A war beyond bullets.

Daniel Иосиф Lanier   

Faith Shaffner 

ENG-111 

11\19\2014 

Novorossiya  

(IMG: Wash Poet Writer's Group, 21 Feb. 2014.)

A war beyond bullets. 

21st of November, 2013. On the Maidan Nezalezhnosti, or "Independence Square" in center of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine, protesters marched demanding further integration into the European Union. Despite an initial peaceful protest the march soon turned violent, Police brutality and violent protesters fueled the flames of Molotov Cocktails and burning tires as Ukraine found itself on a crossroads; the perilous balance between East and West that it had struggled to maintain since the fall of the Soviet Union could no longer stand and the only question was which way would it fall? 

In every conflict there is at least two sides involved; each faction has its own views and ideas that they will often try to spread to gain acceptance and support. Historically the media has played a huge part in this, if you can control, or at least influence, what the population of your country hears about a conflict, you can ensure that they will continue to support your side. The conflict in Ukraine has seen in the words of many "A Media War" between the "Mainstream Media" groups of America and Europe, (known as the "West" from now on.) and the media groups of Russia and her allies. (for simplicity it will be known as "Russian media" from now on)  

Both sides have claimed unbiased and factual reporting, but there is no media without bias and both sides have reasons to wish one side or the other to win. So how can we learn the truth and not be deceived by the propaganda?  

Certainly one could fly over there personally and observe the situation for oneself, if of course one wishes to risk being shot in a war zone. The next, and safer, option is to compare the stories of all parties involved and draw a conclusion based off the facts hidden in both side's stories. 

I hope this will help study illuminate the bias that the media on both sides have had on key issues in the brutal conflict that has torn not only the nation of Ukraine apart, but also deepened the rift between Russia and America. 

I will be presenting both sides of the story on five key issues that have defined the civil war, from the origins in the Maidan coup to the suspected "Russian invasion" and counter attack; I will attempt to present sources from both sides in as unbiased a way as possible so that you may see how the media can draw two wildly different stories from the same information, and to draw your own conclusions about the conflicts on your own. 

Unfortunately no one is without bias, and that unfortunately includes myself. I highly recommend that you do your own personal research into this issue and to not take any conclusions or statements in this paper as absolute fact.  

Євромайдан, Yevromaidan 

(IMG: Brendan Hoffman, Getty Images)

Euromaidan, Euro Square. 

When the protests on the Maidan square started the Western Governments and media were quick to take up the cause of the protesters who were calling for a greater shift towards the West and supported joining the European Union and the West. Unfortunately things went bad as police tried unsuccessfully to break up the protesters and protesters seized and raided government buildings. 

Some news reports were fairly unbiased like an article from Fox News titled "Ukraine president fires military chief amid calls for government to end violence"  that mostly stated only the facts without much opinion, but others, like one of the many articles from CNN from the start of the conflict held much more of a bias, glorifying the protesters and giving them a larger more prominent role in the story than the other side like in their article "Ukraine police accused of violent crackdown on pro-EU protests"  

None the less, this bias wasn't as bad as it could have been and both sides of the media war agreed the police were rather brutal, but after February 20th 2014 the conflict escalated as Ukrainian government snipes fired upon the protesters. Headlines with titles such as Mail Online's "Harrowing footage emerges of UNARMED protesters being cut down by Sniper fire" or The Guardian's "Ukraine's bloodiest day: dozens dead as Kiev protesters regain territory from police. - Corpses on Kiev's Independence Square as police deploy snipers and use live ammunition " Footage of Ukrainian officers holding and firing weapons, as well as images of protesters dead or being hauled to hospitals flooded headlines as did the responses of the world leaders who condemned the Ukrainian government for it.  

However if we were to go over to the other side of the conflict we find a different story. Russia Today or RT, which will be my primary Russian source due to it having an easy access English version, reported from the Ukrainian government's side of the conflict. Their reporting painted a completely different picture. The story they told was that the protesters were often the ones to escalate the conflict first. To quote an article posted by RT on February twentieth: "The rioters then stormed and looted the nearby unprotected office of the ruling Party of Regions, also setting it on fire. One office worker was later found dead in the devastated building, with reports saying he died from smoke inhalation"  (RT “Ukraine Bloodshed:”)

Russia Today's reports also highlighted a fact that wasn't widely reported, which was that the police were under gunfire as well, and while they may have taken less casualties compared to the protesters, there were large numbers still being shot. According to this RT article posted on February 20th "More than 500 law enforcers have been injured since the start of violent clashes on Tuesday, 108 of them were shot, and 63 are in a serious condition, the [Ukrainian Interior] ministry stated." (RT “Kiev Allows Police to Use Firearms)

While evidence shows that both sides did use live weapons, RT reports that this mainly started happening after unknown Snipers had fired upon BOTH sides, in an attempt to escalate the conflict. These claims are backed up by a leaked conversation between the EU foreign affairs chief and Estonian foreign affairs minister, "“There is now stronger and stronger understanding that behind the snipers, it was not Yanukovich, but it was somebody from the new coalition,” Urmas Paet said during the conversation." RT informed before going on to report: “And second, what was quite disturbing, this same Olga [Bogomolets] told as well that all the evidence shows that the people who were killed by snipers from both sides, among policemen and then people from the streets, that they were the same snipers killing people from both sides,” the Estonian FM stressed." (RT “Kiev Snipers Hired by Maidan Leaders”) Later RT would interview Former chief of Ukraine’s Security Service who claimed that the snipers were in buildings held by the protesters.  (RT “"Kiev Snipers Shooting”)

RT's reporting from the Ukrainian side presents another picture of the events, and both sides have reason to be biased, the protesters would not report misdeeds they've committed and the Ukrainian Government wouldn't report it's misdeeds. Both sides want to be the good side, and for the media the misdeeds of their side are glossed over in favor of criticizing the other side.  

