narrator: here in kiev in recent days
the maidan – the independence square
has turned into a full-scale war zone
more clashes in ukraine's capital kiev
there is absolutely no doubt that snipers
are working here. i counted 10 bodies
viktor yanukovich: even today we don't know
who shot those people. that is the problem
reporter: now on the brink of civil war
at least 70 dead so far
and the death toll is rising
vitaliy zaharchenko: these technologies
i repeat, no country is safe from them
reporter: what we saw here today was a revolution
kрик на фоне: hail to ukraine
putin: want to know what's happening in ukraine?
victoria nuland: we have spent over 5 billion dollars to assist ukraine
vitaliy zaharchenko: in big politics
whatever they're talking about
they are talking about money
oliver stone: nato has expanded by 13 countries
up to the borders of russia. 13 countries
narrator: the focus has to be not allowing
this crisis to turn into a hot war
between ukraine and russia
viktor yanukovich: this is a dangerous topic
we're talking about war
no one should feel safe today
narrator: ukraine
it's an ancient and proud land
with a rich history
filled with much beauty
heroism and sacrifice
ukraine is a border land
a place where east meets west
this is the flag of ukraine
the blue represents the sky
the gold is seeming endless fields of wheat
ukraine is a prize many have sought
and much blood was spilled in a quest to posess it
ukraine has been the path for the western countries
as they attempted to conquer the east
in world war I
and in world war II
and every time the ukrainian people payed
the highest price for this grand games of power
history doesn't repeat but it surely rhymes
said mark twain
looking closely to the history of ukraine
one will notice many rhymes
being surrounded by stronger powers
ukrainians needed a lot of cunning to survive
the art they truly mastered in time
was the art of changing sides
iIn the middle of the 17th century
ukrainian leader bogdan khmelnitskiy
broke the peace they made with poland
and sided with more powerful russia
just over 50 years later
as the russian-swedish war was raging
another ukrainian leader ivan mazepa
broke the union with russia and switched sides
joining forces with the swedish invaders
many times ukrainian history
was written by third parties
seeking to keep the gains of the revolution
russia agreed to the humiliating brest-litovsky peace of 1918
which turned ukraine into a german protectorate
another historical document
that changed the fate of ukraine
was the molotov-ribbentrop pact of 1939
one of many such agreements being signed
between european countries and rising germany
attempting to protect his nation
from the approaching nazi threat
Joseph Stalin negotiated a treaty
of non-aggression with adolf hitler
while promising each other peace
soviet and german foreign ministers
molotov and ribbentrop
divided the map of eastern europe splitting it
into german and soviet spheres of influence
as soon as the molotov-ribbentrop pact was signed
poland was split
and in september of 1939
eastern poland became the western ukraine
and a part of the family of the soviet republics
and the USSR
but even this bold dividing of land
only delayed the war
germany broke its promise to the USSR
on june 22nd 1941 germany invaded the USSR
and launched barbarossa
the largest military operation in world history
barbarossa was aiming for
saint-petersburg, moscow and kiev, ukraine
three destinations of major significance
ukraine with its rich land and resources
was an important industrial and economic
source for the USSR
to cut it from the soviet union
would be a great success
for most of those in the soviet union
the second world war
was about fighting the invaders of their land
but it wasn't so simple for ukraine
the truth is ukraine has never been one country
when world war II began
a large part of western ukraine
welcomed the german soldiers
as liberators from the recently enforced
soviet rule
and openly collaborated with the germans
true scale of this collaboration
was not announced for many decades after the war
but we now know that whole divisions
and battalions were formed
such as ss galizien, nachtigal and roland
just in the beginning of the war more than
80 thousand people from the galizien region
volunteered for the ss galizien
later known for its extreme cruelty towards
polish, jewish and russian people
on the territory of ukraine
members of these military groups came mostly
from organization of ukrainian nationalists
the OUN
founded in 1929
this organization had the ultimate goal
of an ethnically pure ukraine
and considered terror as acceptable measure
for achieving their ends
their official flag was black and red
land and blood
it will remain in ukraine's history long after
the OUN ceases to exist
in early 1940
the organization of ukrainian nationalists
got its own leader - stepan bandera
[for ukraine, for freedom, for honor, for glory]
severely anti-semitic and anti-communist
he proclaimed a free ukraine in 1941
his german allies found such an act of self-will
unacceptable and they put him in prison
for nearly all 2nd world war
not participating in person bandera still
managed to successfully spread his ideology
many independent historians state that
the OUN militia exterminated from 150
to 200 thousand jews
on the ukrainian territory occupied by germans
by the end of 1941
the most notorious and outrageous massacre
took place on september 29 of 1941
in Бабий Яр, kiev
all kikes of the city of kiev and its vicinity
must appear on monday, september 29
by 8 o'clock in the morning
bring documents, money and valuables
and also hand clothing, linen, etc
any kikes who do not follow this order
and are found elsewhere will be shot
33 771 jews were killed by the nazi
and the ukrainian militia
another outrageous massacre was carried out
by the ukrainian rebels army and the OUN
it happened on the territory of
the german occupied polish wolyn
and eastern galicia in 1943 and 1944
this genocide of poles was lead by mикола Лебідь
35 to 60 thousand people in wolyn and
25 to 40 thousand people in eastern galicia
became the victims of this massive
ethnic cleansing operation
sensing the inevitable loss of the german troops
the OUN betrayed its former ally
and began fighting against german and soviet forces
in january of 1943
the USSR army began pushing back the german troops
liberating one part of ukraine after another
western ukraine was the region held by the germans the longest
and was finally liberated on october of 1944
bandera's gangs continued their guerrilla war
against soviets, carrying out bloody attacks
on ukrainian villages and towns
leaving chaos and victims among civilians
this war went on till the mid 1950s
when the last collaborators were eliminated
or fled the country
on may 7 of 1945
germany unconditionally surrendered
and ukraine remained a part of the USSR
peace after the second world war was short-lived
the usa and the USSR
nations who allied together
along with england against the nazi
later tragically became foes
as the cold war began
the era of political and military tension
between the usa and the USSR
lasted for nearly 45 years
keeping humanity under constant threat
of nuclear war.
