KIEV, Ukraine – What better way to recruit men to your militant cause then through a rap song?
That’s what Andrei Donstkoi, a member of the Russian Orthodox Army figured.
As violence escalates in the conflict between the Ukrainian military and the armed forces of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic,” the militants released a rap song on YouTube two days ago that has already garnered over 100,000 views.
The clip shows a group of armed men, some with their faces disguised, sitting at a table in one of the Ukrainian Security Services buildings they have seized in Donestsk rapping their song “No One But Us.” “Come on get up brother, get dressed … There is a hail storm against the machine gun,” the lyrics go.
“We won’t give up on our own – say the Russian Orthodox [Army]. For each fighter, there will be a battle till the last glory. On the field of battle - the Russian Orthodox [Army]...” the chorus goes.
Ukrainian aircraft and paratroopers killed more than 50 pro-Russian rebels in an assault that went into a second day on Tuesday after the newly elected president vowed to crush the revolt in the east for good.
Donstkoi, who spoke to NBC News by phone from one of the seized Ukrainian Security Services in Donetsk on Tuesday, said that they are currently awaiting an attack by Ukrainian forces. He said about 100 members of the Russian Orthodox Army are inside the complex armed with machine guns, sniper rifles and are ready for battle.
He also claimed that as many as 100 of the Russian Orthodox Army and other militia groups of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic were killed Monday night and that nearly as many were wounded.
As far as the rap song goes, Donstkoi said he hopes "someone will hear it, get off the couch and do something." An hour after the release of the clip on YouTube, he said people started calling to see how they could join.
-- Albina Kovalyova