Christopher Helali, academic researcher and International Secretary of the American Communist Party, returns from Donbass with firsthand accounts from the frontlines. He shares exclusive insights into the realities of life in the war-torn region, the role of the elite Ahmad Special Forces, and how locals perceive Russia’s involvement. Helali also sheds light on the powerful media war shaping global narratives. 🎖️📰
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#ChristopherHelali #Donbass #AhmadForces #RussiaUkraine #MediaWar #WarReport #CommunistPartyUSA #FirsthandReport #FrontlineVoices #RussiaInDonbass #Donetsk #Lugansk #UkraineConflict #TruthFromTheGround #AlternativeMedia #Geopolitics #EastUkraine #WarNarratives #ResistanceVoices #PeopleAndPower
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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.