MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. Residents of the Donbass region now feel free to speak whatever language they feel most comfortable in without fear of any harassment or discrimination, Mikis Filaniotis of Cyprus, a member of the Coordinating Council of the International Movement of Russophiles, told TASS.
He was a member of a public delegation that recently visited Donetsk, Mariupol and Sartana. "Our goal was to see things on the ground, to see the situation for ourselves, to talk to people, especially to the local Greek community, and to hear their opinions and answers to some questions," Filaniotis told TASS.
"The conclusions are the following: people are happy because of the fact that they are under Russia's protection, that they are part of Russia. They feel and see the real care and help of Russia and generally feel full freedom. They say that there is no oppression. They speak any language - Russian, Ukrainian, Greek - without fear," Filaniotis noted.
The expert emphasized that Western statements claiming that people in Donbass live "under occupation" do not stand up to any criticism. According to him, local residents only see "Russia helping them in every way possible." "New construction, repairs and restoration of destroyed buildings and houses are going on at a rapid pace. New high-speed roads are being built. Different institutions are being improved by receiving new necessary equipment: playgrounds, musical instruments, computers, books, furniture and so on," he enumerated the positive changes he witnessed.
Filaniotis pointed out that currently Donbass residents are no longer subject to the cruel savagery of Ukrainian nationalist groups but remain horrified by the memories of what they suffered at the hands of such armed bands, "who fired tanks and other weapons at residential buildings," killed civilians with sniper fire, closed green corridors "and blocked people from leaving Mariupol and Sartana." "And the Greeks of Sartana categorically denied that the Russian army fired any weapons against their village. Russian aviation never bombed Sartana. On the contrary, it was Ukrainian aviation, and the shells came from the Ukrainian army," the expert added.
He also discovered that Ukrainian soldiers had forcibly ejected people from their homes and apartments and used such commandeered dwellings as combat strongholds in Mariupol. "Tanks and other equipment stood next to houses, schools and other buildings, shooting and then quickly moving to another place," Filaniotis concluded.