REACTION OF DONETSK REGION RESIDENTS TO RUSSIA'S ARMED AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE: 2014 YEAR ; РЕАКЦІЯ ЖИТЕЛІВ ДОНЕЦЬКОЇ ОБЛАСТІ НА ЗБРОЙНУ АГРЕСІЮ РОСІЇ ПРОТИ УКРАЇНИ У 2014 р

Abstract

The article clarifies and analyzes the reaction of the population of Donetsk region to the "Russian spring" and the military invasion of Donbass. The mechanisms of the Russian special coordination center in resolving the military confrontation in the Donetsk region in order to incite public hatred to demonstrate the alleged «internal conflict» and not the aggression of the Russian Federation have been studied. The evolution of the mood of Donetsk residents in connection with the active hostilities in eastern Ukraine and the reasons for their changes have been established. Thus, it was found that the revolutionary changes were perceived ambiguously by the residents of Donetsk region. This was due to their significant presence under the influence of those media outlets that discredited the events on the Maidan and their supporters. Relevant sentiments were used by both internal and external forces that pursued their own goals. This led to a socio-political confrontation between pro-Russian forces and supporters of a united Ukraine. The active resistance of the Ukrainian population to the «Russian Spring» and the desire of the majority, according to opinion polls, to thwart the Kremlin leadership's plans to provoke internal conflict and forced it to intervene militarily with paramilitary and military groups. They were disguised as local «militias» who spread bloodshed and enmity through various provocations. However, the offensive of the Ukrainian army and the weak support of the inhabitants of the terrorist activities of the «DNR» threatened the existence of the Russian occupation administration, which prompted official Moscow to introduce battalion tactical groups of the Russian Armed Forces on the mainland of Ukraine. Their intervention led to significant losses of the Ukrainian army and the signing of a plan for a peaceful settlement of the situation in the east of the country, the so-called Minsk-1. This divided the territory of Donetsk region into temporarily occupied and controlled Ukraine. After active hostilities, the attitude of Donetsk residents towards Ukraine and its army changed, as a significant part of them sought to withdraw the latter from their region; the number of supporters of the "independence of the DNR" increased and, at the same time, the number of those who sought to join the region to the Russian Federation decreased. ; У статті з'ясовано та проаналізовано реакцію населення Донецької області на «російську весну» та військове вторгнення на Донбас. Досліджено механізми російського спеціального координаційного центру у розв'язанні військового протистояння на Донеччині з метою розпалювання суспільної ворожнечі для демонстрації нібито «внутрішнього конфлікту», а не агресії РФ. Встановлено еволюцію настроїв донеччан у зв'язку з активними бойовими діями на Сході України та причини їх змін.