in this battle the usa never took its
sights off ukraine because of its importance
us intelligences were closely cooperating
with ukrainian nationalistic organizations
as a valuable source of counter-intelligence
against the USSR
cia documents just recently declassified
show strong ties between us intelligence
and ukrainian nationalists since 1946
from the cia reports it's obvious that
they weren't mistaken about the ukrainian nationalists
and stepan bandera
according to the oss report of september 1945
bandera had earned a fierce reputation
for conducting a reign of terror
during world war II
after the second world war
bandera and other nationalist leaders
fled to europe where the cia covered them
the cia later informed the immigration
and naturalization service it had concealed
stepan bandera and other ukrainians from soviets
the operations involving ukrainians
continued for many years
the nurenberg trials of 1945 and 1946
had put the political, economic and military
leaders of fascist germany to justice
showing the whole world the face of nazism
and the crimes they committed
but the ukrainian nazi were spared of such fate
and some were even granted amnesty by the cia
by 1951 the agency excused the illegal
activities of oun's security branch
in the name of cold war necessity
in 1949 mикола Лебідь, the man responsible
for the mass massacres in wolyn
was moved to the usa where he died in 1989
without ever being investigated for his crimes
protecting the ukrainian nationalist mикола Лебідь
the cia stopped criminal investigation of the
immigration and naturalization service
perhaps bandera lost his use to the usa
or maybe the KGB agency outplayed the cia
but in 1959 stepan bandera was killed in munich
where he was hiding under the name of stepan popel
i0t's fair to say that by sheer coincidence
bandera became the main symbol of
ukrainian nationalism because he wasn't neither
its only nor its most powerful leader
dmitriy dontsov was the father of the far right
totalitarian doctrine in ukraine
andriy melnik the leader of another fraction of the oun
roman shuhevich the leader of the ukrainian rebel's army
and many others
bandera's dangerous ideology
suppressed by the soviet government
but supported by external forces
was never completely eliminated
the seeds of ukrainian nationalism
were passed from generation to generation
unfortunately not many years had gone by
before they once again grew
in 1954 ukraine's territory was expanded once more
when nikita khrushev, leader of the USSR
and an ukrainian himself
generously gave the crimean region to ukraine
historians will debate for many years
about this being legal and 60 years later
another series of dramatic events
were taking place in crimea
reporter: the eyes of the world are on ukraine
as the crisis in crimea continues
several dozens of well armed people
have captured the government in crimea
should ukraine just shrug its shoulders
and say 'ok, crimea is lost'?
narrator: the old argument would repeat once again
the cold war was going up and down
while both rivals were obsessed
with growing their military capacity
the turning point came with the perestroyka
when the USSR got its new leader
michael gorbachev, in the middle of 1980
perestroyka means restructuring towards
democratization and modernization
it certainly had a positive impact
on the international situation
reporter: astonishing news from berlin
where the german authorities announced
that the berlin wall doesn't mean anything anymore
narrator: but inside the USSR
the weakening of the kremlin control had different consequences
the ukrainian nationalistic political organization
called narodniy ruh or the national movement
was established in 1989
viacheslav chernovol: i congratulate all of us in this
remarkable event, the creation of our movement
narrator: they advocated for independence of ukraine
from the USSR and became the starting point
for many of the ukrainian nationalistic
and neo-nazi leaders
in 1991 one of them, oleg tyagnibok
founded 'cвобода'
or 'freedom' radical nationalistic party
openly following the good old principles of bandera
oleg tyagnibok: they were prepared and fought against russians
fought against germans, fought against kikes
and all other scum trying to take our ukrainian country from us
narrator: purge ukraine from jews and russians
ukraine for ukrainians and so on
these statements got him the 5th place
on the list of top 10 anti-semites in the world
according to the simon wiesenthal center
oleg tyagnibok: hail to ukraine crowd: hail to the heroes
narrator: sadly such statements attracted numerous followers
dmitriy yarosh founded another extreme right organization
'tризуб' or 'trident' in 1994
in april of 2013 yarosh became the assistant to a deputy from “udar”
or strike party lead by vitaly klitchko
later that year he founded another far right ukrainian neo-nazi group
the right sector
andriy parubiy would soon lead the whole army
of the ultra-nationalistic warriors
and the torch marches will once again
lighting the streets of ukrainian cities
[heroes never die]
the world drastically changed in august of 1991
when the USSR de-facto ceased to exist
and many new political formations appeared on the world map
ukraine one of them
for the first time in modern history
it was truly independent and all on itself
reporter: the red flag above the kremlin
came down today when president Горбачёв resigned
ending 70 years of communist rule in the USSR
narrator: the years after the fall of the USSR
were known as crazy 90s on all
post-soviet territories
reporter: he's leaving behind 15 individual states
that share only a disaster economy
and an uncertain future
narrator: after the planned economy of the USSR
the free market changed the rules of the game
new businesses emerged quickly
and soon the first oligarchs appeared
a former country without class division
became divided into unequal parts
a few chosen ones became rich
while the rest had to fight to survive
putin: right after gaining independence
a wild privatization of the state property began
lowering the life quality of the people
right after the independence
and what is interesting, whoever was coming to power
nothing changed for the people
a constant robbery of the people was happening
a constant robbery of the ukrainian people
of course the people grew tired of this
of this growing corruption
narrator: the disappointment of the people
made ukraine vulnerable to outside forces
and soon people were to know the new kind of war
one had never known before - the color revolutions
reporter: the protesters are confronting the police
while the result of the elections are being questioned
and they are calling for a new vote
narrator: for 24 years of its independence
ukraine got through 2 revolutions
in 2004 people came on the streets of kiev
and started the orange revolution
at that time ukraine once again became the battlefield of two forces
russia and western countries
the confrontation reached its peak during the presidential election of 2004
two major candidates
western-backed viktor ushenko
and russia-oriented viktor yanukovich
almost equally shared the votes of the ukrainian people
by the way - calling viktor ushenko western-backed
was not an exaggeration
his wife – kатерина viktor ushenko
is a former us state department official
and worked in the white house during reagan's administration
the votes were split in a geographic principle
traditionally pro-russia eastern ukraine
voted for viktor yanukovich
while western ukraine voted for viktor ushenko
by the announced results
viktor ushenko lost to viktor yanukovich
but thousands of people didn't agree with that
and came to the central square of kiev
on november 22nd of 2004
the situation got wide press coverage
reporter: the government election commission
ignored the fraud accusations and declared viktor yanukovich president
narrator: the international politicians
such as former secretary of nato javier solana
became frequent guests in kiev
initiating negotiations between the parties
javier solana: i'm hoping that together
we can overcome these difficulties
narrator: the results of the negotiations
were often reached only on paper
for example viktor ushenko never told his supporters
to stop blocking the government institutions in the center of kiev
therefore these non-violent protests lasted for a month
during which the result of the previous election were canceled
and new elections were announced
the important nuance
just 3 months before
viktor ushenko suffered a mysterious
still unsolved poisoning
but it didn't prevent him
from winning the new election
but as we shall soon see
there was much more than just
the people's will to this victory
this peaceful revolution and its leaders
were warmly welcomed by the international community
but the euphoria didn't last long
viktor ushenko's government failed the reforms
and lost its chance to establish democracy
instead of setting into internal fighting
viktor ushenko was not reelected for a second term
but in the end of his presidency
he had time to give one last gift
to his supporters from western ukraine
ushenko: in conclusion i would like to say
something that is long awaited
by the ukrainian patriots for many years
i have signed a decree
for the unbroken spirit
and standing for the idea
of fighting for independent ukraine
i declare stepan bandera
a national hero of ukraine
hail to ukraine
narrator: the hero status of stepan bandera was short-lived
in 2010 viktor yanukovich was elected president
and this time the international community
had no doubts about the legitimacy of the elections
in january 2011 viktor yanukovich repealed the hero title of bandera
and after almost 4 years of his presidency
another revolution shook ukraine
unfortunately this one was anything but peaceful
oliver stone: mr yanukovich, i am an american
i'm an outsider in this situation and it's very complicated
but i would like, as a filmmaker
to just jump into the action
and go to those moments in november 2013
you're president of ukraine, been president for 3 years
at this point the country is in a bad economic shape
you have a trade agreement with russia and now
you're seeking making a better agreement with eu and you're negotiating
can you tell me at that moment what you were thinking?