This contrast between media reporting may seem somewhat minor now, but as the conflict continues the divide only grows greater. 

Республика Крым, Respublika Krym. 

 

(IMG: Unknown, 14 Sept. 2014.)

Republic of Crimea. 

On the 21st of February 2014 Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was forced to flee Ukraine as protesters seized control of the government. The next day the Ukrainian parliament officially impeached and deposed him from power. While the West and the Western half of Ukraine cheered this coup there was a large group who were unhappy about this development. Almost the entire population of the Eastern half of Ukraine was very much against the new government, it had after all been the eastern half of the Country that had elected Yanukovych into power in the first place. Eastern Ukraine was also not ethnically Ukrainian, or rather large parts of it had belonged to Russia until the Soviet Union gave them to Ukraine to manage. So long as Ukraine and Russia were friends they were happy to remain part of Ukraine; with the new government's new anti-Russia/Pro-EU stance however these regions found themselves forming their own protests in response to the February Coup. The first place to rise up was the small peninsula of Crimea.  

Crimea had a long history of belonging Russia, and after the fall of the Soviet Union had been host to a large Russian naval base that the Russian Government loaned from Ukraine.  

Large protests in Crimea and its largest city of Sevastopol erupted and on March 16th the local Crimean government enacted a referendum to declare independence from Ukraine and to decide if it wanted to re-unify with Russia. According to Russia Today and Russian media, the turn out for the referendum was massive, with 81% of the population coming out to vote with the results being a full 95% voting in favor of joining the Russian Federation. (RT "Crimea declares independence,")  

Over 135 international observers were brought in to ensure the vote was not rigged and according to those observers there was no coercion from the armed men that had flooded the region to provide security for the vote and ensure the new Ukrainian government, henceforth called "Kiev," did not try and stop it from occurring. While Russian news initially reported that these men appeared to be volunteer self defense forces, (RT "Crimea won’t work with ‘illegitimate’ Kiev govt") later Russian president Vladimir Putin would admit that at least some of them were Russian Servicemen from the on loan Russian naval base. (RT "Putin acknowledges Russian military serviceman were in Crimea) 

As the voting came to a close Russian media reported mass celebrations and popular support (RT "95.7% of Crimeans in referendum voted to join Russia") while flaunting the international observer's reports that the referendum was: "Not only that it was very professional but very calm, with all guarantees of safety at polling stations but without too much exposure of police presence at the polling stations, and so on. So very peaceful, calm." -Polish observer Mateusz Piskorski (RT "Crimea referendum professional, up to international standards") 

But for those in the West, the picture was different. According to BBC News Europe "Many Crimeans loyal to Kiev boycotted the referendum, and the EU and US condemned it as illegal. (BBC "Crimea referendum: Voters 'back Russia union'") The controversial wording of the ballets was also brought up by many, "No room for Nyet" was the headline a Reuter's article declared in response to the two ballet options being essentially, join  Russia  or remain in  Ukraine but with  greater autonomy. There was no option to remain with the statuesque. (Balmforth, "No Room for 'Nyet'") 

One of the most common arguments was the illegality of it; According to an article by the Guardian: "Then there’s the bigger problem: the referendum seems inconsistent with the Ukrainian constitution, which says all Ukrainians would have to vote on Crimea’s secession – not just those living in Crimea." The writer then points out that it's not just Ukraine's law being broken but:  "It’s a matter of international law: territory cannot be annexed simply because the people who happen to be living there today want to secede." (Brilmayer "Why the Crimean Referendum Is Illegal") 

These concerns are echoed from a report from "The Council of Foreign Relations" which stated: "International law prefers to preserve the territorial integrity of states and limit the right of popular self-determination because minority secession movements, if allowed to proceed without limits, do not reflect the views of the majority in a state and could lead to the breakdown of the international system." The report went on to suggest that Russia should watch out as its support of referendums could come back to bite them and lead to referendums within it's own borders. (Masters "Why the Crimean Referendum Is Illegitimate.") 

Another major argument against the referendum that was that the high turn out results were impossible and that voter fraud had to have been involved, something that many news groups, including the Washington post were quick to point out: "96.7% vote in favor of annexation were always extremely dubious." (Somin "Russian Government Agency Reveals Fraudulent Nature of the Crimean Referendum") 

Whether or not the elections were valid, they did inspire many other Pro-Russia regions in Ukraine that succession in the face of a new Pro-Western government was a possibility. Donetsk and Luhansk quickly enacted their own referendums and started arming themselves because, unlike Crimea, these regions did not have Russian troops to back them.  

Одесса резня, Odessa reznya 

(IMG: Press TV, 2 May 2014.)

Odessa massacre. 

