A Look At The Pro-Russian Insurgents In Ukraine

Pro-Russian Commander In Eastern Ukraine Sheds Light On Origin Of Militants -- Wall Street Journal

Igor Strelkov Says He Brought Armed Fighters to the Region From Crimea

The elusive commander of the pro-Russia militants who have seized the east Ukrainian city of Slovyansk has revealed himself for the first time since the crisis began, saying in a taped interview that his armed crew arrived in Ukraine's east from Crimea.

Igor Strelkov, the commander whom officials in Kiev have described as a Russian intelligence officer, gave a picture of the fighters he brought to Slovyansk, who since early April have transformed the city into the epicenter of eastern Ukraine's pro-Russia unrest. The new government in Kiev has described Slovyansk as the "most dangerous city in Ukraine."

"The unit that I came to Slovyansk with was put together in Crimea. I'm not going to hide that," Mr. Strelkov told the Moscow-based Komosomolskaya Pravda tabloid in a video interview released Saturday. "It was formed by volunteers—I would say half or two-thirds of them citizens of Ukraine."

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My Comment: Everyone that I talk to in eastern Ukraine tells me he same thing .... most of the pro-Russian insurgents are locals with some support from Russian "volunteers". Case in point .... all the pro-Russian rebels who have been killed in the past two weeks were locals. However .... there are also reports that some of these pro-Russian groups are extremely well organized, professional, and have weapons and equipment that the locals do not. Who are these people? .... as the above WSJ post speculates .... they are probably from a branch within the GRU and/or some other Russian intelligence branch.