Quote Originally Posted by eisenherz View Post
I am neither particularly pro-west (nor pro-russia), but for those claiming that Russia plays no active (and physical) role in the unrest in East-Ukraine, this is quite disingenious. In my opinion both sides have been meddling - but I think there is no denying that there is a presence of russian military forces (albeit unmarked) and equipment in the region. The previous argument that Russia had a right to 'forces on the ground' by 'contract' only relates to the Crimea. So why is Moscow denying it?
Moscow denies many things obvious. It is called "Big lie" technique. It works the following way: Russian citizens that watch Russian TV only will believe anything they are told. Other people's opinion is ignored. Russia invades Ukraine and no other country is ready to use its army to protect us, despite of guarantees from NATO, so their politicians will look for excuse for not doing it. And Russian lie will provide the material for the excuse. So politicians will say something like "Russia has a point too, we must take into account all viewpoints, let us find a compromise", so they will be able to keep their face and not look like obvious failors.