On May 2nd, 2014 in the south eastern Ukrainian city of Odessa, pro-Russian protesters clashed with a large rally of around 1500 Pro-Kiev demonstrators, many of whom had traveled to Odessa for a football match. While both sides blame each other for starting the fighting, some evidence seems to imply that someone in the police force of the city helped incite violence. (RT "Provocation gone wrong") Whatever the case the two groups started violently clashing, but the massive numbers of Pro-Kiev demonstrators forced the Pro-Russians to retreat while the Pro-Kiev forces pushed them and trapped them in the local House of Trade Unions, a large multi-story stone building.  

Trapped inside the building, the Pro-Russians found themselves under a hail of Molotov cocktail improvised incendiary bombs, and gunfire. Anyone who tried to flee the building was beaten horrifically, "“When we were finally able to jump out of the window from the second floor, we were met by the Right Sector radicals. They beat us with their feet using bats and chains. My friend got an open head injury. I received a wound six centimeters long and am now in a hospital waiting to get stitches,” -Aleksey Albu, survivor of the attack as reported by RT (RT "anti-Maidan activist in Odessa") 

According to survivors and video, some time after the fires started pro-Kiev demonstrators  entered the partially burning building and attacked survivors, many of the videos have since been taken down but as stated in an RT interview with a survivor "Numerous videos have been released on the Internet in which a woman’s voice is heard from the House of Trade Unions screaming for help and the pro-government activists in the crowd surrounding the building say, “that's not a woman, she's a separatist!” and “beat the s**t out of her, so that she finally shuts up!” (RT "Odessa tragedy survivor") 

This horrific event that left at least 38 dead and over 200 injured became a rallying cry for Russian media, a justification for supporting the Donetsk Rebels and proof of the brutality of the new Ukrainian government.  The Russian media made this their top story, headlines were filled with pictures and stories of the tragedy. From articles filled with images: (RT "Odessa slaughter") attempts to review the entire day and find out what happened: (RT "Murky forces instigating Odessa violence?") and attacks on Western Media for their portrayal of the events: (RT "Avoiding facts?") 

For their part the Western Media either tried to avoid the entire subject or try and make who started the fire ambiguous "The fire broke out in Odessa's Trade Unions House, the regional office of Ukraine's interior ministry said. It did not give details of how the blaze started." (BBC "Ukraine crisis") Or as Reuters put it: "Clashes then spread along the streets until rebels moved into a large trade union building. Petrol bombs were thrown and shots were heard though the exact sequence and detail of events remained unclear on Saturday." (Tsvetkova "Dozens Killed in Ukraine Fighting and Fire") 

  Despite videos showing the pro-Kiev demonstrators throwing Molotov cocktails into the building the western media tried to focus on Kiev's version of the story: "The fire began from the roof. There were extremists there, we found casings and firearms,' Mr. Chebotar said. 'But something unexpected happened; their Molotov cocktails fell, and ignited the higher floors of the building." (Shishkin "Ukraine Government Says Pro-Russian Rebels Sparked Fire") Or to shunt it away with vague wording: "Video posted on YouTube APPEARED to show Molotov cocktails being thrown by Kiev supporters at the building where pro-Russian separatists had reportedly taken up positions. The footage, which CNN could NOT independently confirm....." (Walsh "Chaos in Southern Ukraine:") 

But while Western Media was loath to report on Odessa they were very happy to report and point fingers on another tragedy..... 

Малайзия Авиакомпания Полет-17 

Malayziya Aviakompaniya Polet-17 

(IMG: National Post, 1 Jan. 2014)

Malaysia Airlines Flight-17 

Of all the war crimes and tragedies to come out of the war torn country of Ukraine, none have been so publicized by both sides as the downing of  civilian Malaysia Airlines Flight-17 or MH-17. What started as a simple flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur turned into a tragedy when, while flying over Ukraine and the warzone below, something shot it down causing it to crash deep within rebel territory killing everyone aboard. The facts of what happened are murky with both sides blaming each other and the media behind them playing a game of "he said, she said" with theories and unconfirmed evidence being paraded by both sides in an attempt to pin the blame on the other side.   (Tomkiw "MH17 Amps up 'he Said, She Said'") 

What actually happened on 17th of July to bring down the airliner? I don't know for sure, but in the moments after it crashed media everywhere took the story and ran with it in attempt to support their favored side.  

Western Media blamed the Donetsk Rebels and Russia with headlines like the New York Post's "Russia led missile attack on Malaysia plane" And followed the Ukrainian government's suggestion that Russia had supplied the rebels with a long range Anti-Aircraft missiles. (Sanderson "Russia Led Missile Attack") Other headlines and news groups took a phone call released by Kiev between supposed rebels and supposed Russians implicating the rebels in the shooting down of the plane.(Miller "Ukraine Releases Audio") 

Many news groups used this tragedy to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin, as a Forbs opinion page stated: "It has also become clear that the person most responsible for the tragedy is Vladimir Putin.  None of this could have happened without not only his approval, but his active support.  Sophisticated military assets simply do not get up and walk across borders by themselves." (Satell "Why Putin Shot Down MH-17") 

Anything released by the Ukrainian government was immediately reported as almost fact, and other explanations were often mocked as "Conspiracy theories" granted some theories were frankly crazy, but the negative connections one thinks of when the words "Conspiracy theories" are used can not be ignored especially when plausible but unpleasant theories are thrown in with the completely crazy ones. (Reidy "MH17:Conspiracy Theories") 