yanukovich: this was truly a very complicated period for ukraine
and wee needed to find a solution for the problems of 2013
so we had 2 partners first of all
we were relying on the international monetary found
but the IMF for a year of negotiations was proposing us options that were unacceptable
a significant rise of energy resources prices for the people, natural gas first of all
that meant a significant rise of the people's expenses
while their income would stay at the same level
we wouldn't agree with that
we proposed another option and we officially got rejected by the imf in november of 2013
the other option was russia
russia said - we're ready to work with you as partners
if you take our interests in consideration
putin: because the economy of russia and ukraine
were established as one
absolutely unique economical relations were born
the russian market was completely open for ukrainian
products and our customs border with ukraine is completely open
in that way the eu would enter our market with its products without any negotiations
yanukovich: and so when we began calculating the balances
we saw the agreement prepared by the eu for ukraine
requires a lot of economic efforts and losses
and the eu wouldn't compensate any of it
and the russian market would drastically reduce
putin: we said – of course, if ukraine decided to do that
than it's their decision and we respect it
but we mustn't be the ones to pay for it
yanukovich: our negotiations with the eu
didn't succeed and that's why
we proposed to make a break
reporter: violent clashes are happening in kiev
where about 100 thousand people came on the streets
to protest against the government's decision
to delay the signing of the association agreement with eu
oliver stone: vitaliy, you were the minister of inner affairs
of ukraine in that period
so basically you were the head of ukraine's police
so tell me your vision on the protests happened in november through february
vitaliy zaharchenko: we had the information
that these mass protests were being planned anyway
and they were to start in 2015
but the opposition used the fact
that the government decided to delay
the signing of the association agreement with eu
narrator: arseniy yatsenuk
the leader of the opposition block “the fatherland”
oleg tyagnibok, the leader of the oppositional
far right radical party “cвобода”
vitaliy klitchko, the leader of the opposition party “udar”
reporter: on thursday
leaders of the eu and ukraine stated
that the negotiation on the association agreement
can be resumed after the 2 day consulting
but now the association agreement is of the table
angela merkel: we expected more from you
yanukovich: i want you to hear me
3 and a half years i've been working on this question 1 on 1 with strong russia
reporter: pro-eu protests on the streets of kiev enter the 2nd day
the protesters are now joined by the leader of the opposition
ukranian world boxing champion vitaliy klitchko
he called the protesters to maintain pressure on the government
after it's refusal to sign a major trade deal with eu
oliver stone: you go back to kiev the next day
after the interview with merkel
and protests are on, am i right?
can you tell me about that period?
yanukovich: in the beginning of this
i had an understanding that these are peaceful actions
and you can negotiate with peaceful protesters
and i was willing to do that
vitaliy zaharchenko: talking about protests of november through february
one has to account the dynamics of their development that happened beforehand
in ukraine there are many public organizations that are being funded from abroad
a huge number of journalists getting foreign grants
narrator: robert perry is an investigative journalist working in washington dc
best know for his disclosure of the iran-contra in 1980s
he's a founder of consortiumnews.com
and he's reported extensively on the crisis in ukraine
and what stands behind it
robert perry: a ngo is a non-governmental organization
and many ngo's are quite legit and working for good purposes
trying to help people, solving medical and water problems
but there are some ngo's that are funded by the government services
and serve more the purpose of that government
rather than trying to serve the people that they're supposed to work with
one thing we saw in the 1980s
at that point the cia
had been largely discredited
because of the scandals that were exposed in the 1970s
narrator: for 15 years the cia had secretly financed
the overseas national students activities and associations
but then it came light of a big web of cia penetrations
robert perry: so, when the reagan administration came in
there was this concept that instead of having the cia
that would traditionally go into these countries
funding their media, ngo's and different political operations
that was essentially passed to a new organization
called national endowment for democracy created in 1983
and it would do pretty much what the cia would do
penetrate the country, support different political groups
preparing activists, journalists, business groups
and pushing the interests of usa foreign policy
sometimes against the interests of the host countrie’s government
they were also supplying an organizational and financial support
and help in trainings of activists
on their work with journalists
to be able to present their view in the best way
they worked on things like how to get popularity
how to make things viral, how to use it to get support for your ideas
narrator: and the support was granted
mустафа hаем, a founder of one of ukraine's new media
muatafa naem: good evening or better good night
narrator: Громадське tv knew very well how to make something go viral
it was his notorious post on facebook on november 21st of 2013
that have lead the first crowd to maidan
muatafa naem: I made this post just to check
if there are any willing people or we were just talking
narrator: if you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed
if you read the newspaper, you're misinformed
mark twain
to be heard in this modern world of media and social networks
you got to embrace them all
as the disturbing events of euromaidan started on november 21 of 2013
3 new tv channels went on the air
and immediately gained great popularity
spilno tv found on november 21st 2013
hromadske tv found on november 22nd 2013
espresso tv found on november 24th 2013
broadcasting directly from opposition protests
these channels went viral
openly supporting protests
and encouraging more and more people to come to maidan
vitaliy zaharchenko: the first mass actions began november 21st 2013
at first they were peaceful actions
a lot of different types of people were coming
young and old, some of them brought children
it was clear that they trust the government and the police also
they were walking free and there were no hints that any force will be used against them
so the law enforcement officers were doing their job of protecting the order without firearms
but among those protesters some radicals were already spotted
they were connected with far-right parties and neo-nazi organizations
so on november 24th they did the first aggressive action
on november 24-th the first attack on government office was made
and also the first attack on the police officers that were guarding it
the second attack on the ukrainian security service officers
happened on november 25th
then the notorious events of november 30th
narrator: november 30th of 2013 became the first turning point of the maidan
though the events of that night were widely covered in press
the truth about what exactly happened is still uncertain
vitaliy zaharchenko: i will tell you how i personally saw these events
i got a call from popov
the head of the kiev administration
he said that they would like to begin installing the equipment for the christmas tree on the square
i explained him that while people are on the square it shouldn't be done
at about 1am when people began to leave the square
i had a talk with the head of the ukrainian security service
i asked his opinion on the current situation and he said
“i suppose, thank god, it's over. we have an information that it is over.”
