FAUSTO GIUDICEThe MQ9-Reaper, a U2 of the 21st century

We are in room #20, on the 2nd floor of the Central Museum of the Armed Forces in Moscow. The picture shows the remains of the CIA U2 spy plane, shot down on May 1, 1960 over Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinenburg) by a S-75 Dvina surface-to-air missile strike. Its pilot, Francis Gary Powers, far from swallowing the cyanide capsule he had been given and destroying the plane, preferred to parachute out. The missiles also shot down a Mig-19 that had been chasing the U2, so Powers was initially mistaken for a Soviet pilot, but the misunderstanding was cleared up. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and then exchanged in 1962 for William Fischer, a KGB spy who had remained as silent as a grave in interrogations.

Convinced that Powers was dead, the White House, the CIA, NASA and the entire Yankee machine covered themselves in ridicule in this case, claiming that the U2 was a weather reconnaissance plane (which was also believed by the pilot's family, who did not know that he had been recruited by the CIA) and that its pilot had had "oxygen problems" over Turkey. NASA even went so far as to stage a media event at Edwards Air Force Base, showing a "similar" U2 with fictitious NASA markings and serial numbers. Unfortunately, Powers was alive and well and Moscow was able to expose the Yankee lies.

We are in the 21st century. Nowadays, Powers are artificial and there is no need to equip them with cyanide, a bundle of rubles and women’s jewelry (which Captain Powers had on him). The remains of the MQ9-Reaper combat and spy drone intercepted (or shot down?) by the Russian air force over the Black Sea (over Ukrainian, Russian, or international territorial waters? - we don't know) have their place in the room n° 20 of the Tsentral'nyy muzey Vooruzhennykh Sil. And Putin, repeating Khrushchev's generous gesture, can always send a piece or the Reaper to Uncle Joe.

sinann, Singapore, 2015

CARSTEN HANKEUprising for peace in Germany

Carsten Hanke, 26-2-2023

Translated by Fausto Giudice, Tlaxcala

Rostock-Berlin - The increasing rejecting by the German population of the war course of the Federal Government and the reporting of the bourgeois media, is reflected in street actions in many cities. It became particularly clear on the 1st anniversary of Russia's military intervention in the killing  by the Kiev government of its own population in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions practiced since 2014. According to U.N. observers, at least 14,000 people have been killed in the attacks there since then, and schools, kindergartens, hospitals, and other essential facilities for maintaining supplies to the population have been destroyed.

I would like to give two examples to show that more and more citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany are publicly expressing their opposition to the war course of the Federal Government through various peace actions. These peace-loving people are no longer deterred by defamation in the media, as happened repeatedly in the run-up to the Manifesto for Peace by Alice Schwarzer and Sahra Wagenknecht. This Manifesto for Peace was not only supported by well-known public figures as initial signatories, but also by more than 600,000 people in a very short time.

The first such peace celebration took place on Friday, 24 February at 17 o'clock on the Pariser Platz, directly before the Brandenburger gate and the USA embassy in Berlin. The Berlin Peace Coordination (FRIKO), which has been working for peace worldwide for many years with various peace activities, has been calling for this peace action for weeks. In this alliance different organizations act together, so among others the members of the Society for peace and international solidarity (GeFiS) in the Berlin area are there actively supporting.

On February 24, 2023, about 1,000 demonstrators followed the call of the Berlin Peace Coordination under the motto “Stop the killing in Ukraine - for ceasefire and negotiations!”, which was jointly written by 18 peace groups. Besides well-known speakers, e.g. the initiators of the “Darmstädter Signa”", where active and former German army officers and soldiers always stand up for peaceful conflict resolution, there was a call for protests against war and for peace, with cultural inserts like singing by Diether Dehm, to become active.

At the edge of this meeting some passers-by had tried again and again to disturb loudly and provocatively this peace demonstration. During various de-escalating measures practiced by us, such as calm conversation, it was repeatedly found that these so-called supporters of further arms deliveries to Ukraine not only had historical deficits but were also only one-sidedly informed. Despite some vicious insults our de-escalating efforts led to success and prevented possible physical clashes.

