Kiev Has Lost The 'Hearts And Minds' Of Eastern Ukraine

Max Avdeev for BuzzFeed News

Max Seddon, BuzzFeed: The Government Is Losing Territory In Eastern Ukrainians’ Hearts And Minds



Ukraine’s 10-month attempt to reclaim its easternmost provinces has only made locals there hate the central government even more. BuzzFeed News’ Max Seddon reports from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.



KHANZHONKOVE, Ukraine — School was out for summer, and Ukrainian artillery fire was creeping ever closer, so, after lengthy deliberations with his parents, Sasha Vasin joined the rebel militia. He was 15 years old. “I wanted to do it from the first day. I couldn’t look at people dying anymore,” he said.



WNU Editor: When you have kids, teachers, miners, men in their fifties, even housewives taking up arms .... you have lost the war. I must confess that this is something that is very hard for me to accept .... I always believed that a solution was possible in the Ukraine conflict .... no more now.