because since November 21st i was literally living and sleeping in my office
if i was lucky to have couple of hours a day to sleep
at about 3am i came to my home, set-up my alarm for 6:30am
first thing in the morning i turned on my tv
it was set to channel 5
and it showed a lot of ambulance cars
and a lot of injured people
reporter: armed with rubber bats
police officers were attacking the protesters
it happened early in the morning
the witnesses say that the police were indeed using the rubber bats
vitaliy zaharchenko: honestly it just hit me with a cold sweat
yanukovich: my first reaction on maidan protesters
being hurt by the police was instant
we had to investigate who ordered to disperse the protesters
to use force against them
i was against using force
against violating the human rights
zaharchenko: there is no way popov could make such a decision by himself
and who was the highest official for him?
the highest official for popov was a head of the president's administration
sergei liovochkin
narrator: coincidentally, sergei liovochkin
was a close associate of many us politicians
the ukrainian security service had evidence that on that night
Лёвочкин contacted with the opposition leader Яенюк
and discussed the disperse of maidan with installing the christmas tree as an excuse
the news media reported that the police cold-blooded attacked students peacefully sleeping in their tents
but scenes from the event seem to tell a different story
it appears that the protesters were expecting the police
there were dozens of journalists, and cameras from the new tv channels already there
but the most suspicious was a group of well trained young men that arrived practically at the same time as police
they spread in the crowd and began provoking the police with insults, stones and torches
robert perry: the right sector in ukraine
represents the far-right ukrainian population
they often had their militias that were coming to maidan
some squads were shipped into kiev as muscle for the demonstrations
the demonstrations ran from being peaceful
to being increasingly violent
narrator: the first step in any investigation
is to to find the motive
it is now known that sergei liovochkin
has the highest favor among his us friends
outraged about what was reported on the news
people came out the next day
to express their disturbance by the actions of police
stone: the violence started to take off when?
yanukovich: unlawful actions practically began on december of 2013
the events taking place at that time in kiev were very radical
neo-nazi organizations took part in them
young men that were armed with different improvised weapons
such as iron bars, baseball bats and even vehicles were used
like tractors, they were using tractors to attack the police officers
that were defending the government institutions and the president's administration building
how could a president come out to talk to such an uncontrollable crowd?
whom to talk to?
the technologies used at that time, they were planned beforehand
narrator: as veiled and masked as the color revolutions may be
an attentive viewer can see a subtle pattern revealing their true nature
to make crowds act like one group you have to unite them on the subconscious level
masterminds of the color revolutions know that well and mastered this art
symbolism is one of the most powerful tools to achieve this goal
revolutionary political organizations
with surprisingly similar names and even more similar symbols
appear in those countries that are soon to be hit by revolutions
they are often described as being aware and active
but actually trained and radical
they are the ones who take the first shot, literally
to convert protests into outrage
their fingerprints can be found everywhere on the map of color revolutions
using all the experience of past generations
simple but effective tools
like chanting, do a great job
crowd: together we are strong
narrator: well know for exciting the crowd
and creating a group identity
they depersonalize the individuals
and create a group that’s easily manipulated
crowd: if you're not hopping then you're russian
man on stage: thank you friends hail to ukraine
crowd: hail to the heroes
zaharchenko: of course it couldn't be done without money
so many ngo's
grants given to ukraine
and it's not a secret
narrator: incidentally, one of such organizations
hromadske tv received generous donations
from the dutch and us embassies
as well as the renaissance foundation founded by george soros
george soros: i've set up a foundation in ukraine
before ukraine even became independent from russia
and the foundation has been functioning ever since
it played a significant role in the ukrainian events now
narrator: i like criticism
but it must be my way
mark twain
stone: did you see any evidence that the us is involved?
did you feel the presence of the us?
yanukovich: the us officials were often guests
there were congressmen
victoria nuland came very often
we were discussing with her
but after those discussions she was going to maidan
to support the protesters and accuse the police of using force
actually we saw all of those messages on maidan
chris murphy: we will come here, at this square
to celebrate with you and ukraine
that stands together with the eu and us
perry: well members of congress were visiting ukraine
one of the most known was senator john mccain
so the high us official
the person who had run for president
was talking to the people
that were acting against their democratically elected government
saying that the us is with them
mccain: i'm senator john mccain and it's always a pleasure to be back in ukraine
perry: senator mccain was giving people the feeling
that they are being supported by the most powerful country on earth
mccain: this is not about the future you want for your country
this is about the future you deserve
yanukovich: a lot of delegates were coming
i was saying that one shouldn't
first of all, say what isn't true
one shouldn't take the side of the protesters
and protect their rights and making the conflict worse with it
when the protesters capture the government institutions
tell me is it acceptable in any other country
for instance if an ambassador of ukraine
went to see the protesters in ferguson
and give out cookies or pies and accuse the police of the us
i consider this unacceptable in any country of the eu
so why then ukraine was treated that way?
stone: who was your highest level contact at that time?
yanukovich: i was constantly in contact with mr biden
i had regular phone talks with him
but the thing is that mr biden was saying one thing
and what was happening in ukraine was completely another
stone: and the us ambassador?
yanukovich: the us ambassador in ukraine
was constantly receiving the maidan delegates in his embassy
we knew it very well
we were tracking this
and we had the impression that there was
a headquarters of this process inside of the us embassy
perry: in early february of 2014
as the maidan crisis became more violent
there was a phone call that was intercepted between
the assistant secretary of state in europe victoria nuland
and the us ambassador in ukraine geoffrey pyatt
reporter: one should question the credibility of ukrainians
after a private chat of the top us ambassador
was leaked online
nuland: i think yats is the guy who's got the economic experience
the governing experience
he's the… what he needs is klitsch and tyahnybok on the outside
i just think klitsch going in…
he's going to be at that level working for yatseniuk
it's just not going to work
pyatt: yeah, no, i think that's right. ok
good, do you want us to set up a call with him as the next step?