As all sides condemned the downing of the aircraft the Western Media started to also condemn the rebels for holding up investigators from reaching the crash site located within Rebel territory, the Guardian reported "MH17: rebels block access to part of site of crash as evidence against them grows" and claimed that the rebels were trying to prevent access so that analysis could be done on the wreck. "A unit of heavily armed rebels blocked the 30-strong team from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), cordoning off a large part of the crash site. " (Walker "Rebels Block Access") NBC reported that there was "A chorus of outrage reached a crescendo Monday as world leaders demanded gun-toting pro-Russian rebels allow investigators to access the MH17 crash scene." And condemned the rebels for not allowing full and immediate access to the site. (Smith "Fury Grows") 

Of course the rebels and the Russian media told a different story. Immediately after the plane went down theories sprung up, some of them were quickly proven false, like the report that Putin's presidential aircraft was the target: (RT "Reports That Putin Flew Similar Route") 

Others, like the theory that a Ukrainian aircraft shot down MH-17 continue to be debated to this day. This theory, which seems to be one of the primary ones that the Russian government supports, claims that a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter jet was trailing the civilian airliner on radar before it was shot down. (RTD "MH-17: THE UNTOLD STORY") Another popular theory is that a Ukrainian Anti-aircraft Missile was the one to take down the doomed airliner as part of a false flag attack; Both of these theories were presented by the Russian defense ministry who, unlike Western governments, quickly released Radar and satellite data backing up their claims. (RT "Ukrainian Su-25 Fighter Detected in Close Approach") 

Being on the defensive due to Western Media's attacks, after the initial wave of reaction news the Russian media tried to make itself sound like the voice of reason, demanding a full and careful investigation, in addition to trying to counter accusations reported by the Western media like the supposed phone call between rebel commanders and Russian officers released by Kiev. (RT "Unverified Tape Released") 

The location of the crash site lead to many issues in analyzing the wreck, Russian media reported that despite a supposed "cease fire" around the crash zone, Ukrainian military units continued to shell the area with artillery in an attempt to seize the site. According to many Russian media groups this was one of the reasons given for the international monitor's being unable to reach the site. (RT "Experts Slow to Access MH17") And even after reaching the site this was the excuse for limited access: "Rockets fell two kilometers away from the field where experts were gathering items of Boeing passengers," (Sputnik "Donetsk Accuses Kiev Forces of Firing at Experts") "'Ukraine continued to violate the ceasefire in the MH17 crash area, not allowing OSCE observers and experts from the Netherlands and Australia to enter the area,' said Sergey Kavtaradze, an aide to anti-government leader Aleksandr Boroday." (RT "Dutch, Australian Experts Reach MH17") This led most Russian media to condemn Ukraine and suggest that Ukraine was trying to destroy or damage the wreckage to hide evidence that they were involved: (RT "Russia Fears Kiev Trying to Destroy Evidence") Other reports suggested Kiev wanted to seize the crash site to ensure they could back their "'prefabricated crash version" (RT "Kiev Seeks Access to MH17 Site") 

Russian media was also quick to report on statements by Russian government officials saying that “[The west] decided not to wait until the end of MH17 investigation to blame the rebels for the shooting down of the airliner.” And to claim that the West was trying to blame Russia and Donestk, not because they had evidence, but because they were use it against Russian and cover up their own involvement. (RT "NATO Exerting Pressure")  

Regardless of what happened, for many their calling out of the West for their sensationalism helped make Russian media sound like the voice of reason in the conflict, the ones who were calling for a full investigation while the west jumped to conclusions. But while the tragedy of the downed Airliner did not stop the war, and the investigation is still on going to this day; The Western Media has found a new subject to focus on in the war for East Ukraine.  

Донецк контрнаступление 

Donetsk kontrnastupleniye 

(IMG: Vadim Ghirda, AP Photo, 1 Jan. 2014)

Donetsk counteroffensive 

 
By August 2014 the situation was looking bleak for the Rebel factions in Eastern Ukraine. Donetsk was being shelled daily and the crash sight of MH-17 was close to being captured, something that would have split the rebellious factions in half. Repeated losses on several fronts had left the populations of the breakaway regions disheartened. While many rebel commanders talked about a counter attack, Kiev's forces pushed rapidly south of the main rebel strongholds in an attempt to cut off the rebels from their supporters in Russia. As Kiev's forces started assaulting the city of Luhansk however the rebels launched a devastating counter attack on the encircling forces, cutting them off and encircling them instead trapping thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and two tank battalions deep within rebel lines.  

The reason for the successful counter attack is one of debate, the Rebels claim it was both because they had been planning it for some time. "“It took us a long time to amass forces. We were holding our positions and preparing a retaliatory strike. Eventually, we made it and we will continue our military action to free the Donetskand Luhansk regions from the occupation forces,” - Donetsk People’s Republic Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko (Sputnik "We Have Been Preparing") And because of extremely bad moral and lack of supplies in many of the conscript soldiers who provide the backbone of Ukraine's army. (RT "Ukrainian Troops Cross into Russia") 

These advances were met with great praise in Russian Media who quickly took advantage of both the Kiev military blunder and the increasing lack of support for the war because of it, Ukrainian Anti-war protests from families and soldiers who were angry about the under-reported causalities in Ukrainian army due to fighting as well as infighting between political groups were quickly reported and published. (RT "You Abandoned Us!") 

