12 years ago: The day Russia triggered the war in Donbas Exactly 12 years ago, on April 12, 2014, Russian paramilitary groups led by FSB officer Igor Girkin (Strelkov) crossed the border and seized the city of Sloviansk, marking the start of the armed occupation of the Donetsk region. 🚩 The myth of "civil war" Russia has spent years claiming the war in Donbas was a local "uprising." However, Girkin himself later admitted in interviews: "I was the one who pulled the trigger of war. If our unit hadn’t crossed the border, it would have all ended like it did in Kharkiv or Odesa." ⛏️ Rule by terror In his own admissions, Girkin revealed that there was no widespread desire to join Russia among the local population. To maintain control and "discipline," his units resorted to extrajudicial killings. He openly stated that they had to execute local civilians and residents to intimidate others and suppress any dissent. 🩸 The price of occupation What started 12 years ago with a small armed group has turned into the largest conflict in Europe since WWII. The "liberation" Girkin brought was nothing more than blood, fear, and the forced mobilization of the very people he claimed to be "protecting." Today, Girkin is in a Russian prison—not for his war crimes in Ukraine, but for being "not radical enough" for the Kremlin. A fitting end for a terrorist used and discarded by his own masters.