nuland: sullivan's come back to me
vfr [direct to me] saying you need biden
and i said probably tomorrow
for an atta-boy and to get the details to stick
so biden's willing
perry: so you had this remarkable phone call
where two high officials in the us government
are openly talking about coup
and about how they're planning to dysfunction the government of ukraine
nuland: fuck the eu
pyatt: no, exactly
perry: i'm not saying the whole us government is like this
there is a division
but for neocons it is very important to change the dynamics in the eastern europe
they are very smart
the neocons are highly skilled in propaganda
they know well all of the push points of the american people
they had this experience when they were heating things up around central america in 1980s
reporter: the sandinista ground forces are now armed with Russian artillery
perry: they've been applying the same strategies ever since
they were being very dedicated to achieving their goals
they still want to get rid of certain governments
they want a regime change in syria, in iran
they're very skilled at this
they have a lot of allies in the media and government
and that means they have a lot of influence on creating the narrative
robert kagan: i think in america these days
we have somehow sold ourselves
that there are a lot of ways of dealing with this problem
other than hard power
vladimir putin cares about hard power
perry: the neocons are now demonizing the leader of the country
that sells to the american people
so you don't just argue the policy, you attack the leader
the neocons are very skilled at picking out leaders features
and then highlighting them
for yanukovich you can say that he is a hulking political leader
but he was turned into a devil
he is thoroughly corrupt, evil that wants to kill people on maidan
those innocent wonderful demonstrators
in that way we now have the villain and the victim
and then you keep repeating that basic scenario
and it works with american people
mccain: you got to realize who vladimir putin is
he's an old kgb that wants to restore the russian empire
perrt: you make them demons
and the american people find that this way they can understand the world
once that happens the journalists or someone else find it hard to say
'now hold on, there is no certain white hat and black hat it's all very complicated'
and if you say that you're instantly branded as an apologist of yanukivich or putin
the one, who dared to say that
is now under attack no matter who it is - a journalist, academic or whatever
narrator: any good director will tell you
that tempo and rhythm are the main instruments
to hold an audience's attention
zaharchenko: the technology itself
that was used in the maidan
consisted of the necessity of the sacral victims, the sacrifice
it's a part of technology
narrator: it can also be called
a method of betrayal
when the allies are thrown into the revolutionary flame
the idea is simple
when the preparation is done
all you need is a trigger to be pulled
to set the chain on motion
the murder of politician rafik hariri
triggered the cedar revolution
looking back at the mysterious poisoning of viktor ushenko
right before the orange revolution in 2004
we now see that he became the sacred victim himself
most political analysts agree
that the compassion of the ukrainian people
tilted the scales towards his presidency
the number of victims among protesters during euromaidan totalled over 100
they were called the heavenly hundred
and were immediately mythologized
the beating of students on november 30 of 2013 was an obvious trigger for euromaidan
those who sent trained provocateurs on the square
very well realized that peaceful protesters were the ones to get hurt the most
it's hard to keep the protests going for months on end
the tension weakens, people get tired
holidays are also big danger for revolution masterminds
people want to get home to their family and friends
and one needs to be inventive to keep them in the cold tents
on december 25 of 2013 journalist tatiana chernovol
was chosen to be a tool to fire up maidan again
reporter: investigative journalist tatiana chernovol
known for her investigations of corruption in ukrainian government
was found beaten near kiev on christmas
narrator: her heroic deeds look more like small crimes
trespassing of the presidential residence
the siege of kiev city's administration
breaking into the car of ukraine's security service
it looked like tatiana was willing to make the news rather than reporting them
and gain the popularity that could be transformed into votes for her political party “the fatherland”
the beating of tatiana chernovol became a real christmas gift for the media
despite the fact that in just 3 days all the suspects were arrested
and confessed that it was a road accident
the world media kept insisting on a political background for that crime
instantly tatiana became a heroic martyr
uniting people around her image
reporter: the beating of a journalist
among the political turmoil caused protests
narrator: the euromaidan was once again a center stage
and tatiana in less than 2 months
was already healthy enough
to attack the office of “the regions party”
the political party of viktor yanukovich
tatiana chernovol: this is the place
where the people that beat me came from
this is the nest of this criminal mafia government
the death squads are also being controlled from here
narrator: one of the staff
65-year old it specialist vladimir zaharov
was killed during the attack
so, where is tatiana now?
well, she finally got her position of power in the new government
one month later the time came for another act
armenian ukrainian protester sergei nigoyan
was one of the first to arrive on maidan
he wasn't radical or violent
but instead was full of hope for the better future
watching sergei read the patriotic poem
is like watching a casting for the role of the sacred victim
sergei nigoyan: keep fighting
you are sure to win god helps you in your fight
for fame and freedom march with you right at your side
narrator: unfortunately sergei got the part
the video went viral after sergei was killed
early in the morning on January 22 of 2014
the circumstances of his death remain unknown to this day
even though the whole event was constantly filmed
there were no records or witnesses to help the investigation
and his body was removed immediately from the crime scene
sergei became the first martyr of euromaidan
police officers were appointed as his killers
almost 2 years later the official investigation still has no results
now it's widely believed that he was killed by provocateurs to escalate the conflict
god speaks to people in the language of signs
on January 26 2014 pope francis prayed for ukraine
addressing thousands of people on saint peter's square
after the prayer two white doves were released from the window
and were immediately attacked by a crow and a seagull
those who understand the symbolism
easily read this event as that soon two great powers
represented by a crow and a seagull
will be tearing apart two slavic nations – the white doves
this omen gave hope to the ukrainian people
saying that by god's will two doves will be saved
but it also predicted severe hardship and many victims
the events, that made the history of color revolutions as the most massive in human sacrifice yet
arrived right on schedule - one month later
reporter: during the last weeks
this european capital was caught in a violent uprising
today is the bloodiest day yet
the protesters are advancing towards the government region of the city
they are armed with molotov cocktails
we also saw handguns and shotguns
there are casualties from both sides
she just said that there are 6 dead people up there
not just injured, dead, shot by snipers
zaharchenko: on february 20 the police officers were being shot at
yanukovich: i got this information that snipers are shooting
and there are casualties from both sides
zaharchenko: the conservatory is where the first shots were from
this place was under control of the maidan forces
narrator: and here again we see our old friend from “narodniy ruh” andriy parubiy
who was at the peak of his glory
as a self-proclaimed maidan commandant
which in fact means – leader of the radical opposition
Парубій: we had warned them
that maidan may take more action
if our demands aren't fulfilled in the next days
putin: it was to spread chaos
and certainly yanukovich wouldn't benefit from growing chaos
reporter: here you can see protesters escorting
a line of special forces officers
it's still not clear where they are taking them
67 officers are officially declared missing
stone: 14 officers dead, 43 wounded, right?