"Whoever wants peace, should talk about war" (Walter Benjamin)
Cease-fire, disarmament, peace now!

On February 25 at 2:00 pm the large gathering announced by its initiators Alice Schwarzer and Sahra Wagenknecht as well as retired Brigadier General Erich Vad took place on the west side of the Brandenburg gate in Berlin.

In the announcement of the demonstration, it was expressly pointed out that no party symbols such as flags etc. would be displayed and that party members of the right-wing party AfD and other right-wing extremist groups were not welcome. The organizers themselves had expected a number of participants of about 10,000 people. Due to the fact that nationwide the participants had traveled specially (further members of the GeFiS arrived organized with buses from Rostock and and surrounding area) the beginning of the demonstration had to be shifted around approx. 10 - 15 minutes.

I myself tried to walk the whole demonstration area to take pictures and had to stop my project because the participants were standing so close that it was not possible to get through. According to testimonies of other participants, participants still came to the rally even with a 40-minute delay. The number of participants of 13,000, which was repeatedly reported by the police and the media, did not correspond to the facts by far and gives further evidence that those people do not report truthfully if it is not in their interest.

The numerous spontaneous conversations with the participants of the demonstration were characterized by the great concern that more and more arms deliveries will only bring armament profits, but no peace. Refusing to negotiate does not show the will for peace, but endangers life. The participants are aware that the sanctions and the economic war are damaging Germany and that every citizen is already feeling the effects. They denounce the German government as responsible for inflation and economic decline with their war rhetoric.

Many visitors of the demonstration are aware of NATO commander Stoltenberg's words “rather a nuclear war than a Russian victory in Ukraine”. They have become active in order to make clear that they are against the atomic madness, against [the Installation of US hypersonic missiles] Dark Eagle, against the clearly more extensive atomic equipment with US atomic weapons in Europe and particularly in Germany,. They want to set a public sign against this madness, to rouse at the same time those citizens, who are still passive, to become finally also active.

The divisive smear campaign by politicians in unison with the bourgeois media that the event was “open to the right wing” was made absurd not only in the run-up to the manifestation but also during the entire event.

It was a powerful demonstration for peace and against the federal government and its practiced war course with the constant delivery of weapons to Ukraine. This became clear among other things also by the repeatedly loud demand of the demonstration participants, who chanted “Barebock muss weg!” [“Baerbock* must go!”].

*Annalena Baerbock: Green warmongering Minister of Foreign Affairs 

 
Carsten Hanke: Self-portrait

I was born in 1960 in Rostock, GDR. I graduated from a 10-class secondary school and then learned to be a lathe operator, driller, and miller, i.e. a metal worker. Then I joined the Volkspolizei (People's Police) and went through all ranks from the beginning, studied there and became an officer. After the so-called turnaround in 1990, the West did not recognize our degrees and since I did not want to serve in the capitalist system with the security organs anyway, where I possibly would have to protect Nazi demos, I left the service in the police. I went to the city public order department and studied again for 2 years for the higher civil service. But since I was too left-wing, they found an “unofficial” way to get rid of me. Then I went to work in the corporate world and was sent into early retirement in 1997 because of my bone disease. For the recognition of my illness I had to fight 4 years with a lawyer in court for my rights and won. Since then, I have always been politically active and in 2020 I founded with friends the “Society for Peace and International Solidarity” (GeFiS), where we support the progressive forces of Latin America and started the solidarity action "”Drugs for Venezuela”. I was invited by the Electoral Council in 2019 as the only German as an election observer to the parliamentary elections in Venezuela and again in 2021 with 3 other representatives as an election observer in the municipal elections. I was selected as a representative of the NGOs.

China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis

 

2023-02-24 09:00

1. Respecting the sovereignty of all countries. Universally recognized international law, including the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, must be strictly observed. The sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries must be effectively upheld. All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community. All parties should jointly uphold the basic norms governing international relations and defend international fairness and justice. Equal and uniform application of international law should be promoted, while double standards must be rejected. 