But there were many in the west who believed that it had not just been the rebels who were behind the counter attack, but rather that the Russian army had been covertly sent to aid the rebels and insure that the rebels did not fall. According to the New York times;  

"Russia reinforced what Western and Ukrainian officials described as a stealth invasion.... 'Russia is clearly trying to put its finger on the scale to tip things back in favor of its proxies,'” said a senior American official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was discussing intelligence reports. 'Artillery barrages and other Russian military actions have taken their toll on the Ukrainian military.'” (Kramer "Ukraine Reports Russian Invasion") 

While allegations of Russian involvement and covert aid had been around since the start of the conflict, the counter offensive saw a rise in the accusations with CNN reporting "Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- A top Ukrainian army officer said a "full-scale invasion" of his country was under way Thursday, as a U.S. official said up to 1,000 Russian troops had crossed Ukraine's southern border to fight alongside pro-Russian rebels." (Butenko "U.S. Official Says 1,000 Russian Troops Have Entered Ukraine") 

These allegations were aided by the capture of ten Russian paratroopers near the boarder who claimed to be lost on patrol due to the poorly marked out boarders.  (Demirjian "Ukraine Detains Russian Paratroopers") Lost or not, their capture incited a media firestorm about the supposed invasion with evidence being thrown about in a feeding frenzy of journalism. The Washington Post reported about Ukrainian reports of fighting Russians and sightings of Russian equipment in Eastern Ukraine. (Taylor "Has Russia Invaded Ukraine?")  

On the other side Russian media repeated Russia's claims that there were no Russian soldiers officially in Ukraine, and that any Russians in Ukraine were, as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Donetsk People’s Republic,  Aleksandr Zakharchenko put it "volunteers" who preferred to "“to spend their summer holidays not at the seaside, but among their brothers who are fighting for the freedom of Donbass" They also reported:  "Zakharchenko said that Kiev authorities and Western countries are repeatedly talking about a Russian‘ military invasion’ to justify the mass defeats of the Ukrainian army in the country’s east." (RT "Only Russian Volunteers") 

Other Russian media preferred to focus on the Russian representative to the OSCE's report that claimed "we have said that no Russian involvement has been spotted, there are no soldiers or equipment present..... Accusations relating to convoys of armored personnel carriers have been heard during the past week and the week before that, all of them were proven false back then, and are being proven false again now.” (RT "No Russian Troops in Ukraine") 

To try and explain the reports of Russian weaponry being used by the rebels, Russian media interviews included ones with high ranking Russian officials who assured them that:  

"First, one shouldn’t forget that Ukraine used to be a part of the Soviet Union. There were many weapon storages on the territory of the Soviet Union, so when Ukraine and Russia became independent states, clearly some storages remained on Ukrainian territory.... The self-defense forces seize large amounts of National Guard’s and the Ukrainian army’s weapons. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers fled into Russia, leaving the weapons they used to own,” (RT "Where Do Ukraine’s Rebels Get Arms From?") 

вывод, vyvod 

(IMG: “Fighters of the Novorussian Army.” Soul of the East, 1 Jan. 2014)

Conclusion 

To this day accusations that Russia invaded Ukraine are still being argued about, and being repeated again as the conflict escalates once more. The Western media makes sure to point out who they think shot down MH-17 with every report on Ukraine, while Russian media takes every chance to bring up the massacre in Odessa. The official results of the elections in Crimea will likely never be accepted by Western Media, and the truth behind the snipers on the Maidan will likely either be forgotten or debated for years. 

In the end both sides have stake in ensuring their story is believed to be the truth, while many would argue that most Media is bought and paid for by their governments, even if that is not the case many of them have pride and credibility on the line as well as a desire to say what their audience wants to hear; no American wants to hear that the America Government is supporting a regime that was behind the downing of a civilian Airliner, nor does any Russian want to hear that their government supported Rebels who did the same thing.  

Independent media has sometimes proven more reliable, but often has as much bias as the major news corporations or has less access to the information needed due to the smaller scale of its operations.

In most cases I doubt media's bias is malicious in its intent or that media makes a conscious effort to deceive its viewers, however media companies are populated by people, people who have their own standards, their own views, their own beliefs, and their own bias; for this to slide into their journalistic work, for their editor to edit something to favor his ideas and the publisher to only publish it when it meets his views is to be expected. 

So how can we know the truth when no one will tell it? We have to find it for ourselves and we can not rely on one source alone to give an objective version of the truth.  

Daniel Иосиф Lanier    

Faith Shaffner  

Eng-111  

11\19\2014 

Works Cited.

Euromaidan 

Hoffman, Brendan. WTLK-19. Getty Images, 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 11. <http://www.wltx.com/picture-gallery/news/nation/2014/02/19/ukraine-unrest/5583865/>. 

"Kiev Allows Police to Use Firearms, Demands Armed Rioters Lay down Weapons." RT. TV-Novosti, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/ukraine-kiev-firearms-weapons-police-934/>. 

"Kiev Snipers Hired by Maidan Leaders - Leaked EU's Ashton Phone Tape." RT. TV-Novosti, 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/ashton-maidan-snipers-estonia-946/>. 