zaharchenko: 20 people dead and more than 150 with gun wounds
yanukovich: then it was clear, on february 20-21
that an armed overthrow was happening
reporter: opposition leader vitaliy klitchko
called his followers to stay alert
each of you here should stand strong, he said
because we're not going anywhere
yanukovich: at that same period
we were negotiating with the opposition
and very often we agreed, but
as i found out later, it was just a game
the part of the opposition that didn't take part in the negotiation
the radical one, they didn't care
and listened to no one
they were doing their job
narrator: like in 2004 during the orange revolution
the international leaders felt that it was time
to interfere and put both sides of the negotiation
putin: three european foreign ministers came to kiev
putin: they took part in the meeting between president yanukovich and the opposition
agreed on carrying out a presidential election before schedule
agreed on the ways of building relations between the president and the opposition
the ukrainian president and the leaders of the opposition have agreed on a truce
just like in 2004 the opposition or at least its radical faction
the right sector, lead by dmitriy yarosh
had no intention of fulfilling his part of the bargain
dmitriy yarosh: the achieved agreements do not comply with our expectations
the right sector will not lower the weapons
the right sector will not unblock any of the government institutions
until our main demand is fulfilled
the resignation of viktor yanukovich
yanukovich: i have signed such document
but a bit later i understood that whatever document we are to sign
the overthrow scenario was planned and it was imminent
so, basically none of our actions mattered
radoslaw sikorski: if you don't sign this
you will have martial law
the army, you'll all be dead
the opposition leaders said
that they have found a way to end the bloodshed
but first they wanted to announce the conclusion of the negotiations
it was soon clear that the protesters weren't happy
putin: so the next day mr viktor yanukovich
left to visit the second largest city in ukraine, xарьков
as soon as he left his office it was taken using weapons
what do you call that?
yanukovich: the thing is i flew there by helicopter
the escorting cars were going separately
but no one knew about it
so the escorting cars were going and they got under gunfire
also our intelligence had an information that there were special mercenaries
who's objective was not to capture the president, but to kill
so i asked for mr. putin's permission to go to russia
the permission was granted and also i was helped
on february 24th i got on russian territory
at the same time
kiev was saying the last goodbye to the victims of the massacre
it was also welcoming those who came to power on the cost of their lives
ukraine's parliament has voted for assigning
alexander turchinov as an acting president
he called the lawmakers to form the new government by tuesday
this event followed the dismount of president viktor yanukovich on saturday
perry: and they removed yanukovich
without following the constitutional procedure for impeachment
yanukovich: the impeachment procedure wasn't followed
the constitutional court had to be involved
the supreme court and it wasn't done
and ¾ of the deputies had to be voting in the parliament
the parliament of ukraine consists of 450 deputies
the constitution of ukraine
requires at least a ¾ majority of 338 deputies vote in favor
but only 328 deputies voted yes
they didn't have the ¾ of parliament votes
the us state department immediately called the new government legit
and it was a part of the coup scenario
in this way they eliminated the possibility
to revive the agreement of february 22 that could get viktor yanukovich back in power
then you had eastern ukraine resisting
crimea wanted to separate and the situation came out of control
on sunday the people are to decide whether they want to leave ukraine and join russia
the campaign with slogan 'together with russia' is being carried by moscow
the crimean referendum situation was also happening at that time
the crimean referendum was initiated by the people of crimea
it was their response to the maidan representatives' attempts to make the same coup in crimea
it is not a secret that the population of crimea was always pro-russia
crimean authorities, agreeing with the populace
fully supported viktor yanukovich's decision
to stall the signing of the 2013 trade agreement with eu
as the event in kiev took place
crimean authorities made a declaration:
“based on the will of the crimean people who elected us
we declare that we will not give crimea to extremists and neo-nazis
seeking to seize power in ukraine
at the cost of the blood of the country and its citizens”
after the regime change in kiev
rumors began spreading in crimea
that new authorities will be ruthless to the ones who oppose them
dmitriy yarosh: hail to ukraine
crowd: hail to the heroes
this lead to the pro-russia demonstrations
of the people that aren't in agreement with the new government in kiev
on february 27 the government institution in the capital of crimea
was seized by pro-russia protesters
the crimean government was dismissed
and the new leader cергей aксёнов
was assigned as the leader of the crimean autonomous republic
they certainly were hoping and asking the russian government for protection
on march 16 the crimean referendum was held
and the people voted for leaving ukraine
and entering the russian federation
the situation in crimea has been presented as russian invasion
and again, nobody takes it seriously
look at the poll numbers
some of them were done by the us agencies themselves
showing that people of crimea want to join russia
but in the us news media it's all been presented as
russian invading and faking this vote
where people were voting literally at gun point
and that's how they got 96% of the votes for joining russia
the idea of referendum in crimea is quite simply unconstitutional
there are questions whether this vote was really free and fair
especially considering the military presence of russia in crimea now
so that's how it's shown to the american people
the reality is very different
the atmosphere here is certainly remarkable
thousands of people gathered in the capital of crimea
this is happening after last sunday
when the referendum was held where the majority voted for reuniting with russia
crowd: russia, russia
i'd like to ask you
what is democracy?
democracy is a policy based on the will of the people
how do you know the will of the people?
in the modern world it's done by voting
over 90% of people came and over 90% of those people voted for joining russia
the will of the people has to be respected
don't bend international law and democracy principles
according to your current geopolitical interests every time
we had no combats there, no shooting, no one was killed
what is described by the west as russian invasion in crimea
is in fact a presence of russian soldiers
can you clarify that?
russian soldiers in crimea, as it is known
were there for ages, because the black sea naval base was in crimea
as long as 1804 the cевастополь naval base
became the main naval base of the russian empire on the black sea
during the 2nd world war heroic defense of cевастополь lasted almost a year
and took hundreds of thousands of lives
therefore the naval base in crimea
has a legacy of historical pride for the russian black sea fleet
as well as being of huge strategic importance
in 1962 during the ongoing arms race
the USSR began sending rockets to cuba
those of us alive at that time remember
how frightened and angry we were by that fact
and how it nearly grew into a nuclear conflict
because the weapon of such power was based that close to the us
if the us considers cuba to be its backyard
then crimea is merely at russia's doorstep
what are the consequences of the us or nato capturing that naval base?
very dramatic
because base itself means nothing
but there is one thing i'd like to focus on
why do you think we are reacting on growth of nato so much
we're worried by its decision making practice
i know how it's done
when countries become a nato member
it's very hard for them to resist the pressure from such a large country
which is the leader of nato, the usa
and than anything can appear there very easily
missile defense systems, new bases, new offensive systems, if needed
and what should we do?