2. Abandoning the Cold War mentality. The security of a country should not be pursued at the expense of others. The security of a region should not be achieved by strengthening or expanding military blocs. The legitimate security interests and concerns of all countries must be taken seriously and addressed properly. There is no simple solution to a complex issue. All parties should, following the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and bearing in mind the long-term peace and stability of the world, help forge a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture. All parties should oppose the pursuit of one’s own security at the cost of others’ security, prevent bloc confrontation, and work together for peace and stability on the Eurasian Continent.

3. Ceasing hostilities. Conflict and war benefit no one. All parties must stay rational and exercise restraint, avoid fanning the flames and aggravating tensions, and prevent the crisis from deteriorating further or even spiraling out of control. All parties should support Russia and Ukraine in working in the same direction and resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible, so as to gradually deescalate the situation and ultimately reach a comprehensive ceasefire. 

4. Resuming peace talks. Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis. All efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be encouraged and supported. The international community should stay committed to the right approach of promoting talks for peace, help parties to the conflict open the door to a political settlement as soon as possible, and create conditions and platforms for the resumption of negotiation. China will continue to play a constructive role in this regard. 

5. Resolving the humanitarian crisis. All measures conducive to easing the humanitarian crisis must be encouraged and supported. Humanitarian operations should follow the principles of neutrality and impartiality, and humanitarian issues should not be politicized. The safety of civilians must be effectively protected, and humanitarian corridors should be set up for the evacuation of civilians from conflict zones. Efforts are needed to increase humanitarian assistance to relevant areas, improve humanitarian conditions, and provide rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access, with a view to preventing a humanitarian crisis on a larger scale. The UN should be supported in playing a coordinating role in channeling humanitarian aid to conflict zones.

6. Protecting civilians and prisoners of war (POWs). Parties to the conflict should strictly abide by international humanitarian law, avoid attacking civilians or civilian facilities, protect women, children and other victims of the conflict, and respect the basic rights of POWs. China supports the exchange of POWs between Russia and Ukraine, and calls on all parties to create more favorable conditions for this purpose.

7. Keeping nuclear power plants safe. China opposes armed attacks against nuclear power plants or other peaceful nuclear facilities, and calls on all parties to comply with international law including the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS) and resolutely avoid man-made nuclear accidents. China supports the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in playing a constructive role in promoting the safety and security of peaceful nuclear facilities.

8. Reducing strategic risks. Nuclear weapons must not be used and nuclear wars must not be fought. The threat or use of nuclear weapons should be opposed. Nuclear proliferation must be prevented and nuclear crisis avoided. China opposes the research, development and use of chemical and biological weapons by any country under any circumstances.

9. Facilitating grain exports. All parties need to implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative signed by Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine and the UN fully and effectively in a balanced manner, and support the UN in playing an important role in this regard. The cooperation initiative on global food security proposed by China provides a feasible solution to the global food crisis.

10. Stopping unilateral sanctions. Unilateral sanctions and maximum pressure cannot solve the issue; they only create new problems. China opposes unilateral sanctions unauthorized by the UN Security Council. Relevant countries should stop abusing unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction” against other countries, so as to do their share in deescalating the Ukraine crisis and create conditions for developing countries to grow their economies and better the lives of their people.

11. Keeping industrial and supply chains stable. All parties should earnestly maintain the existing world economic system and oppose using the world economy as a tool or weapon for political purposes. Joint efforts are needed to mitigate the spillovers of the crisis and prevent it from disrupting international cooperation in energy, finance, food trade and transportation and undermining the global economic recovery.

12. Promoting post-conflict reconstruction. The international community needs to take measures to support post-conflict reconstruction in conflict zones. China stands ready to provide assistance and play a constructive role in this endeavor.

SERGIO RODRIGUEZ GELFENSTEINThe conflict in Ukraine as an expression of the change of epoch

Sergio Rodríguez Gelfenstein, 6/10/2022
Translated by Fausto Giudice, Tlaxcala  

During my recent visit to Argentina and Uruguay, the sponsoring institutions of my trip organized a tour in which there were 14 presentations of the book "NATO vs. the world" that we wrote together with Jorge Elbaum. Likewise, 7 talks and conferences were held on the subject. In not a few of them, attendees reiterated the query about why the book has the subtitle that I now use for this article: "The conflict in Ukraine as an expression of the change of era", and asked for more on the subject.