This article brought to the forefront a devastating and important phone call, I remembered this article from when I had seen it originally so I simply had to search for "Kiev Snipers leaked phone call RT" To find what I was looking for.  Given that the Maidan snipers was a key point in the Russian media, this was an almost impossible article to overlook. 

 "Kiev Snipers Shooting from Bldg Controlled by Maidan Forces – Ex-Ukraine Security Chief." RT. TV-Novosti, 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/ukraine-snipers-security-chief-438/>. 

This article was a follow up one discovered by looking around RT's website, it helps prove the point that Russian Media was focusing on the police being shot at and attacked since it's all about a government commander's view on the situation. To find it I would suggest using Google to search "Kiev Snipers Bldg controlled by Maidan." 

Smith-Spark, Laura, and Ray Sanchez. "Ukraine Police Accused of Violent Crackdown on Pro-EU Protests." CNN. CNN, 30 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/30/world/europe/ukraine-eu-protests/> 

This article was found through a Google Search for "Kiev police brutality" It provides an interesting view on the situation, both in writing and the pictures contained in it. The article presents a view from the pro-western media which was useful for my paper regardless of any level of bias in it. 

Thornhill, Ted. "Harrowing Footage Emerges of UNARMED Protesters Being Cut down by Sniper Fire on a Day of Violence in Kiev That Has Brought Today's Death Toll to at Least 70 Read More: Http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2563609/Truce-Kiev-collapses-hours-official-day-mourning-28-people-killed-protests-erupts-violence.html#ixzz3IhzYWNJ0." Mail Online. Daily Mail UK, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2563609/Truce-Kiev-collapses-hours-official-day-mourning-28-people-killed-protests-erupts-violence.html>. 

This article was important to me mainly due to it's headline, while it is without doubt that the images in it about the shootings are harrowing, it does have an underlying bias and sensationalism that makes it useful for my paper. To find this article I searched "Kiev government shooting " 

Traynor, Ian. "Ukraine's Bloodiest Day: Dozens Dead as Kiev Protesters Regain Territory from Police." TheGuardian. The Guardian, 21 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/20/ukraine-dead-protesters-police>. 

This article was written the day after the shooting started in Kiev, and with terms like "menacing escalation" It proved very useful in both showing the West's view, and getting a general view in general on the tragic events.  To find this article I searched "Kiev government shooting " 

"Ukraine President Fires Military Chief amid Calls for Government to End Violence." Foxnews. Fox News, 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/02/19/protesters-clash-with-police-in-ukraine-capital-as-opposition/>. 

This article was found searching "Kiev Brutality Fox" I wanted a view from Fox news to help look at all sides of the Western Media, this article was written shortly before shots were fired and helps show the worsening situation in Ukraine.  

"Ukraine Bloodshed: Kiev Death Toll Jumps to 77." RT. TV-Novosti, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/ukraine-kiev-death-toll-955/>. 

This article, found by Googling "RT Kiev shooting" talks about the Russian view and highlights the police being attacked. The article is as bias as the ones on the other side which made it good for what I was looking for as a comparison. 

Wash Poet Writer's Group, 21 Feb. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 11. <https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOF_a2v1QUEczj1KJj9CkBoJcyJBEZ0EBvBAmB6ABWmpHBvhtnDxKcspkMAQlQPvYYlOHhSllNWDwvDxXWXMWeOii7LWW0CfrUnchxjSLHON1kjvuBjZg3pX4oZDbX81-pt2N3_yu8UUt0/s1600/970446.jpg>. 

Republic of Crimea 

14 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://geoentrepreneurs.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/nato-does-not-recognize-crimean-elections/>. 

"95.7% of Crimeans in Referendum Voted to Join Russia - Preliminary Results." RT. TV-Novosti, 16 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/crimea-vote-join-russia-210/>. 

Balmforth, Richard. "No Room for 'Nyet' in Ukraine's Crimea Vote to Join Russia." Reuters. Reuters, 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/11/us-ukraine-crisis-referendum-idUSBREA2A1GR20140311>. 

Brilmayer, Lea. "Why the Crimean Referendum Is Illegal." The Guardian. Guardian News, 14 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/14/crimean-referendum-illegal-international-law>. 

"Crimea Referendum Professional, up to International Standards – Head of Intl Observers." RT. TV-Novosti, 17 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/op-edge/crimea-referendum-professional-observers-234/>. 

"Crimea Referendum: Voters 'back Russia Union'" News Europe. BBC, 16 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26606097>. 

"Crimea Declares Independence, Seeks UN Recognition." RT. TV-Novosti, 17 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/crimea-referendum-results-official-250/>. 

"Crimea Won’t Work with ‘illegitimate’ Kiev Govt – PM Aksyonov." RT. TV-Novosti, 7 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/crimea-prime-minister-interview-390/>.

Interfax. "Seventy or More Percent of People of Crimea Will Vote for Inclusion of Crimea in Russia - Administration of Crimea." Interfax: Russia & CIS Military Newswire. Interfax, 6 Mar. 2014. Web. 6 Nov. 2014. <http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy025.nclive.org/eds/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=4ac2f242-3d09-4c7c-8a54-8a750086ab7f@sessionmgr4004&hid=4210&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU=#db=bwh&AN=94801400>. 