we're forced to counteract
meaning putting those objects that are threatening us on the aim of our missile systems
the situation is stressful
sergei lavrov: if we're being attacked we will definitely respond
you know, it seems to me that
i don't always understand the logic of our partners
sometimes i have the impression that
they need to set better discipline
set things straight in their atlantic enclave
and it requires an enemy
iran does not fit this part at all
i am concerned about the expansion of nato
it has expanded by 13 countries up to the borders of russia
13 countries
this is a very dangerous topic
we are talking about war
war between russia and the us
it's sheer madness
in early spring of 2014
eastern ukraine had also risen
against the new ukrainian government
this region's population
both culturally and geographically close to russia
feared that the newly formed ultra-right government
would cause the growth of nationalism
and they had reasons to worry
the status of the russian language in ukraine was one of the key questions for years
declaring the russian language as the second official
was one of the key points of viktor yanukovich's presidential campaign
in 2012 yanukovich's government passed a law
that declared russian the second official language in those regions
where more than 10% of the population consider it as their native
mostly on the east and south of ukraine
the ukrainian nationalists initiated massive protests opposing the law
and an attentive observer can see here a few familiar faces
oleg tyagnibok: we have shown that those bastards
those gangs can be defeated
on february 23rd of 2014
the very next day after the regime change
the new government voted to denote the official status of the russian language
and even though later acting president alexander turchinov vetoed this act, it still sent a message
this alarmed the russian-speaking regions
and they went on the streets to protest
in response the maidan supporters carried out their own demonstrations
when the two parties met the tension was growing
and it lead to tragedy
one person died and about 50 were injured
in clashes during the pro-russian march to protest against the new kiev government
on april 6 the crimean scenario began repeating in eastern ukraine
the protesters seized the government institutions and the next day
april 7 they proclaimed the people's republic of donetsk
kiev replied by announcing an anti-terrorist operation in eastern ukraine
by that time the international media was screaming about a russian invasion in ukraine
russia could be on the verge of invading ukraine
but disregarding such strong words in the media
the ukrainian authorities never declared a war state
why?
imf cannot give money to countries engaged in ongoing war
zaharchenko: you know, in big politics
whatever they're talking about
they are talking about money
too much money was already invested in ukraine to stop half way
victoria nuland: we've invested over 5 billion dollars
to assist ukraine in its course to assure secure, prosperous and democratic ukraine
on developing what kind of democracy was this money spent?
installing a democratic regime, as they were calling it
i guess they meant the kind of regime that is now happening in donbass
obviously the funding was continued
and the conflict had to keep going
getting more and more deadly
as parties on both sides were using more and more lethal weapons
mr. turchinov, who practically started a war
is responsible for it, he started a war on his own people
he sent troops to donbass
they did what i didn't do, they started the bloodshed
the world seemed too busy with greeting the new democracy in kiev
to notice what was being done as it was spreading its wings over the country
many in southern ukraine were watching the revolution with concern
and an anti-maidan movement was formed in odessa in january of 2014
the protesters set up camp in front of the trade union house
a building that would soon become a monument of a massacre itself
it is difficult to overestimate the importance of odessa
it is strategically located on the black sea
and is the largest sea port of ukraine
it's not surprising that ukraine's new authorities
were watching this situation unfold with growing concern
more and more protesters were joining the anti-maidan
while the situation in the east was heating up
the new ukrainian government didn't have the power to go to war on two fronts
if odessa were to join the uprising
it would seriously complicate the situation
this rebellion had to be extinguished immediately and by any cost
and that cost was high
on may 2nd 2014 soccer fans flocked to the center of the city
the excuse was a ukrainian soccer championship match
surprisingly a number of those fans that came to odessa just before the match
also turned out to be fighters for maidan's self-defense militia
along with members of radical organizations from all parts of ukraine
crowd: hail to the nation, death to the enemies, ukraine, above everything, ukraine, above everything
these fans wore masks
armed and shouting nationalistic slogans
began a disturbance in the city
marched to the anti-maidan tents
and attacked them
the anti-maidan protesters sought shelter in the trade union house
but it was a trap
maidan supporters started throwing molotov cocktails to the building
until it caught on fire
people burnt inside or
trying to escape
jumped through the windows
although the fire station was less than a mile away
it took almost half an hour for them to arrive
and by then the damage had been done
but here is an interesting fact
just a few days before the tragedy
a messenger from maidan
andriy parubiy made a visit to odessa
interesting coincidence that
some of those he was meeting with
were seen as active participants on that fateful day
but not everyone was mourning
on the popular political talk-show shuster live
the news about the people burnt alive in odessa
was welcomed with a long round of applause
oleg liashko: among the dead in odessa
were 15 russian citizens
10 were from transdnestria republic
and no one from odessa
on its facebook page
the right sector announced the events of may 2nd
as a proud moment of national history
an official investigation is going on now for nearly two years
and still has no conclusion
but it seems that experts had all the information needed from the beginning
andriy parubiy: of course the provocation was started
by putin's agents that attacked the ukrainian demonstration
the great importance of odessa
can be seen in the fact that on may 30 2015
it was honored with a very special new governor
an old friend of the us
born and raised in ukraine's neighboring country
georgia
a quick look at his biography
gives one understanding that he was prepared for a special mission
michael saakashvili: i'm a peaceful protester
take your hands off me
mister saakashvili was receiving a us state department scholarship
and later worked at the new york organization “kmara”
a group we heard about in color revolutions history
saakashvili: what we have here is democratic bloodless revolution
this is the revolution of roses
and this is michael saakashvili with “kmara”
overthrowing the legitimately elected president edward schewarnadze
saakashvili: changing the government by peaceful methods
is the european way
i'm proud of it
soon after the rose revolution blossomed fully
georgia announced its intentions to join nato
and to build a nato military base
on fertile georgian land
right on the border of russia
saakashvili: we will never give our freedom and independence
we will never give a piece of our territory
Saakashvili's mission was accomplished
at least to his friends and nato
the georgian populace wasn't quite as happy
in 2007 they took it to the streets
and mr. saakashvili responded with force
the people's discontent was growing
saakashvili's party lost parliamentary elections
and the opposition took control
he said that according to the constitution
the new parliament's majority
has to form a new government with him as a president
michael decided not to wait
the results of the new presidential elections
and fled the country on october 2013
in 2014 saakashvili refused the summon to appear in court
as a witness in some criminal cases
later that same year he was accused of abuse of power and embezzlement
saakashvili wound up in the us
and soon his friends in washington found him a new assignment
michael actively supported the maidan
and very soon was rewarded with a high position
in the new ukrainian government
first as a the president's counselor
and then as the governor of odessa
the day before taking this position
he renounced his citizenship in georgia
and became a ukrainian citizen
saakashvili: i will always be a proud citizen
of my proud homeland
as they say the battle is worth the blood
both literally and figuratively
hино Бурджанадзе: i know well the true price of mr. saakashvilli's reforms
he is actually a part of the ongoing in ukraine project
that is being carried out by certain forces
geoffrey pyatt, the us ambassador to ukraine
had visited saakashvili just a month
after he took his position in odessa
geoffrey pyatt: as long as the odessa administration delivers results
you're going to see a steady flow
of washington visitors coming here
the meeting was productive
and geoffrey was generous
no matter how well saakashvili did his job
it seemed like he needn't worry about his finances
on his facebook page he posted an official document
showing the new governor of odessa gets salary of almost 200 thousand dollars a year
for comparison, the governor of maine gets 70 thousand dollars a year
so if odessa became a us state
he would be at the top of the list
mr saakashvili must have felt good in his new home
since he is an old fellow from the orange revolution of viktor ushenko
who is the godfather of his son
ex-president of georgia michael saakashvili
was assigned the governor of odessa
it is literally a spit
an insult to the people of odessa
to all the ukrainian people
he wasn't even granted a us working visa
in the universities where they tried to put him to work
they didn't want him
but he was considered worthy
of being the governor of odessa
are there no honest
professional, able to do that job ukrainians?
