Oliver Stone’s interviews with Vladimir Putin and the deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych show the current troubles of Ukraine are rooted in how the resource-rich country and logistically important city Odessa has long been eyed as an asset by more powerful countries, who constantly seek to control/use/conquer the region for their own purposes.
One of those countries is The United States. UKRAINE ON FIRE traces the history of the CIA’s past involvement in manipulating high-level government officials to current bi-partisan American interference, including a shocking leaked phone conversation between U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland.
Ultimately, it paints the picture of a strategically important land juxtaposed between the doorstep of Russia and Europe to the East, and the violence inflicted on its people by bloody conflicts dating back centuries. The two-hour long film is a history lesson that flies by, showing how Ukraine was used as a pawn with quick cuts back and forth between historical footage and the different regions and cultures of the country, and how the difficulties gave rise to powerful, violent right-leaning parties with Nazi roots.
In the film, investigative journalist Robert Parry reveals how U.S.-funded political NGOs and media companies have emerged since the 80s replacing the CIA in promoting America’s geopolitical agenda abroad. In addition to Putin, Stone interviews former President Viktor Yanukovych and Minister of Internal Affairs, Vitaliy Zakharchenko, who explain how the U.S. Ambassador and factions in Washington actively plotted for regime change. Stone solicits Putin’s take on the significance of Crimea, NATO and the U. S.’s history of interference in elections and regime change in the region.
UKRAINE ON FIRE does not adhere to the current mainstream political view of the conflicts in Ukraine, and the film was recently invited then gently dis-invited from a film festival in the Middle East with the festival citing concern that … “in the region, it is not advisable to screen anything that might create more controversy, or shed light on different political views….particularly since we are living some of the most violent days in our history…”
UKRAINE ON FIRE is currently streaming on AMAZON.
