Ukraine Rebel Leader Says Stalingrad Coming to Donetsk
By Stepan Kravchenko and Jake Rudnitsky Jul 24, 2014 10:46 AM ET
Pro-Russian rebel leader Alexander Borodai said he’s preparing for block-to-block fighting to defend Donetsk as Ukraine seeks to retake the stronghold and end a conflict he says has resulted in 10,000 deaths.
“We will stand till the end,” Borodai, the Muscovite spin doctor-turned prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, said in an interview today. “If the Ukrainians start an offensive, it will become a second Stalingrad,” Borodai said, referring to the World War II battle that claimed almost 2 million Soviet and Nazi lives.
Borodai, 41, reiterated his denial of involvement in the destruction of Malaysian Air (MAS) Flight MH17, which was brought down in insurgent territory last week. The U.S. says the jet was likely struck by separatists using a Russian-supplied Buk missile system. Borodai said by mobile phone that the heaviest weapon in his arsenal is a Soviet-made Strela-10 mobile missile complex cobbled together from spare parts in the past few days.
A rebel commander, Aleksandr Khodakovsky, told Reuters July 22 that insurgent forces did indeed have a Buk system before the Malaysia Air disaster. Borodai dismissed the claim, saying the separatists have nothing to hide from the investigation into the disaster and turned over the black boxes for international inspection.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-24/ukraine-rebel-leader-says-stalingrad-coming-to-donetsk.html