a war, once launched
doesn't choose its victims
we are just learning at this hour
that malaysian airlines
has lost contact with one of its planes
the plane was indeed shot down by a missile
while flying over ukraine near the russian border
298 people were on board
no survivors found
perry: it was a murder, a crime
and this odd carelessness about the investigation
there was a report, a very limited report
two months after the event
and it was said that the next report
would be on the anniversary of the event
if you're dealing with a criminal investigation
you need to work while the traces are still warm
and one should wonder
about the media's disinterest in this investigation
but even without answers
fingers were pointed immediately
that's not an accident
that is happening because of russia's support
evidence indicates that the plain was shot down by a missile
that was launched from the territory
controlled by the russia-backed separatists inside of ukraine
without a doubt
the country in which territory it happened
is responsible for this horrible tragedy
the malaysian boeing wasn't the first plane
to play a big part in russian-american relations
on september 1st 1983
korean airlines flight 007 new york – seoul
was shot down by a soviet interceptor aircraft over territory of USSR in the sea of japan
reagan: there is absolutely no justification
either legal or moral for what the soviets did
the tragedy of the korean boeing
was considered a perfect excuse
to demonstrate the nato military power
within dangerous proximity to USSR borders
on november 2nd 1983
nato launched massive drills
working on the scenario of response
to an escalation causing nuclear war
followed by placing a pershing-2 ballistic missile in europe
what reagan did
could cause a paranoic overreaction of the soviets
and start war
a recently declassified us intelligence report shows that
for the first time since the cuban missile crisis
the world got close to nuclear war
just like in 1983
the catastrophe with the malaysian aircraft
is leverage to push the enemy
a new wave of sanctions fell upon russia immediately after that
the us is declaring new sanctions against russian economy
almost a year and 3 months later
the dutch safety council published the report
man on a stage: ladies and gentlemen
the mh17 crash was caused
by the explosion of a 9H314M missile
launched from an air defense missile system
that exploded outside of the aircraft's cockpit
the report didn't blame any specific group or person
it estimated a very wide area of 300 square kilometers
as the zone where the missile was fired
at the same time
the russian missile systems manufacturing company “aлмаз-aнтей”
conducted its own investigation
ian novikov: the results of our experiment
completely disprove the conclusions
of the dutch commission about the missile type
and the launch place
during the experiment
they blew up an entire airliner cockpit with a missile
and came to the conclusion
that the malaysian plane was shot down
by an old 9M38M1 missile
not used any more by russia
but still used by ukraine
the company claims that the missile was launched
from the territory controlled by the ukrainian military
one would expect that these controversial results
would cause the rise of interest on this incident
but the malaysian boeing tragedy
had already fulfilled its geopolitical role
and so was soon forgotten
the goal was achieved
after the third wave of sanctions against russia
the tension between the two countries skyrocketed
and the question now becomes
are we truly witnessing cold war II
and if so what are the chances of surviving it
in 1947 the bulletin of atomic scientists
launched the doomsday clock project
it represents the time-line to the annihilation of life
in 1953 at the peak of the cold war
it was closest to midnight
as the superpowers were creating massive nuclear arsenals
this is the story of ever expanding nuclear weapons
as the world began to grasp the insane danger of nuclear warfare
and took measures to control the arms race
the situation was constantly getting better
in 1991 the clock was its furthest ever
17 minutes to midnight
that time of hope was short-lived
as the world was becoming more and more unstable
in 2015 the bulletin of atomic scientists moved the clock
to 3 minutes to midnight
today uncertain climate change
the modernization of nuclear weapons
and huge arsenals
present undeniable threat
to the existence of humanity
the us and russia
launched massive nuclear weapons upgrade programs
which violates the existing agreements on reduction of nuclear potential
the clock is now just 3 minutes to midnight
because international leaders are failing to perform their most important duty
ensuring and preserving the health and vitality of human civilization
perry: the role of an american journalist
is to inform the american people the best you can
in what you were able to find out
and to not be afraid of any kind of attacks that come with that
nuland: the vast majority
of those who participated in maidan
were peaceful protesters
uhh if you had a chance to see the pictures
many of us participated
i was there
there were mothers, grandmothers, veterans
congressman: before you proceed
i'd like to ask you
were there neo nazi groups involved?
nuland: there were, as i said
almost every color of ukrainian represented there
including not the best of them
congressman: so the answer is yes
perry: and that's the patriotic role of a democratic journalist
is to give the public as much information as possible
so they can operate their role of responsible citizen
and to control the government
or at least to be aware of what is happening
we truly believe that there is only one way
to protect yourself from this game of manipulation
awareness
knowledge is power
the ability to recognize the red flags
and save your country from being dragged in all this chaos and mayhem
this relates to each and everyone of us
because war today does not only come with tanks and bombs
it comes with the manipulative mass media
the journalism that lies
and hides and twists facts
that are more focused on making the news
rather than on reporting them
zaharchenko: i want to believe that
there will be peace in ukraine
there will be law and order
there will be democracy
i wish the best for ukraine
yanukovich: i pray to god that the people in ukraine reunite
for all the hate that now exists to disappear
i wish that there will be peace in ukraine
we understand that the world has changed
you can't keep everything frozen in a state of cold war
you need to look to the future
many times in our film
we have shown the spiral of history
while we often repeat our mistakes
it also always gives us another chance
and hope