00:00Now, for more insight, academic researcher and the international secretary of the American
00:05Communist Party, Christopher Hilali, joins me right here in the studio. Chris, it's good to
00:10have you join me right here. Now, you just got back from Donbass, where you witnessed or observed
00:16the special training by the Ahmad Special Forces. Now, share with us, what was the special thing
00:23that you saw that maybe surprised you there? Well, first and foremost, seeing the multi-ethnic
00:29multilingual, multireligious dimensions of these various soldiers from all parts of the Russian
00:35Federation was very unique. These were people from different walks of life, different parts of the
00:40country, different backgrounds coming together to serve the Russian Federation, to serve their
00:44homeland. And one thing that we saw, of course, was the intense training, especially around
00:49trenches and drones. And for me, it was sort of a blast from the past, looking at some of this
00:55warfare and thinking of World War I. And, you know, we remember the scenes in All Quiet on the
00:59Western Front. And there you have these trenches and these soldiers are learning tactics to storm
01:03the trenches and to continue to advance the Russian military's objectives. So it was very,
01:08very unique to see. But the courage and the dignity and the heroism of these young conscripts,
01:14even some of them older, who are coming to serve the nation, was unparalleled.
01:17All right. We understand the way journalists and bloggers from the United States, Canada and other
01:24countries who were given, you know, free access to the entire place, you know, for them to witness.
01:31What was their reaction when they saw the realities on ground?
01:34I mean, people were shocked. I mean, a lot of people I this was my second trip to the Donbass and
01:38I had been to Lugansk last year where we did some investigation. But for a lot of people who had never
01:44been to Russia or it had never been to the Donbass, it was unbelievable to see what had been
01:48accomplished since 2014, not only in terms of the battlefield, the objectives, the liberation of
01:54many of the cities and towns and villages, but also the reconstruction efforts, the investment,
02:00because one thing that was very well established was that under Ukraine, these areas were basically
02:06backwaters. They were considered basically, you know, the wild parts of Ukraine. There was no
02:11investment, no infrastructure development. There was just stealing and siphoning of money. You could
02:16see a lot of resources being placed there now, a lot of new things being built for young people, old
02:22people, hospitals, universities, you name it. So I think that that caught a lot of people by surprise as to
02:27the amount of real care for the people in the region and for their well-being.
02:33Now, you had the opportunity to also speak to members of the Ahmad Special Forces. What insights did
02:41they share about the experience and the ongoing conflict? Of course, for those who had already
02:46been to the front line and many of the commanders, they, of course, spoke of the intense struggle
02:52that was ongoing on the front lines, but ultimately of the training that they were receiving that really
02:58gave them an advantage, an edge against many of the Ukrainian soldiers who were merely being taken
03:04off the streets and just thrown into the meat grinder. You saw, of course, there was a lot of care around
03:11also wounds and medical care. Each soldier was being trained to take care of themselves or their
03:17comrades in case of some accident or in case of some attack where they lost limbs or were severely
03:24wounded. So you could see that there was a tremendous amount of effort placed on their development and that had
03:29seen benefits on the battlefield, according to the commanders that we spoke to who had been to the
03:33front. All right. While you were there, you also noted the link between the Soviet World War II and
03:40today's fight against fascism. Now, talking about your engagement with the locals there, do they see
03:47this as a continuation of the fight against fascism? Absolutely. I mean, there's no doubt about it. I mean,
03:53we just came off of the celebration, you know, you and I were here for the May 9th holiday.
03:58You saw so many flags, monuments, St. George ribbons, all of these things everywhere, posters, banners,
04:06and people wearing still the ribbon today, wearing different types of badges and pins,
04:14commemorating these events, people going to these monuments and laying flowers and other,
04:20you know, gifts to these various monuments. But one thing is certain, the Soviet experience in
04:26the Great Patriotic War and the experiences 2014 are linked because they are a common struggle
04:31against fascism. At that time, you had Bandera living. Now you have his descendants who are
04:36struggling in Kiev. And that's what the people there told us. And they are struggling the same
04:40as their grandfathers and fathers. All right. You visited Mariupol and the steel plants there and
04:47some other, you know, structures and infrastructure and all of that. Now, if you have to share with us,
04:54you mentioned them earlier, but I'd like us to go back there again because sometimes people sit down
04:58and say, well, these are just propaganda. But you were there first time. You saw some of these things.
05:03Now, how was the difference between the destruction on ground and the effort towards rebuilding those
05:10those infrastructure? And the march talked about Russian aggression. How do you put them side by
05:18side? Give us your analysis and your observation of that. I mean, one thing that was very clear is
05:23that the Ukrainian forces in Azovstal and in the areas around Mariupol indiscriminately bombed
05:29civilian homes, the homes of the workers of the Azovstal plant, residential areas, complexes. I mean,
05:35you could see vast destruction on an enormous scale, something that I saw in Syria, for example,
05:41when I fought there. But you could see just entire neighborhoods completely decimated. And what we
05:46saw going in, especially after these past few years is reconstruction efforts outside of the periphery,
05:52building massive apartment complexes and giving housing to those who lost their housing in those
05:57initial days of the struggle to liberate Mariupol. So we saw these beautiful complexes with hospitals,
06:04schools, kindergartens, even universities. They opened up a naval cadet facility that has a thousand
06:10plus students. So you saw all of this and you said, look at these investments. They were building
06:14roads. They were building infrastructure. It just was unbelievable. The reconstruction efforts for the
06:19theater, for various cultural sites, religious sites and churches. So clearly there was an effort by
06:24the Ukrainians and the forces there to decimate the city. The Russians have come in and with the locals
06:31together, rebuilding something very beautiful. I think it will be a resort city to match Sochi in
06:36the future. That's fantastic. But talking about the locals, how are they reacting to this change,
06:42this new horizon that they're seeing? I mean, listen, I mean, some locals are still worried.