 

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Precisely, for Jorge and for me, it was a priority to make known in the book some remarks that explained why we had come to the conclusion that beyond the results obtained from the war development of the conflict, in reality the most important thing was that the main consequence of this was the confirmation of the beginning of that change of era the former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa was talking about a few years ago.

In the same way, we assumed that this consequence was what gave global character to the confrontation, since its aftermath was going to impact the entire planet. Thus, the clash was much more than a confrontation of Ukraine against Russia and even of the United States and NATO against Russia.

In this sense, unlike the Second World War when the United States waited until the end for a debacle of the Soviet Union in front of the Nazi army before bursting in mid-1944 when the final result of the conflict after the Soviet victory in Stalingrad in February 1943 was indisputable and categorical, now the “new Normandy Landing” expressed in support of the coup d 'état in Ukraine in 2014, was the detonator of a war of expansion that already lasted 8 years.

In the course of the process, the United States not only supported the extermination of the Russian-speaking population of eastern Ukraine, but also cooperated in the dismantling of the armed forces of that country to transform it into an executing body under the mandate of the Nazi organizations that, with the support of the government of that country, began the “otanization” of that armed component to turn it into a ram of the expansion of NATO, a terrorist military structure that threatens all of humanity.

The obligatory Russian response to safeguard the physical integrity of the inhabitants of the oppressed territories also added as objectives the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine, thus emulating the objectives agreed by the triumphant powers in the Second World War with regard to Germany, when they met in the German city of Potsdam between 17 July and 2 August 1945.

At the end of the meeting, the president of the United States rushed back to Washington to - just a few days later - order the launch of atomic bombs on the harmless cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki when Japan had already surrendered. In this way, it subordinated - through the most horrible event in the history of mankind - the surrendered and disarmed Japanese empire, which until today has remained attached to the military and political device of the United States.

With Europe, the United States was more subtle: it resorted to buying the wills of the European elites by creating the so-called Marshall Plan, an instrument more susceptible than the atomic bomb to be disclosed by Hollywood as an expression of USAmerican "cooperative values". But the purpose was the same, so Europe became a useful tool of Washington's eagerness to dominate the world.

RENÁN VEGA CANTOR NATO exploits Picasso’s anti-war ‘Guernica’

Renán Vega Cantor, El Colectivo, 7/7/2022
Translated by John Catalinotto

The author is a Colombian historian

Now it turns out that NATO, a criminal organization par excellence, is using ‘Guernica’ as a symbol of its wars of aggression against the world, where the blood and pain generated by the fascist forces in the small town of Guernica on April 26, 1937, is multiplied.

This group posed in front of Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ painting included Queen Letizia of Spain, Jill Biden of the U.S. and 14 other ‘First Ladies’ of ‘world leaders’ attending the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, June 29.

The photo is outrageous, although at first glance it appears harmless: A group of women are posing, and in the background is “Guernica,” Pablo Picasso’s iconic anti-war painting. What is behind this seemingly innocent and banal photo?

To understand, it is necessary to discuss who the women in the photo are and what was happening when it was taken. Because let’s remember there is no text — in this case it’s all visual, just a photo — without a context that might allow us to understand it.

In the photo are women linked to European or North American power. They are the “First Ladies,” who met in Madrid on the occasion of the NATO Summit in early July. They were summoned there by Spanish Queen Letizia Ortiz.

That is to say, they are women who accompany the presidents and prime ministers of the member countries of that military alliance that serves U.S. imperialism. The NATO meeting spoke precisely not about peace, but about war.

In this context, the photograph is an apology for war on the part of the women linked to NATO power. Considering the circumstances, the image of Guernica has been dragged through the muck.

Guernica is a universal icon that denounces the barbarities of war in general and the fascist aggression suffered by Spain in the 1930s in particular.

SEVIM DAĞDELEN Germany enters war

Two articles by Sevim Dağdelen (Duisburg, 1975), a member of the German Bundestag (Federal lower house) since 2005. She is chairperson of the parliamentary group of Die Linke (The Left Party) in the Foreign Affairs Committee and its spokesperson for international politics and disarmament.

