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An American Voice on Ukraine’s Front Lines Goes Silent An American Voice on Ukraine’s Front Lines Goes Silent
(35 minutes later)
Amid the cacophony of voices on Twitter reporting facts, rumors and hearsay on the battle for control of eastern Ukraine this summer, one feed, written by a Ukrainian-American Bruce Springsteen fan who volunteered to fight the Russian-backed separatists, has offered a no-nonsense account of life on the front lines of what the government in Kiev calls its Anti-Terrorist Operation, or ATO.Amid the cacophony of voices on Twitter reporting facts, rumors and hearsay on the battle for control of eastern Ukraine this summer, one feed, written by a Ukrainian-American Bruce Springsteen fan who volunteered to fight the Russian-backed separatists, has offered a no-nonsense account of life on the front lines of what the government in Kiev calls its Anti-Terrorist Operation, or ATO.
That soldier-blogger writing as Bruce Springnote was identified as Mark Paslawsky by friends on Wednesday, one day after the 55-year-old investment banker and United States Army veteran was killed during a battle in Ilovaysk, outside the rebel-held city of Donetsk.That soldier-blogger writing as Bruce Springnote was identified as Mark Paslawsky by friends on Wednesday, one day after the 55-year-old investment banker and United States Army veteran was killed during a battle in Ilovaysk, outside the rebel-held city of Donetsk.
As Max Seddon reports for Buzzfeed, Mr. Paslawsky’s death was announced in a Facebook update on the fighting by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister. The official described Mr. Paslawsky, who grew up in New Jersey and moved to Ukraine in the 1990s, as a “very modest” man who had willingly taken part in “a month-long course for novice fighters” when he joined the all-volunteer Donbass Battalion, despite being a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.As Max Seddon reports for Buzzfeed, Mr. Paslawsky’s death was announced in a Facebook update on the fighting by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister. The official described Mr. Paslawsky, who grew up in New Jersey and moved to Ukraine in the 1990s, as a “very modest” man who had willingly taken part in “a month-long course for novice fighters” when he joined the all-volunteer Donbass Battalion, despite being a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.
His brother Nestor, who manages a Ukrainian Heritage Center in Kerhonkson, N.Y., told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the family had learned of his death from the Internet. “We grieve for him but we are proud of him as well,” Nestor Paslawsky said. “He was a true American and Ukrainian patriot who supported both countries.” He is also survived by his mother and two sisters.His brother Nestor, who manages a Ukrainian Heritage Center in Kerhonkson, N.Y., told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the family had learned of his death from the Internet. “We grieve for him but we are proud of him as well,” Nestor Paslawsky said. “He was a true American and Ukrainian patriot who supported both countries.” He is also survived by his mother and two sisters.
In a telephone interview on Thursday, Nestor Paslawsky said, “I understood his conviction to the cause. He felt that he wanted to do his part in helping Ukraine.” He also explained that his brother’s Twitter pen name was inspired by his love of Bruce Springsteen. “He would travel all over Europe,” to attend the New Jersey rocker’s shows whenever he toured, Nestor Paslawsky recalled, most recently seeing him play in Austria in 2012. In a telephone interview on Thursday, Nestor Paslawsky said, “I understood his conviction to the cause. He felt that he wanted to do his part in helping Ukraine.” He also explained that his brother’s Twitter pen name was inspired by his love of Bruce Springsteen. “He would travel all over Europe,” to attend the New Jersey rocker’s shows whenever he toured, Nestor Paslawsky recalled, most recently seeing him play in Vienna in 2012.
The family is making plans for a funeral in Kiev, where his brother had lived, Mr. Paslawsky said.The family is making plans for a funeral in Kiev, where his brother had lived, Mr. Paslawsky said.
The death was also mourned on the Expatua website by members of the Ukrainian diaspora who had taken part in a crowd-funding campaign to support the battalion, regularly sending them cash, food and supplies.The death was also mourned on the Expatua website by members of the Ukrainian diaspora who had taken part in a crowd-funding campaign to support the battalion, regularly sending them cash, food and supplies.
The circumstances of the American’s death were described to Vice News by Maxim Dondyuk, a Ukrainian photographer embedded with the battalion, which remained under siege by rebel forces late Wednesday.The circumstances of the American’s death were described to Vice News by Maxim Dondyuk, a Ukrainian photographer embedded with the battalion, which remained under siege by rebel forces late Wednesday.
