Kiev: In a shocking case, it is revealed that Russian television makers used an actress to pose as at least five different women opposed to the revolution in Ukraine. As tensions in Ukraine rise, such a revelation will do no better.
According to Daily Mail, “The blonde woman was seen on television broadcasts as an aggrieved housewife in Odessa, describing her terror at the 'pro-fascist' politicians who grabbed power in Ukraine during last month's revolution. However, many social network users were quick to notice that the 'housewife' bears an uncanny resemblance to several other women interviewed - prompting accusations that she is an actress hired to sow discord in Ukraine and stoke pro-Moscow groups to incite people against the Kiev authorities. It is alleged that the woman, believed to be 40, also appeared as a soldier's mother on the barricades in Kiev, and was seen wrapped in a Russian flag in Kharkov.”
The report said, “Ukrainian media outlets, who describe her as a 'well known guest actress', say she has also appeared in protests in Sevastopol in Crimea and Norocherkassk in Russia. She regularly appeals for Russian help for pro-Moscow Ukrainians, it has been claimed, and speaks of persecution in her country, leading to claims she is a warrior in Putin's propaganda army.”
Meanwhile, LifeNews website in Russia was alleged to have featured the same woman in a broadcast as the mother-of-three Tatiana Samoilenko. This time she had darker hair, although there was no immediate confirmation of her identity or past history.
Daily Mail said, “She told how she had to flee Ukraine with her Russian husband and three young children. However, it is unclear when she actually did so, because if she is indeed the same woman who appeared in previous shows she would have been so busy in recent days being filmed at pro-Russian protests.”
The report said, “Ukrainians have accused Russia of paying hired hecklers to stir up dissent or occupy government buildings. Hundreds of 'Putin tourists' are alleged to have flown in since the troubles began in Ukraine. 'We are a mixed family, my husband is a citizen of Russia, I am Ukrainian,' she was quoted as saying. ‘When those pro-fascist politicians got power, we did not think for long. We decided to go to Russia. We quickly understood we had no time to waste, or it could get worse.' She told how the family had to leave behind everything - property, good jobs, money on bank accounts because they were forbidden to take cash out, an allegation Ukrainians say is 'absurd'.
Meanwhile, the United States voiced hope for a ‘de-escalation’ in the Ukraine crisis on Wednesday, as the West offered billions to Kiev's new government and the tensions in Crimea forced a UN envoy to cut short his mission.
In a bid to defuse the worst West-versus-Moscow standoff since the Cold War, US Secretary of State John Kerry met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Paris for the first time since the crisis erupted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also spoke on the phone about "possible scenarios for international co-operation" to end a confrontation that has raised fears of all-out conflict. "We initiated a process today that we hope will eventually lead to de-escalation," Kerry said, adding: "I'd rather be where we are today than yesterday".
Kerry failed to make Lavrov sit down with Ukraine's interim foreign minister, Andriy Deshchytsya, but played down the refusal telling reporters that he had harboured "zero expectation" of that happening.
(With AFP inputs)
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