Negotiations for peace, not tanks for war!

 Germany follows Washington’s Ramstein war program

Sevim Dağdelen, junge Welt, 27.4.2022
Translated by John Catalinotto

It is no time to be duped by war propaganda. The new militarism challenges our resistance. 

The war in Ukraine is now all about weapons, weapons, weapons. More weapons and heavier weapons. Every taboo of the post-war period is falling. Diplomacy has been written off. 

A new German militarism in the wake of U.S. militarism is the benchmark of this German government. While UN Secretary General António Guterres is in Moscow promoting a quick ceasefire and an end to the war, NATO members are pushing for the military pact to wage war against Russia. 

The Ukrainian soldiers are only a means to an end. Meanwhile, the goal has become taking the war to Russia.

Ramstein is the big U.S. Air Force Base in southwestern Germany

Ramstein means war

NATO is concerned with victory and nothing else. To this end, Washington has convened a special meeting of weapons representatives at the U.S. airbase in Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate. 

Instead of supporting Guterres and regarding the U.S. war council on German soil as a calculated political affront to [Germany’s] democratic sovereignty, the SPD/Green government has sent Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht to participate and has announced that it is going full-steam ahead: The government of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP is now delivering German tanks to the East, as demanded. Until victory. There must be no negotiated peace. 

The Ukrainian ambassador and neo-Nazi activist Andrij Melnyk has finally asserted himself at Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cabinet table. There is no doubt that German weapons end up going to right-wing extremist battalions integrated into the National Guard and Ukrainian army, and no one in the German government shows any concern.

“Cheetah,” “Marten,” “Puma,” “Fox,” “Boxer,” “Leopard” - what reads like the harmless listing in “Grzimek’s Animal Life” encyclopedia threatens to become the program for expanding the Ukraine conflict into a third world war against the nuclear power Russia. By supplying heavy weapons, Germany and NATO are making themselves a direct party to the war.

Militarism challenges our resistance

The situation is red-hot. And the U.S. administration is throwing gasoline on the fire, by which the German government then warms itself. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin announced in Ramstein that Washington will move “heaven and earth” to arm Ukraine for further war. And British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces James Heappey tells Kiev that it is legitimate to attack Russia with British weapons and carry out strikes on its territory. 

Lambrecht contributes the German tanks that will be used to win the war of attrition. Ramstein is the symbol of a NATO war program. The winners have already been determined: the arms manufacturers. It is carried out on the backs of the populations in Europe. It is no time to be duped by war propaganda. The new militarism challenges our resistance.

 Arms delivery to Ukraine means Germany’s de facto entry into the war

Sevim Dağdelen, junge Welt, 29.4.2022
Translated by John Catalinotto

On April 28, 2022, the Bundestag [German parliament] decided that Germany would de facto enter into war with Russia. With a motion, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Social Democrats (SDP), Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens constituted themselves as a war coalition. 

The objections that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had raised only 72 hours earlier in opposition to the delivery of heavy weapons, that they increased the danger of a third world war, were blown away. In the motion of the war coalition, the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine is virtually invoked as a cure-all. 

In addition to the commitment to the rearmament fund of 100 billion euros, the additional commitment to a further annual increase in the military budget to more than 70 billion euros was fixed.

In speeches, numerous members of this Alliance for the Ukraine War, led by the chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Friedrich Merz, promoted the goal of a military victory for Ukraine, which they said Germany must support unconditionally. 

This break with all the military taboos that grew out of the defeat of German fascism in 1945, and its dangerous consequences, were somewhat alarming to the deputies. In a kind of defensive magic spell, the proposal states right at the beginning that “neither Germany nor NATO will become a party to the war.” 

But the delivery of ever more and ever heavier weapons and the call for a victorious peace against Russia make these incantations seem extremely questionable. These people remind us of someone who draws a square, but writes in the accompanying text to the drawing that the viewer should see a circle here. Surreal and dangerous.

In addition to the de facto entry into the war via the delivery of heavy weapons and training of Ukrainian soldiers to use them, they have put in the foreground the unconditional will of a total economic war against Russia. In the process, the battle zone is being increasingly expanded. China is openly threatened with being caught in the West’s crosshairs if Beijing tries to undermine Western sanctions against Russia. 

