Russian anti-war protester goes to see for herself

Maria was a Russian who fiercely opposed the invasion of Ukraine. She was adamant it was wrong, and she had no hostility towards the Ukrainian people. As she said, like most Russians she saw the Ukrainians as practically family. That in fact, many Russians and Ukrainians belonged to the same families. She could not understand the reason for the war and basically believed the western propaganda about the war.

But her attitude changed after she got the opportunity to travel to Donbass as an interpreter for an independent journalist, John Mark Dougan. What she saw shocked her. As well as interpreting she helped bring humanitarian aid to the people there who were suffering from the war – which for them had been going on since 2014.

Now she understands that the war was inevitable, even necessary. And that the western propaganda she had formerly largely believed was false – full of lies.

Her story is interesting and informative. t gives an insight into the beliefs of many liberal Russians who opposed this war when the invasion occurred in February 2022.