Translated from the Russian at http://svetlana-panina.livejournal.com/473686.html
I do not know the author.

"On the Brink of War"

I don't trust anyone. Not politicians, not the Internet, not my
neighbors. I trust only that which I see with my own eyes and hear
with my own ears. And even they can sometimes deceive. But at least
it's something to rely on.

Last night, I rode to Kiev on a train. I went because it was important
for me to see what was happening in Kiev with my own eyes. The route
was Sevastopol-Kiev. And on this train, coming from Sevastopol, were
mostly women and children. They carried large suitcases. It was clear
that they were leaving for a long time. They were coming out of
different cities all over Ukraine. Most spoke Ukrainian. After
"unknown soldiers" captured Sevastopol out of "self-defense" and hung
up a Russian flag, the people that live in Sevastopol but speak
Ukranian felt that they were in danger. The train leaving Sevostopol
was full of women and children. It felt like an evacuation.

In Simferopol, where I was coming from, schools and banks were
closed. The center of the city was covered by people with machine
guns. Gunmen stood on the rooftops of administrative buildings. In
Russia, as usual, they were carrying out "exercises" next to the
Ukranian border. If this was truly "self-defense" then I personally do
not understand who is defending themselves, and from whom. There were
no aggressors or captors until the moment "unknown soldiers" captured
the buildings of Parliament in Crimea and raised a Russian flag there.

Ordinary people in stores were talking amongst themselves about how
the Crimean Parliament was captured by protestors from Maidan, and
that the Russian flag was hung up as a decoy. I wonder who still
believes that?

Right now I'm in Kiev. I came to look with my own eyes at the
protestors in Maidan. There are no gunmen here. People calmly move
amongst themselves in the middle of the city. Maidan is drowning in
colors. People are coming from all sides carrying bouquets and
candles. The streets are clean. The storefronts are not broken. I
recognize all the places that I saw in the scary pictures in the
Maidan reports. Right now there's a huge memorial to those who have
died. There is no fear or tension here. People are crying and hugging,
but they are also smiling and inviting each other to drink tea. I am
completely free of the tension and feeling of danger that I've been
living with for three long months.

But when I left the main square in Kiev, my friends called me and
asked if I heard the news. Russia is planning on bringing soldiers
into Crimea. News indeed! They're *already* in Crimea. Under the guise
of "unknown soldiers," Russia captured the Crimean airport and
government buildings three days ago. The fact that the Russian
President is saying that he is bringing something somewhere is old
news. "Well, we already brought in the army, but then we regrouped and
talked amongst ourselves and decided to do it officially." The only
ones they forgot to consult are the people who live there. I don't
know any neighbor or friend who loves Russia so much and cheers for it
so much as to say that they'd like for them to bring tanks to their
houses.  No one wants gunmen on the roof of Parliament. No one wants a
surrounded, empty town square in Simferopol. No one in Crimea wants
war. And when soldiers from a neighboring country enter your city,
without asking, isn't that called war?

Please, to everyone who loves Crimea, to everyone who loves the people
in Crimea, help drive this point home to every heart. The Russians in
Crimea did not ask for Russian forces to come to their homes! No one
was attacking us! We were living well and peacefully! We were waiting
for guests to come this summer from Russia and Ukraine, and from every
other country on Earth -- after all, Crimea is a gem of this planet.

Citizens of Russia, you pay taxes and give up your children to serve
in the army. Right now, with your money and with the help of your
children, Russia is preparing for war. An unfair war, a war that
protects nobody's interests, which is destructive for Crimea -- which
you all say you love. No one is going to gain anything from this
war. I know that it is not in your power to stop this. I just want you
to know what's happening.

Right now, Russia and Ukraine are on the brink of war. The President
of Russia consulted with the State Duma and they decided to bring
Russian armed forces into Crimea. From the point of view of
international law, an unsanctioned entrance of armed forces on the
territory of another government is called "an act of war." That's what
it is -- it's war. And war is when people die. After all, Ukraine is a
country with its own armed forces and with its own borders clearly
drawn on the world's map, borders that it is obliged to defend. In any
armed conflict, it is the peaceful populace is who suffers and
dies. While Russian forces did not officially enter into Crimean
territory, there is no war. Let's all pray together that it stays that
way.

I'm disabling comments on this post. Forgive me. Thanks to everyone
for your empathy, but right now I cannot read the discussions of
indifferent or cynical people. Everything I wrote here is my own
appeal to those whom it affects. For those who are not affected,
please just keep going. Write something on your own blog. About
kittens, for example.