US troops training extremists in Ukraine: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Dimitry Babich, a radio host at the Voice of Russia radio station in Moscow, to discuss the Ukrainian crisis.

The following is a rough transcription.

Press TV: Mr. Babich, you have NATO planning to deploy more forces, but more interesting is the war exercises that is going to be held between Ukraine and the United States all the way through to November. Who is pushing the buttons here? I mean, it seems like maybe they forgot about their agreements, called the Minsk 2. It seems though that is in place although there has been some violations, but why are Ukraine and NATO in particular stirring the pot, so to speak?

Babich: Well, I think indeed it is a breach of the Minsk agreement. And the Russian foreign minister already has protested, saying it’s a very strange exercise, an exercise that lasts for several months. And 300 US Marines will be training not just the Ukrainian military, they will be creating the so-called voluntary battalion; the Ukrainian voluntary battalions; these are usually ultra-right organizations, which took part in toppling the legally-elected government in Kiev, which are very racist, very anti-Russian.

So, these people are going to be trained by the US Marines in the west of Ukraine. And you know the rebels in the southeast of Ukraine, the pro-Russian rebels, they already told that there are some American military present in that area, too.

So, of course this is very, very worrisome, and I would add to it also the fact that the United States and NATO are going to have military exercises in the Baltic in May. There will be thousands of servicemen involved with Boeings using laser-guided equipment, and all sorts pf other lethal weapons. So, it looks like that NATO is amassing its huge amount of forces on the border with Russia.

At the same time, the United States and NATO accuse Russia of aggressive intentions. But this is just laughable. Look at the map of NATO and the Soviet Union in 1991, and look at the map of NATO and Russia now. You will see who extended and who is aggressive here.

Press TV: Those initial statements by the Ukrainian interior minister… Regarding those military exercises with the US, he said that we want to use the US’s experience so we can be prepared for war. It almost sounds like they are preparing themselves for this war, which really is not being provoked by Russia. It is something they are trying to, it seems, make happen. Doesn’t it appear that way?

Babich: Yes, the problem is that Russia in its official statements never, never speaks about a war between Ukraine and Russia. President Putin has excluded this possibility in all of his interviews. The only side which keeps talking about a war between Russia and Ukraine, this is the new regime in Kiev. They call themselves victims of Russian aggression; they openly say that they are in a state of war with Russia, so it is a very strange situation. One country says that it is not attacking another country, it does not want to have a war, but another country says that there is already a war going on, so they need American instructors, they need foreign troops on their territory, they need lethal foreign weapons.

So, to me, it’s a very, very strange piece of a small country being aggressive against a big country. And the only reason why the Ukrainian regime behaves that way is because it has the total backing of the United States and of the European Union.

Look at the European newspapers, look at the statements of the European officials; they never criticize the new regime in Kiev, although it has led a war against its own people, which already cost about 5,000 lives. OK? They criticize Russia, probably Russia should be criticized. But why is there not a simple word against the new regime in Kiev. It was this regime that bombed the cities and cut off 4 million people in the east of Ukraine from all kinds of food supplies… from the rest of Ukraine.

MTM/HJL

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