"The Russians Are Good At Two Things - Killing Civilians And Lying." Ukrainian Soldier Films Videos About The Harsh Reality Of War

"The Russians thought that after the invasion, they would be greeted by grateful Ukrainian citizens with flowers and apple pies, thanking them for overthrowing President Zelenskyy's 'Nazi regime,'" Operator Starsky answers the question about why he thinks the Russian army had miscalculated their invasion.

Operator Starsky, as this Ukrainian soldier calls himself, is a member of the National Guard of Ukraine, where he works as a media officer. He used to make videos about his unit's military training for his YouTube channel, showing how he fulfilled the challenges of doing push-ups, or filming vlogs with friends.

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Everything changed when the Russians attacked Ukraine. After two weeks of war, Starsky turned his channel into a place from which he reported on what was happening in Ukraine, visiting places where the toughest fights and massacres took place, such as the airport in Hostomel or the village of Bucha near Kiev. "The Russians Are Good At Two Things - Killing Civilians And Lying." the Ukrainian officer often repeats.

While it cannot be forgotten that Starsky works for the Ukrainian army, so all content and claims from the videos cannot be independently verified, it allows the public to look behind the scenes of the war, see how Russian drones are dismantled, the use of nuclear weapons by the Kremlin and listen to chats with those who survived the Russian massacre.

Is this the $ 120,000 Russian drone? It has an ordinary SLR camera

Operator Starsky is an officer of the National Guard of Ukraine, which in its modernized form has existed since 2014, when it was established in response to the Russian annexation of Crimea and the occupation of the territory in Donbas. According to his own words, he belongs to the rapid reaction brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard.

Previously, when the guard operated between 1991 and 2000, it was a military formation marked by Soviet organization and logistics. At first it belonged under the parliament, later under the Ukrainian president, but after the modernisation in 2014 it was incorporated into the Ministry of Internal affairs, where it still operates today, writes FIEP.

Operator Starsky constantly emphasises in his videos that the invasion broke out in February, but the war is not technically 'news'. "The war in Ukraine started in 2014. The first thing I did then was join the volunteer special forces of the police," says the soldier.

The recent video, in which he shows what a modern Russian reconnaissance drone Orlan-10 actually looks like, caused the biggest uproar. The Russian military estimates the price of the drone between $ 80,000 and $ 120,000 and praises the "modular architecture" of the drone, but Ukrainians have found that the Orlan-10 contains only an embedded Canon SLR, which the Russians taped to switch mode, instead of a "built-in camera".

Some Russian kindly donated his cup after becoming a “good Russian” in Hostomel. Of course, nobody’s gonna drink from it, because the alcoholism and bad luck can be contageous. pic.twitter.com/zBVVWp1jEW

— Operator Starsky (@StarskyUA) April 7, 2022

I thank the Canadian army every time I shoot at the Russians

Today, the National Guard is a part of the Ukrainian defense, mainly due to the fact that since its establishment in 2014, its members have received training from elite units of NATO member countries. The North Atlantic Alliance not only trained the Ukrainians, but also provided modern technology, weapons and ammunition.

"In 2016, I joined the National Guard of Ukraine, where a new brigade was formed to combat the Russian hybrid aggression in Ukraine. We have gained a lot of experience in the fight against small terrorist groups, but also against military units of traditional armyies" states Operator Starsky in the video.

Last summer, members of the Rapid Reaction Brigade took part in military training in western Ukraine led by the Canadian army. A few days ago, The Wall Street Journal published a report in which a member of this brigade, Andrij Kuliš, "thanks the Canadian army every time they the Russian troops." Canadians, along with Brits, Americans and Romanians, have helped train Ukrainians in "urban combat, field tactics and combat medicine."

 I'm also afraid of the battlefield, I hope that partisan warfare won't happen

Operator Starsky himself has noticed a huge shift within the Ukrainian army in recent years. "I come from an army family and I can say, that the army has changed significantly. We have better equipment, better vehicles and tanks. Today, Ukrainian tanks are much better than Russian tanks, because we have extensively modernised T-64 tanks with improved electronics and equipment," the officer explains in the video.

He praises the training with the Canadian army, but also with the California National Guard, whose members have come to Ukraine several times in recent years to work as training specialists. "We have gained a lot of experience when it comes to the processes of military planning and combat medicine."

“Who even let you have such a nice life?” A message, left by anonymous Russian thugs in Bucha, literally describes their hate and envy towards Ukrainian nation for being free. Because it’s something they’ve never had. pic.twitter.com/mjiRoOGqZ6

— Operator Starsky (@StarskyUA) April 8, 2022

 Starsky sees Ukraine as the "cradle of partisan warfare," but he hopes that partisan warfare, the hiding of fighters in cities and forests, or the sabotage of Russian technology in an event of occupation, will not occur. 

"Ukraine will win the war, it's only a matter of time before this happens," Starsky said in his first video, and he maintains this position to this day. It is difficult to say whether it is a floccula of Ukrainian military propaganda or Starsky really believes in victory. He himself admits that he is afraid on the battlefield. "Everyone is afraid. Your training, experience and situation overview are most useful in combat. Everyone is afraid of things they don't know," he describes.

We shoot the Russians to make sure they die

According to Starsky, Russia shot itself in the foot when it lost the reach of its own propaganda to Ukraine and the Western world. Today, according to him, Russian propaganda works only for domestic audiences and he thinks that the world has woken up from the illusion of cooperation with the Kremlin led by Vladimir Putin.

When Russia began to escalate tensions on the border with Ukraine last year, Starsky was calm. "It wasn't until they said there was no reason to escalate and they didn't plan to attack us that I knew the invasion was inevitable. Russians are good at two things - killing civilians and lying," he says in the video. In one video, he even focuses exclusively on the ideology of the Kremlin.

According to him, killing Russian soldiers on the battlefield became a routine with which the Ukrainians learned to live after two months of war. "We don't think about it much, we shoot at them to make sure they die. Our spirit is strong, because this is our country, and we have nowhere to run," he explains the determination of the Ukrainian army.

Can the Kremlin really use nuclear weapons in Ukraine?On account of the of use of nuclear weapons by the Russian Federation, Starsky says: "Detonating nuclear weapons is not as easy as it might seem. It is not a decision made by one person, because the launch depends on several people. No one believed that Russia would attack Ukraine, but they did. It is therefore possible that they will attack with an atomic bomb," he concludes.

In his latest videos, Starsky points out that Russia is launching a new offensive in Donbas to bring the south and east of Ukraine under control. He says in advance that the Ukrainians will refuse to live under the Russian occupation, and therefore the fighting will not stop soon. However, he still firmly believes in Ukraine's victory.

"Ukraine will become a very successful country. We will join the European Union, we will have a budget to rebuild our country. The Slavic world as we know it today was born 1,500 years ago in Kiev. Personally, in the future, I see Ukraine as a successful European country and part of the European Union," he states soulfully, noting that in a few years, he would like to see Ukraine as a member of NATO.

According to Starsky, Ukraine will receive money directly from Russia to rebuild the bombed country. However, these will not be direct war reparations. "Russia had $ 600 billion in financial reserves in Western countries, of which about 400 billion have now been frozen. After the war, this money will be handed over to Ukraine to rebuild our beautiful country," thinks the Ukrainian soldier.