06:47They're still nervous to speak to us. Those who spoke with us were very open. And they, of course,
06:52spoke about the struggles, the hardship, the trauma that they experienced, but also the thankfulness,
06:58the fact that they can breathe now within the Russian Federation, having been incorporated as
07:04oblasts within that entity, and that they can be proud of their language, their culture, their
07:10heritage, their traditions, their religion. And they don't need to live in fear. They don't need to
07:14think of themselves as a minority, as an other. They are now well-received and well-respected,
07:19and they have their dignity. And that was something that was a common theme throughout everyone that we
07:24spoke with. They have a sense of dignity now. They have a sense of the future. And they believe
07:29that they can give a better life to their children and grandchildren. All right. Now,
07:33some journalists have claimed that Western media brainwashed the public. And you have lived in the
07:39West. You have been here. You've seen the realities of all of the sides. Now, what moments stand out for
07:46you when these issues are mentioned and talked about the issue of being brainwashed and all of
07:53and the realities on ground? What stands out for you? We met many people who fought since 2014 while
07:58we were there, many people who struggled, many people who lost sons, daughters, family members,
08:03husbands, you name it. And so when you look at that and you understand that these people struggled
08:09without any outside help, really. And they even said they would have wanted outside help,
08:15more outside help. But they realized that this struggle had to come from themselves.
08:19So especially in Donetsk and Lugansk, the people rose up and were able to form militias and armed forces.
08:25They had, you know, training from either the Soviet military before, and they were able to organize
08:29themselves to liberate themselves. We saw many veterans. We saw, you can't imagine countless people
08:34who had been through that struggle, who told us that they were going to do it, whether Russia helped or not.
08:39And of course, Russia wasn't able to help at the time. They still tried a diplomatic approach. We saw
08:44Minsk one and Minsk two, but the people there, they struggled. They struggled from 2014 to 2022
08:51when the conditions changed. And I think that we have to really understand the people in that place
08:56at that time in the context to understand that it was their struggle. It was their struggle for their
09:01independence, for their rights, for their self-determination, which the West constantly touts
09:05as being one of the pillars of the international rules-based order.
09:08Hmm. Talking about the West, do you think that the audiences in the West get a filtered version
09:16of these real events?
09:18Absolutely, because it goes against their narratives. It goes against their interests.
09:22Ultimately, it goes against their strategic objectives in terms of Eastern Europe and in terms
09:28of long-term encirclement and fragmentation for the Russian Federation.
09:32So obviously, it goes against their own interests to say that somehow the people are proud to be
09:38Russian. They want to be part of Russia. They want to struggle for their Russian identity.
09:41That is something alien. It can't be possible. These people are fighting against some totalitarian
09:46fascist regime in Moscow when the real totalitarian fascist regime is in Kiev, Washington, and Brussels.
09:53But you see that this competition of narratives is another dimension of the battlefield.
09:57And of course, many of us, many people that we spoke to said this war is not only on the military
10:03objectives. It's also on the hearts and minds of the people of the world. And I can tell you for
10:07sure that the people of the global South understand it fully, especially our colleagues from other
10:12countries like Lebanon that have experienced it themselves. But the colleagues from the West,
10:16especially from Canada, understood the true dimensions and scale of this, having visited and
10:21talking one-on-one with the people. All right. Let me get your reaction to this statement by the
10:28German chancellor that Berlin, France, the United States and UK have agreed to lift the restrictions on
10:37the long-range weapons supply to Ukraine. What do you think about that?
10:40I mean, it's a tremendous escalation and provocation. I mean, the giving the green light to extend the
10:47ranges means direct confrontation with the Russian Federation. Okay. We saw what happened in Kursk
10:52Oblast. We saw what happened when the West gave the impetus to push in to the Russian Federation's
10:58territory, but now to use advanced missile systems, missile systems that can also have weapons of mass
11:04destruction capability to use those systems into Russia's territory far beyond the scope. Even some of the
11:10the missiles covering Moscow itself. This is an enormous escalation, I think. And I think it's
11:15something that shows not only the desperation of the West now that they're losing Ukraine on the
11:20battlefield, but also the need to escalate this if they want to maintain some control over the situation
11:27and they want to preserve some of their ongoing military and security objectives. But I think the
11:32Russian Federation has said, and President Vladimir Putin was clear about it, they will respond in kind.
11:37And Western countries that house NATO bases will also be legitimate targets if they pursue this
11:43strategy. All right. We have to leave you here now, Christopher Hilali, researcher and international
11:47secretary of the American Communist Party. It's always interesting to have you here. Thank you very
11:53much. Thank you. Great.
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