This article was discovered on NC live with the search term "Crimea" While it lacks enough information to be viable to include in my paper it does give me some general information on the Crimean vote that is useful and helps illustrate the expected turn out for the Crimean referendum.   

Masters, Jonathan. "Why the Crimean Referendum Is Illegitimate." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 16 Mar. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. <http://www.cfr.org/ukraine/why-crimean-referendum-illegitimate/p32594>. 

"Putin Acknowledges Russian Military Serviceman Were in Crimea." RT. TV-Novosti, 17 Apr. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/crimea-defense-russian-soldiers-108/>. 

Somin, Ilya. "Russian Government Agency Reveals Fraudulent Nature of the Crimean Referendum Results." The Washington Post. The Washington Post, 6 May 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/05/06/russian-government-agency-reveals-fraudulent-nature-of-the-crimean-referendum-results/>. 

Odessa massacre 

"Avoiding Facts? MSM Uncertain Who Is behind Deadly Odessa Blaze." RT. TV-Novosti, 4 May 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/156652-odessa-fire-mainstream-media/>. 

"Odessa Tragedy Survivor: ‘Many People Strangled after Escaping the Fire’." RT. TV-Novosti, 7 May 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/157256-odessa-witness-massacre-ukraine/>. 

"Odessa Slaughter: How Vicious Mob Burnt Anti-govt Activists Alive (GRAPHIC IMAGES)." RT. TV-Novosti, 3 May 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/156592-odessa-activists-burnt-alive/>. 

Press TV. 2 May 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/05/07/361609/western-coverup-of-odessa-massacre/>. 

"Provocation Gone Wrong: Murky Forces Instigating Odessa Violence?" RT. TV-Novosti, 5 May 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/156744-video-footage-odessa-fire/>. 

"‘They Beat Us with Bats and Chains’ - Anti-Maidan Activist in Odessa." RT. TV-Novosti, 4 May 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/156532-odessa-ukraine-brutal-attack/>. 

"Provocation Gone Wrong: Murky Forces Instigating Odessa Violence?" RT. TV-Novosti, 5 May 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/156744-video-footage-odessa-fire/>. 

Shishkin, Philip, and Lukas Alpert. "Ukraine Government Says Pro-Russian Rebels Sparked Deadly Odessa Fire." Fox News. The Wall Street Journal, 7 May 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/05/07/ukraine-government-says-pro-russian-rebels-sparked-deadly-odessa-fire>. 

Tsvetkova, Maria, and Miran Jelenek. "Dozens Killed in Ukraine Fighting and Fire; OSCE Monitors Freed." UK Reuters. Reuters, 3 May 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/05/03/uk-ukraine-crisis-idUKKBN0DI05620140503>. 

  

"Ukraine Crisis: Dozens Killed in Odessa Fire amid Clashes." News Europe. BBC, 2 May 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27259620>. 

Walsh, Nick, Chelsea Carter, and Victoria Butenko. "Chaos in Southern Ukraine: Deadly Fire, Choppers down and Street Fighting." CNN. CNN, 3 May 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/02/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/>. 

Malaysia Airlines Flight-17 

"Donetsk Accuses Kiev Forces of Firing at Experts at MH17 Crash Site." Sputnik International. Sputnik, 28 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://sputniknews.com/world/20141014/194052562/Donetsk-Accuses-Kiev-Forces-of-Firing-at-Experts-At-MH17-Crash.html>. 

"Dutch, Australian Experts Reach MH17 Crash Site for 1st Time." RT. TV-Novosti, 31 July 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/177000-mh17-site-ukraine-experts/>. 

"Experts Slow to Access MH17 Crash Site Close to Frontline, Only OSCE Arrived." RT. TV-Novosti, 20 July 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajeCkTUFyB0>. 

"Kiev Seeks Access to MH17 Site to Back ‘prefabricated’ Crash Version – Moscow." RT. TV-Novosti, 9 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/194324-ukraine-mh17-prefabricated-crash-version/>. 

Kirchick, James. "Inside the Bizarro World of 'Russia Today'" Time.com. 15 Aug. 2014. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy025.nclive.org/eds/detail/detail?sid=b0422972-d233-459f-8051-2e15a5626264@sessionmgr114&vid=0&hid=122&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU=#db=bth&AN=97525481>. 

This article found on NC Live by searching "Russia Today" will likely not be used in my paper, despite being a perfect example of the mudslinging in the media war, fitting it into the narrative is tricky since it mostly attacks RT rather than presenting a different view in a rational manner. This article is horrifically biased, and truthfully I can not see how anyone thought it was good enough to put on NCLive. 

 Miller, Christopher. "Ukraine Releases Audio Implicating Rebels in Downing of MH17." Mashable. Mashable, 25 July 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://mashable.com/2014/07/25/ukraine-recording-rebels-mh17/>. 

"MH-17: THE UNTOLD STORY." RTD. TV-Novosti, 22 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rtd.rt.com/films/mh-17-the-untold-story/#part-1>. 

"NATO Exerting Pressure, Not Interested in MH17 Investigation – Russia’s Mission." RT. TV-Novosti, 4 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/177708-nato-exerting-pressure-mh17/>. 

National Post, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2014/07/mh17-recovery-wing.jpg?w=940&h=705>. 