“He had three wounds in his back,” Mr. Dondyuk told Simon Ostrovsky of Vice News. “He was saying that he was in pain and that he didn’t want to die. People were telling him he was going to be okay. I think it might have been possible to save him if we had medevac helicopters or ambulances but all there was on hand were the battalion medics.”“He had three wounds in his back,” Mr. Dondyuk told Simon Ostrovsky of Vice News. “He was saying that he was in pain and that he didn’t want to die. People were telling him he was going to be okay. I think it might have been possible to save him if we had medevac helicopters or ambulances but all there was on hand were the battalion medics.”
Mr. Paslawsky, who went by the nom-de-guerre Franko, was interviewed by Mr. Ostrovsky for a Vice News dispatch just two weeks ago.Mr. Paslawsky, who went by the nom-de-guerre Franko, was interviewed by Mr. Ostrovsky for a Vice News dispatch just two weeks ago.
As Mr. Ostrovsky explained, the volunteer was born into a Ukrainian family in Manhattan and had served in the United States Army until about 1991. (That year, he was identified as a captain in the Army reserves and the chief administrative officer for the Mount Olive township in New Jersey when hepublished an Op-Ed in The New York Times arguing that military bases closed down after the end of the Cold War should be repurposed by the states rather than abandoned.) “Paslawsky worked in the financial sector and was based out of Kiev, Kharkiv and Moscow for many years before he joined the Euromaidan protests that gripped the Ukrainian capital last winter,” Mr. Ostrovsky wrote.As Mr. Ostrovsky explained, the volunteer was born into a Ukrainian family in Manhattan and had served in the United States Army until about 1991. (That year, he was identified as a captain in the Army reserves and the chief administrative officer for the Mount Olive township in New Jersey when hepublished an Op-Ed in The New York Times arguing that military bases closed down after the end of the Cold War should be repurposed by the states rather than abandoned.) “Paslawsky worked in the financial sector and was based out of Kiev, Kharkiv and Moscow for many years before he joined the Euromaidan protests that gripped the Ukrainian capital last winter,” Mr. Ostrovsky wrote.
Explaining his decision to enlist in the Donbass Battalion in April, Mr. Paslawsky told Vice, “Given what I saw, the level of incompetence, the corruption, the lack of activity — I just decided that I needed to go and participate. If there was ever a time to help Ukraine this was the time to do it.”Explaining his decision to enlist in the Donbass Battalion in April, Mr. Paslawsky told Vice, “Given what I saw, the level of incompetence, the corruption, the lack of activity — I just decided that I needed to go and participate. If there was ever a time to help Ukraine this was the time to do it.”
Three other members of his unit were also killed and the battalion commander, Semyon Semenchenko, was badly wounded in the battle for Ilovaysk but was evacuated for medical treatment, according to activists in Kiev.Three other members of his unit were also killed and the battalion commander, Semyon Semenchenko, was badly wounded in the battle for Ilovaysk but was evacuated for medical treatment, according to activists in Kiev.
The battalion, which promotes itself through a blog and a Facebook page, has been lauded in video reports by Ukrainian activists as a ragtag citizen militia winning hearts and minds, and paying for its own ice cream, as it retakes territory from Russian-backed rebels in the east.The battalion, which promotes itself through a blog and a Facebook page, has been lauded in video reports by Ukrainian activists as a ragtag citizen militia winning hearts and minds, and paying for its own ice cream, as it retakes territory from Russian-backed rebels in the east.
Mr. Paslawsky, the West Point grad, shared a less rosy view of the battalion’s capabilities, the new authorites in Kiev and life at the front in his unstinting, sardonic Twitter dispatches.Mr. Paslawsky, the West Point grad, shared a less rosy view of the battalion’s capabilities, the new authorites in Kiev and life at the front in his unstinting, sardonic Twitter dispatches.
News of the American’s death spread on Wednesday just as Ukrainians who supported the ousting of the pro-Russian president Viktor F. Yanukovych in February were celebrating a propaganda coup — the hoisting of a Ukrainian flag high above Moscow by daredevil activsts.News of the American’s death spread on Wednesday just as Ukrainians who supported the ousting of the pro-Russian president Viktor F. Yanukovych in February were celebrating a propaganda coup — the hoisting of a Ukrainian flag high above Moscow by daredevil activsts.
On the other side of the propaganda ledger, Ukrainians were horrified by images and video posted online Tuesday of a “Children Against War” performance at a fashion trade show in Moscow, which culminated with a young girl wearing a Ukrainian flag dress pretending to shoot herself in the head.On the other side of the propaganda ledger, Ukrainians were horrified by images and video posted online Tuesday of a “Children Against War” performance at a fashion trade show in Moscow, which culminated with a young girl wearing a Ukrainian flag dress pretending to shoot herself in the head.