Ukraine: Intelligence member and embassy staffer defect to LPR

A member of the Ukrainian external intelligence service, Alexei Miroshnichenko, and his brother, an employee of the Ukrainian Embassy in France Yuri Miroshnichenko, gave a press conference in Lugansk, Monday, in which they stated why they decided to defect from Kiev and come over to the side of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR). One brother, Alexei, explained that they decided to return to Lugansk because they could not tolerate the Kiev government, stating that "we can no longer put up with what is happening in Ukraine. The traitors, fascists, nationalists and intelligence agents are ruling the country and are annihilating the residents of the country and leading it to ruin." Alexei also claimed that Ukrainian forces regularly provoked the LPR militia, purportedly shooting at their lines and when they return fire Ukrainian journalists film the response and present it as if the LPR started the confrontations. The brothers also said that there decision was made voluntarily and stressed that "we didn't pass and will not pass any intelligence data."