Candid interview with Ukrainian general and hostage negotiator Vladimir Ruban: "The Militia are exactly the same Ukrainians"

Preamble: The following is a translation of an interview given by Colonel-General Vladimir Ruban to the "Ukrainskaya Pravda" newspaper. There is much that is of great interest, and the General undoubtedly deserves great respect for the work he is involved in. Nonetheless, his connection to the Ukrainian Army and government gives us reason to doubt his claims of torture being conducted by the Militia. Original article here Translated by Vera Van Horne / Edited by @GBabeuf General Ruban on militants in eastern Ukraine: "There are people who were standing with us on Maidan." For more than three months Colonel-General Vladimir Ruban has been engaged in freeing people who were taken captive in eastern Ukraine. Recently, he founded a specialised centre that anybody whose relatives were taken hostage can contact. For many, Ruban has already become a legend. He is even the only Ukrainian professional negotiator who, they say, is admired by "Demon" - the Gorlovka DNR Militia commander, Igor Bezler. It was Ruban who managed to negotiate improved conditions of detention and, later, to rescue seventeen people from captivity, including soldiers from the 72nd and 25th brigades and several civilians, including Basil Budika, whom Bezler "shot" on camera in May. General Ruban rarely smiles. He has the look of a man with nerves of steel and perfect composure. It is impossible to crack him. It seems as though in his head he calculates many steps ahead, and his every response - it is but the tip of an iceberg. The correspondent of "Ukrainskaya Pravda" talked with the General about what happens to detainees in captivity, the ethics of ransom and who is fighting on the territory of eastern Ukraine. Ukrainskaya Pravda: How many people have you liberated so far? General Ruban: More than a hundred. We stopped counting after one hundred.