beetles” here…
Nevertheless, when they see a beautiful city, which is tidied up, in which
people stroll along the streets and children are playing their outlook changes.
Although, you know, there is another problem: when they send them here, they
are told they’d be given a mine and 50 slaves here. This is what they are
coming here for. They crave land and slaves.
- Just in several hundred meter
distance from the front line people are still living. Entire families refuse to
abandon their homes.
— In order for you to understand, I
should say that the mentality of my countrymen is quite different. Margaret
Thatcher once said that the psychology of a miner is similar to the psychology
of a soldier. They both constantly risk their lives. The feeling is adherent to
these people. Imagine that I left for a mine this morning – it can happen so
that I will fail to come back. You know everything about gas blasts. The recent
one was in the Zasyadko mine. Our women and children also see things in a
somewhat different light. We are a bit different. Kuzbass (coal mine basin in
Siberia) dwellers will understand us, sailors will understand us. That is, the
people who realize that death is only in one-step distance from them. Only one
wave, one blast and one bullet separate their life from the end. They are soldiers
deep down. And this psychology will not even let them leave their homes.
- According to the last reports
from the front line, Ukraine is trying to wreck the Minsk Agreement. Can you
list the provisions of the accord that are being violated by Kiev? What is the
goal that Ukrainian authorities pursue by such actions?
— Ukraine is not trying, it is
wrecking. All the provisions are being violated: the ceasefire regime, the
withdrawal of heavy artillery, economic issues, political issues. In fact, the
Minsk Agreement in the form, in which it was signed by Poroshenko, was meant
for the curbing of our offensive. That is, he tried to transfer the conflict
from the military context to the political dimension in order to freeze it, to
increase the personnel, to train and arm it, etc. At the moment the process is
nearing completion. They have consolidated forces, thus, they no longer need
the Minsk Agreement. Provocations are going to occur again and again.
Eventually they will grow into full-scale hostilities. Until the moment when we
trap them into the next pocket, Kiev will not recognize any Minsk agreements.
- According to your instinct, when
will the full-scale hostilities start?
— I as the head of state have
access to all the intelligence data we’ve got, and I should say they can start
any moment. The forces and means they have consolidated allow them to carry out
operational tactic tasks, though not the strategic ones, of course, and start
actions any moment. That was proved by the Maryinka events. No one expected
them to start an offensive that night. We got ready for it, we carried out a
developing attack. Nevertheless we did not expect such a full-scale assault. In
the course of four days before it they tried to find our soft spots and carry
out developing attacks. We got ready. We consolidated the forces necessary to
rebuff the enemy at all times. In my opinion, we defended out territory with
flying colours. We wrecked the enemy’s offensive.
- Has the Novorossiya project been
frozen or not? Certain politicians consider Donetsk and Lugansk parts of
Ukraine, and that the followers of Novorossiya idea will try to reach their
goal with the help of a constitutional reform in Ukraine. What is behind such
claims, in your opinion?
— We are looking forward the implementation
of this project and we will keep on doing this. Those who make such claims have
the right to their own vision. You should realize that we are building this
project with our own hands and paying for it with our own blood, in contrast to
those people, who claim that it was frozen, terminated or whatever. For us it
is one of the main goals we are fighting for. I will not tell you right now
what it should look like. I will not go into the details of our vision, or
speculate about abstract notions. I know that it ought to exist and it will
exist. Everything else will become clear eventually, and we will talk it over
once this Novorossiya comes into existence. We will discuss the territories it
will include, the plans it will implement and what issues it will tackle in
political context.
- Is Novorossiya possible in
composition of Ukraine?
— No. I am puzzled by the ability
of journalists to snatch quotes out of their context. It is evident that there
are politicians who are entitled to certain statements and those, who are not
entitled to any. I will not tell you whether I am entitled to anything. I will
say the following: I do not see either myself or my side of the conflict in
composition of Ukraine, as well as in composition of any other country. I see
us as equal partners. Yes, I see us as good neigbours or simply neigbours. Yes,
I see Novorossiya as a strong state, but I do not see Novorossiya in
composition of Ukraine. That is, Novorossiya can exist as a transformed
Ukraine. It surely can. I am one hundred per cent sure that what had happened
in Donetsk can any moment burst out in Odessa, Kiev, Kharkov, Mukachevo
[Transcarpathian region of Ukraine]. They have already proclaimed themselves
the Mikachevo People’s Republic. Pay attention to what is going on in Lviv. The
way we will communicate with these republics, the agreements we will make with
them is a matter for the future. Nevertheless, sooner or later it will happen.
Ukraine as a state is at the end of its resource, and it became clear after the
first air raids on Donetsk and Lugansk. Everything that followed was the agony
of the statehood. A new state is being born right now – a fruit of this agony,
this death of the old system. What it will be like depends on us only. However,
by that moment we should be ready; we should have a strong army, well trained
and hardened in battles.
Aleksandr Zakharchenko was
interviewed by Darina Yevtushenko
Source: Truth about situation in
Ukraine 17-06-2015
