Source: The Insider
In the Evening with Vladimir Solovyov program on the Russia-1 state television channel, executive director of the Russia Today media group who has been charged with treason in Ukraine Kirill Vyshinsky, tried to explain why Ukraine, which he blames for the murder of POWs in Olenivka, might have wanted to do this:
“I have long had the impression that positive emotional incentives to maintain the mobilization spirit in Ukraine have been exhausted. If earlier the message was ‘now we will start a counter-offensive and by winter we will definitely end the war, we will conduct ‘the three Ds’ on Russia’s territory, that is derussification, demilitarization, we will take nuclear weapons from Russia, and we will decentralize it, that is divide Russia’ was such a popular story in the media, all the experts, ideologists were talking exactly about this…
But it looks like this thing has not been working for over a month now, according to my estimates. Because in early July the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released a monitoring report on the situation in Ukraine and reported that over 1000 people in Ukraine have been repressed for their cooperation, for their Russophile sentiments, for cooperation with the occupation troops, and … repressions against them, procedural issues related to their detention violate human rights, … and in 12 cases we even recorded kidnappings….
This is an element of creating an atmosphere of fear. Olenivka is a classic story, a clear recipe… There was an organization in the structure of the OUN-UPA (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Ukrainian Insurgent Army) the Security Service. These are the people who practiced terrorist methods towards those who cooperated with the Soviet authorities in the 1940s in Western Ukraine. <…> They were called ‘angels with nooses’ in the OUN, they burned those whom they considered accomplices of the enemy, that is, those who came out of the forest, those who wondered if it was worth continuing this senseless fight. They burned these people, strangled them, and didn’t waste any bullets. That is the point: to create an atmosphere of fear. They find out that a man came out of the forests on amnesty and soon he is found strangled. So think about whether it’s worth coming out of the forest.
This story with Olenivka is a classic one: it doesn’t matter whether these people talked or not, what’s important is that they were prisoners, and had laid down their arms. So think about what awaits all the rest, if they were killed like this.”
Vyshinsky’s pronouncements are false at every turn. The claim that Ukrainian propaganda advocated for derussification and the division of Russia is an obvious lie. It appears to be inspired by Oleksiy Danilov’s recent Facebook post. On July 28 the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council secretary wrote about “the process of the final disintegration of the post-Soviet space and the decolonization of the Russian quasi-federation”, including “the derussification and denuclearization of Russia”. In Danilov’s opinion, this internal process has already been launched as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine: “centrifugal movements have been launched for the national republics and other peoples temporarily included in the Russian Federation; Tatarstan, Ichkeria, Sakha, the peoples of Siberia, the Urals, the Far East and many others are on the path of realizing their colonial status, awakening national consciousness and readiness to fight for their independent existence.” The opinion is controversial, but in any case, Danilov is far from claiming that Ukraine can dismember and derussify Russia.
The July 5 report UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet does mention 1000 Ukrainian residents being arrested for supporting the Russian armed forces and affiliated military groups; it says “We have concerns that arrests may not have been carried out in line with Ukraine’s international human rights obligations”. There is no mention of any reprisals for “Russophile sentiments”. Vyshinsky however, prefers to ignore the fact that the greater part of the report is devoted to human rights violations by the Russian armed forces, including hundreds of murders unrelated to active hostilities .
Finally, the claim that the Ukrainian Armed Forces killed Azov fighters taken prisoner in Mariupol so that Ukrainians would be afraid to surrender does not square well with the circumstances under which the Mariupol defenders ended up in captivity. Here is what Ukrainska Pravda wrote on May 17:
“President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that thanks to the actions of the Ukrainian military along with the negotiating team, ICRC and UN, Ukraine has undertaken a rescue operation aimed at saving the military personnel from Azovstal. 221 servicemen were taken to the territory temporarily occupied by Russia for further exchange. 53 seriously wounded soldiers were taken to a hospital located in the occupied territories
Adifficult day. But this day, like all others, is aimed at saving our country and our people. Thanks to the actions of the Ukrainian military – the Armed Forces of Ukraine, intelligence, the negotiating team, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations, we hope we will be able to save the lives of our boys.
I want to emphasize: Ukrainian heroes are needed alive. This is our principle. I think every reasonable person will understand these words.’“
And on May 21, Zelenskyy stated:
“The guys received a signal from the military that they were fully entitled to leave and stay alive. The military command passed all this on to everyone who was blockaded at Azovstal…
Everything further depends on what obligations the UN, the Red Cross and the Russian Federation have taken on, that they (the fighters) will all be safe and will expect some kind of exchange.
This is what I think right now: the process led by intelligence today is over – the removal, withdrawal (of the defenders), and the preparations for dialogue, exchange, etc.
We will bring them home. That’s what we must do, together with our partners who have taken on this responsibility.”
The death of the prisoners, whose surrender was negotiated by the Ukrainian authorities, is an obvious blow to the reputation of the state and President Zelenskyy. Therefore, Vyshinsky attributes not just a war crime, but also a suicidal move to the Ukrainian authorities.
Source: The Insider
