Donetsk People’s Republic commander assassinated

Minneapolis, MN – Ukrainian Special Forces assassinated Arsen Pavlov, a hero of the Donbass region’s fight against domination by the Ukraine, on Oct. 16. A bomb detonated in the elevator of his apartment building killed Pavlov, a battalion commander who is also known by his call name “Motorola”. The Donetsk Ministry of Defense labeled this an act of terrorism by the Ukraine government.

Though targeted and claimed dead by the Ukrainian media dozens of times over the last two years, Pavlov recently completed a security assignment in Lugansk People’s Republic in order to suppress an alleged attempt to overthrow the government there.

In February of 2014 the Ukraine government was toppled by a neo-Nazi led coup, installing a billionaire as president. The coup was financed and supported by the U.S. government through both non-governmental organizations and armed groups. Many of the U.S.-backed groups are openly fascist, targeting trade unionists and killing leftists and ethnic minorities.

In response to the fascist coup in the capital of Kiev, the regions on the Russian border, Donbass and Lugansk, fought for independence and established People’s Republics in which people have a real voice. Russia supports self-determination for the two regions following the U.S. and NATO backed coup. Russia would like to see a legitimate government in the Ukraine and normalize relations with their neighbor.

The Ukraine is rich in natural resources; the U.S. and NATO are attempting to control the course of the Ukraine. U.S. and European corporations want to move in and take the profits back to their banks. It is important to follow the developments emerging from this region as it has implications in the fight against imperialism, the self-determination of nations, and the growing frictions between imperialist powers.