"Reports That Putin Flew Similar Route as MH17, Presidential Airport Says 'hasn't Overflown Ukraine for Long Time'" RT. TV-Novosti, 20 July 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/173672-malaysia-plane-crash-putin/>. 

Reidy, Padraig. "MH17: Five of the Most Bizarre Conspiracy Theories." The Guardian. Guardian News, 22 July 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/22/mh17-five-bizarre-conspiracy-theories-zionist-plots-illuminati-russian-tv>.

"Russia Fears Kiev Trying to Destroy Implicating MH17 Evidence." RT. TV-Novosti, 31 July 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/176864-ukraine-mh17-evidence-churkin/>.

Smith, Alexander. "Fury Grows as Pro-Russian Rebels Block Access to MH17 Site." NBC News. NBC, 21 July 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. <http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-plane-crash/fury-grows-pro-russian-rebels-block-access-mh17-site-n160926>. 

Satell, Greg. "Miscalculation. Failure. Escalation - Why Putin Shot Down MH-17." Forbes. Forbes, 26 July 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2014/07/26/why-putin-shot-down-mh-17/>. 

Sanderson, Bill. "Russia Led Missile Attack on Malaysia Plane." New York Post. NYP Holdings, 20 July 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://nypost.com/2014/07/20/how-the-russians-led-the-missile-strike-that-downed-flight-mh17/>. 

Tomkiw, Lydia. "MH17 Amps up 'he Said, She Said' in Russian and Ukrainian Media." Christian Science Monitor, 18 July 2014. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy025.nclive.org/eds/detail/detail?sid=6c5789f1-19be-47f8-9cac-fc9b334c14d7@sessionmgr4004&vid=0&hid=4210&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU=#db=pwh&AN=97132962>. 

This article was found by searching for MH-17 on NClive, I used this article in my paper due to it presenting a view about the media war and how both sides are pointing at each other, it does have a bias but since my paper is about bias that wasn't an issue. The fact that it came out the day after the tragedy also is a factor since some of the information was still coming in. 

  

"Ukrainian Su-25 Fighter Detected in Close Approach to MH17 before Crash - Moscow." RT. TV-Novosti, 22 July 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/174412-malaysia-plane-russia-ukraine/>. 

"Unverified Tape Released by Kiev Presented as ‘proof’ E. Ukraine Militia Downed MH17." RT. TV-Novosti, 18 July 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/173964-ukraine-malaysia-intercepted-calls/>. 

Walker, Shaun, Harriet Salem, Dan Roberts, and Philip Oltermann. "MH17: Rebels Block Access to Part of Site of Crash as Evidence against Them Grows." The Guardian. Guardian News, 18 July 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/18/mh17-crash-pro-russia-rebels-block-access-ukraine>. 

Donetsk counteroffensive  

Butenko, Victoria, Laura Smith-Spark, and Diana Magnay. "U.S. Official Says 1,000 Russian Troops Have Entered Ukraine." CNN. CNN, 29 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/28/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/>. 

Demirjian, Karoun, and Annie Gowen. "Ukraine Detains Russian Paratroopers; U.S. Ambassador Warns of ‘counteroffensive’." The Washington Post. The Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/putin-will-meet-with-ukrainian-counterpart-in-high-stakes-summit-amid-tense-situation/2014/08/26/875db403-5b7b-4d89-8443-5aee1bde6345_story.html>. 

"Donetsk Leader: We Have Been Preparing Counter-Offensive for a Long Time." Sputnik International. Sputnik, 28 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://en.ria.ru/world/20140828/192435693/Donetsk-Leader-We-Have-Been-Preparing-Counter-Offensive-for-a-Long-Time.html>. 

"Fighters of the Novorussian Army." Soul of the East. 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://souloftheeast.org/2014/08/08/a-call-to-repentance/>. 

Ghirda, Vadim. The Independent. AP Photo, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-international-observers-go-missing-in-donetsk-as-fighting-rages-on-9440330.html>. 

Kramer, Andrew, Michael Gordon, and Eric Schmitt. "Ukraine Reports Russian Invasion on a New Front." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 28 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/28/world/europe/ukraine-russia-novoazovsk-crimea.html?_r=1>. 

"Over 400 Ukrainian Troops Cross into Russia for Refuge." RT. TV-Novosti, 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/177740-ukrainian-military-russia-refuge/>. 

  

"'No Russian Troops in Ukraine': Moscow's OSCE Rep Responds to Kiev's Claims." RT. TV-Novosti, 28 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/183356-russia-poroshenko-invasion-ukraine/>. 

"Only Russian Volunteers Fighting with Anti-Kiev Forces - Donetsk Republic Leader." RT. TV-Novosti, 28 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/183308-russian-volunteers-ukraine-fighting/>. 

Taylor, Adam. "Has Russia Invaded Ukraine? Here’s What We Know." The Washington Post. The Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/08/28/has-russia-invaded-ukraine-heres-what-we-know/>. 

"Where Do Ukraine’s Rebels Get Arms From? Old Soviet Bases, Says Russia’s Top Brass." RT. TV-Novosti, 31 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://rt.com/news/183968-defense-deputy-antonov-slovakia/>. 

"'You Abandoned Us!' Ukrainian Soldiers & Families Despair over Kiev Failures." RT. TV-Novosti, 28 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmB6tNyfX-Y>.