Russia bombed hospital eight months ago in Ukraine. Never admitted responsibility. War crime???

[happyslug]

17. "Chicken is not a bird - Bulgaria is not Abroad? What has that to do with this hospital??

Bulgaria was known to be pro Russian even in Tsarist days. While Bulgaria did support Hitler during WWII, once the Red Army overran Bulgaria, it became a very loyal Soviet Ally. On the other hand what has that to do with the fact this is a Hospital that was shell when it was BEHIND the Rebel lines in the Ukraine? You are demanding that Russia apologize for a Ukrainian War Crime. The pro Russian forces in Donetsk had no reason to shell the hospital, all they had to do was enter it and destroy it directly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donetsk

Both the BBC and CNN reported that the Hospital was shelled, but refused to say by who. The Britsh paper the Telegraph, says the Hospital was in rebel held territory, but refused to say who did the shelling:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/11389367/Ukraine-crisis-shell-hits-Donetsk-hospital.html

This Russian cite, which includes the video you posted, says it was shelling on Rebel held territory:

https://storify.com/reportedly/geolocating-a-hospital-shelling-in-ukraine-s-donet

Sorry, shelling a hospital is a war crime, but most armies do NOT shell their own hospitals if they can help it. Thus the shelling appears to have been Ukrainian, and based on the location probably from the infamous Azoz Battalion who are NOT even following orders from Kyiv. Kyiv has cracked down on Azoz Battalion in recent months, withdrawing them from the Front and slowly converting them to a Regular Ukrainian Army unit, but its reputation was so bad that even the US Congress pass a resolution forbidding any US Aid going to that unit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion

The Azoz Battalion claim over 50% of its troops are from the Eastern Ukraine. That is possible, the revolt is more from the Russian Speaking Cities and Coal "Patches" then from the Ukrainian Speaking farms. The Eastern Ukraine is the major Coal Mining Area of the Ukraine. If you studied US mining history, underground mining leads to massive support for each other and a tendency to think alike for that is needed to stay alive underground. In the US mines immigrants quickly learned English for knowing a common language increase safety (and one of the anti-union activity used by coal mine owners was to hire immigrants who spoke different languages so they could not talk to each other about unionization). Many a mining family refused to teach they Children they own language for they saw the difference in language as a tool used by mine owners to break miners solidarity. Thus in the US speaking English even at home became the norm among miners. I see the same trend in the Mines of the Eastern Ukraine, the miners may be majority Ukrainian, but once in the mines speaking Russian was seen as a safety matter and to make sure they spoke Russian even in the mines they did the same at home. Thus when you look at the fighting in the Eastern Ukraine, it is Russian Speakers who are in revolt, not just people who claim to be of Russian Nationality.

In the Cities you tended to see more people claiming Russian Nationality then in the Coal Patches, but the affect of what was happening in the Mines lead to most of the people speaking Russian, even as they claim to be Ukrainian Nationality. You see this in Western Pennsylvania. The largest single dialect in the US extends from Northern West Virginia to I-80 then East to Allegheny Mountain and then West to just across the Ohio and West Virginia Border. It matches up with the bituminous coal maps of the same area. Thus Western Pennsylvania speak one dialect because that was the dialect learned in the coal mines of Western Pennsylvania. This dialect extended to the Steel Mills of Pittsburgh, for that is where the coal ended up.

Thus the Eastern Ukraine speak Russian for the same reason the people of Western Pennsylvania speak the same dialect, Coal. Those same Coal Miners may vote differently when NOT threatened, but when Threatened they tend to vote as one solid block. Again using Western Pennsylvania as an example, Obama won solid 40% of the votes in Rural Western Pennsylvania counties in 2012, that with a War on Coal, talk that Obama will take the Coal Miners Deer Rifles away from them, and Abortion (all hot topics for Miners). Obama's race hurt him in Western Pennsylvania, Senator Bob Casey received 5 to 8 percentage more votes then Obama in those same Western PA Counties (I blame the difference in votes on the lingering affect of the use of African Americans as Strike breakers during the vary nasty 1928 Coal Strike, African Americans were recruited during the strikes but NOT told of the Strike till their arrived and by then it was to late for them to go back home, thus a strong anti-African attitude among coal miners and their families, a hatred that lasts to this day in some families. I mention for it is different from the hatred of African Americans you see in the South and in inner cities, crime is cited but the hatred is deeper then an fear of crime, it is the fear of losing one's source of Income and that goes back to the 1928 coal strike).

Those percentage for Obama would have been higher, if Obama was seen as being more pro union and for doing something to get the country going, but Obama's efforts to get the economy going had no or little affect on those rural communities and their responded with their votes. on the other hand, those same Voters, will support each other during a strike or other threat to them. I see the same thing in the Eastern Ukraine, those coal miners and others will vote for various candidates but if threatened they will group together and fight as one. I see the later coming into play in the Ukraine, those coal miners decided as a group the overthrow of the previous government was an attack on them, thus they must act as one against the danger. Russia may or may not be helping them (is suspect Russia is, but Russia is denying it is providing such help) but it is only due to a pre-existing group that formed and took charge. Moscow's control over the rebels is weak, but at the same time support of the Rebels for Putin is strong (they see Putin as their protector). Thus Putin has some say in what goes on in the Eastern Ukraine, but he is NOT in control. The area went into revolt for its own reasons and being a coal mining area, once it was decided to revolt, even people who opposed the decision would fight with and support their fellow coal miners.

Just some comments that this revolt in the Eastern Ukraine is more then a Russian Plot to take over the Ukraine. Those Coal Miners desires HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED and the present Government in Kyiv has refused to do so. Thus that leaves two options, a violent suppression of the revolt OR the revolt leads to an independent nation (and annexation into the Russian Federal Republic). In many ways it is up to the present Ukrainian government to decide which it will be, but the present government dislikes the choice so has decided to do neither. The present Government does NOT have the resources to suppress the rebels but will not deal with them. That is a recipe for this fight to linger for years. Putin has proposed a settlement, federation, but the Ukrainian Government has refused that offer. Thus we return to the ability to suppress, which the Ukraine does not have. Thus bring us back to the present Ukrainian Government talking to the Rebels, which they refuse to do and we start all over again. This will last for years until either the Ukrainian government gets its act together and suppresses the revolt, talk to the rebels and come to terms with the rebels (Probably on some terms of federation, or the rebels decides to declare independence and Russia recognizes them as independent and the border becomes a de facto national border that the Ukraine refuses to acknowledge, but everyone else will treat as real. The best solution is some sort of federation so the Eastern Ukraine feels that it can protect itself within the political structure of the Ukraine, but the next best choice is de facto independence. Kyiv hates both options, but Kyiv's refusal to even discuss the options with the rebels may end being the decision that de facto independence is the way to go.