This fellow, Gonzalo Lira, appears to be an American living in Kharkiv and YouTubing about the war. His videos are not particularly entertaining or journalistic, and Lira himself doesn’t seem like a very sympathetic figure to me. He may even be fake or a pretender.
But there is a possibility that he is real and actually broadcasting from within the war zone. On that basis, I share the link.
Tidewater News and Opinion Forum 
Kind of like waiting for a hurricane. Everything is buttoned up and normal day to day life is upended and replaced with a lingering stress while waiting and waiting.
Not surprised that people are picked up. Martial law has been declared. Russian saboteurs, assassins, spies are a constant threat.
Now this fellow may be recording this in Moscow for all we know, but the gist is probably accurate.
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RE: “Russian saboteurs, assassins, spies are a constant threat.”
In the video, Lira talks about “Zelenski goons” being a constant threat.
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I must been writing poorly.
“ Not surprised that people are picked up. Martial law has been declared. Russian saboteurs, assassins, spies are a constant threat.”
I was referring to Ukrainian police and military. They were the only ones the narrator referred to.
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Well, if you are willing to contemplate the possibility that Zelensky is no Winston Churchill, I’d say that’s progress.
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Progress for what?
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Progress for logic. It doesn’t make sense to contradict the video and then claim the “gist is probably accurate.”
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“Lira talks about “Zelenski goons” being a constant threat”
Based on that statement alone, I would believe that Mr. Lira is either one of the Russian infiltrators or and actual attempt by Putin to add to his narrative of geocide and nazification.
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I considered that possibility, but decided to share the source because, if legitimate, an American observer inside the war offers a valuable perspective. In another video, Lira describes how his commentary has been used by Russian propagandists, and how that got him kicked out of a hotel in Kyiv.
It also occurred to me that if Lira is a pro-Putin propagandist himself, that, too, might become an instructive story.
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In the early days of the invasion martial law was declared with curfews. Russian saboteurs, spies, infiltrators and assassins were a reality, so Ukraine certainly had cause to react.
What do you think Zelensky should have done?
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In the video, Lira talks about Ukranians killing Ukrainians and rumors that Zelensky’s secret police are “disappearing” journalists.
So, the justification for martial law and curfews strikes me as irrelevant to the topic at hand.
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You believe Lira?
Of course you do.
Unfortunately, when a nation is invaded, bombs and missiles start flying, and martial law is declared, not everything is going to be settled in a court of law.
Do I doubt that there have been some wrongful abuse or killings by the Ukrainian forces and police? No. We have suffered in the fog of war long enough to know that justice is more aspirational than reality in battle. Collateral damage is what our favorite euphemism calls screwups that result in deaths of innocents.
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I believe in clear thinking and useful commentary.
I do not believe that either is served by dismissing potentially legitimate eye-witness reports from Ukraine.
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“Potentially legitimate eyewitness reporting?”
That is the same as “potentially illegitimate eyewitness reporting”, or worse. He was spouting rumors.
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“I believe in clear thinking and useful commentary.”
Funny, but your words don’t always agree with that statement.
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RE: “That is the same as ‘potentially illegitimate eyewitness reporting’, or worse.”
I believe I raised the issue of legitimacy in the post. If you have something more than your own assumptions and narrative preferences with which to dispute the video, let’s hear it.
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I find it curious that you are posting articles that you effectively disavow, but bolster a position that Zelensky is the villain.
Repeat a lie often enough…
The Big Red propaganda machine churns on and on.
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…”an instructive story.”
I’ve never really considered propaganda in the moment to be “instructive”. Looking at it from 10 years or more down the road, perhaps. In the moment it is dangerous. – IMO
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RE: “I find it curious that you are posting articles that you effectively disavow, but bolster a position that Zelensky is the villain.”
I believe that Zelensky is a fool or a stooge and that people are suffering and dying needlessly because of him. So, if you are accusing me of promoting Gonzalo Lira because he shares my point of view, I am happy to plead guilty. So what?
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“… people are suffering and dying needlessly because of him.”
Putin is the sole reason people are suffering.
Your posture is like blaming a homeowner for trying to defend his family against home invaders.
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RE: “I’ve never really considered propaganda in the moment to be ‘instructive’.”
In that case, the puzzle for you to solve is to show that Lira’s video is propaganda. I’m on record saying it might be. You can now go on record proving it.
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