Language can be treacherous in this regard. In neo-colonial fashion, the motion says the German government must “emphatically communicate to the People’s Republic of China the expectations of Germany and the European Union.”

Respect for the UN Charter - all gone. The war coalition is openly threatening. Its language is one of violence and threats. Russia is to be pushed to the wall, even if this means a world economic war even against China. 

The problem of this new German militarism remains the recalcitrance of the German population, the majority of which rejects the delivery of heavy weapons and, according to a survey in The Spiegel, the majority of which has no desire to starve and freeze for war. This attitude must be expanded to fight the war coalition’s entry into the war.

Heavy weapons for Ukraine, by Kostas Koufogiorgos
Ampel= Traffic light coalition (Social-democrats, liberals and Greens); 100% climate-neutral delivery

FAUSTO GIUDICEBucha, a Timişoara of the XXIst Century

Fausto Giudice, 9/4/2022

The mayor of Bucha, a residential suburb of 36,000 people northwest of Kiev, Ukraine, announced April 1 that the city was “liberated” the day before, on March 31, from Russian occupiers. At the same time, the Ukrainian police announced that they had launched a hunt for “saboteurs” and “Russian agents disguised as civilians.”

On April 2, Ukrainian lawyer Ilya Novikov posted on his Facebook page a video from a Ukrainian Telegram page.  This one-minute, nine seconds long video shows a convoy of Ukrainian tanks moving down a street in Bucha. Twelve bodies can be counted; one body had his hands tied behind his back with a white bandage.

Invisible corpses in Bucha
In the hours that followed, the entire “social media sphere,” and then the mainstream media, went wild. “The Russians committed war crimes in Bucha; they massacred 300 civilians.”  No one has seen these 300 corpses.  Some photos show black bags which supposedly contained bodies. It’s easy to believe that they contain dead bodies, but there is no explanation of when and how these deaths occurred.   
The photos and videos followed one another in total chaos.  The same body appears in different photos in different places. Bodies appear, disappear and reappear with different details. Some photos show bodies with their hands tied behind their backs, others show white armbands on their arms.
During the month in which Russian troops occupied Bucha and the surrounding areas, civilians were encouraged to wear white armbands to show that they were non-hostile civilians. Ukrainian civilians and military and paramilitary personnel wore blue armbands.

According to the dominant narrative, the Russian military killed civilians who were not hostile to them. They are therefore as crazy as their leader, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the “Great Satan” of 2022.

At the same time and then after the media and social networks ( publicized the video and photos),  the politicians entered the dance: U.S. President Joe Biden,  Ursula von der Leyen (president of the European Commission) and Josep Borrell (High Represemtatove of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy), all denounced the “war crime of Bucha.” Russia has been denied the right to speak and vote in the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Ukrainian President Volydymyr Zelensky, the “servant of the people,” the eternal hero of a never-ending soap opera, called for a “Nuremberg Tribunal for Putin.” And finally, here is the Pope himself, in a scene worthy of Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti, brandishing and kissing a Ukrainian flag “from the martyred city of Bucha,” during a ceremony in which he gives Easter eggs to Ukrainian children.

Ukrainian flag honors Cossacks

No media outlet that published photos or the video of the scene explained what was written on the flag: “Fourth Cossack Centuria of Maidan.” The Centuria (“sotnya”) was the basic unit of the Cossacks [mounted] troops of the various armies in which they served. During what Radio Free Europe dubbed the “Euromaidan” of 2013-2014, the security service organized by the politician Andriy Parubiy, initially a neo-Nazi and later a weathervane, was structured in groups with poetic names that evoked  Ukraine’s “glorious past” — in  other words, the fight against “Judeo-Bolshevism”!

So much for Bucha. Why Bucha? Is it because in English, Bucha inevitably evokes “butcher”? But who would be the butcher in chief of Bucha? There are two opposing theories [about who would fit this role, represented by two individuals]: Azatbek Asanbekovitch Omurbekov and Serhii Korotkykh.
Omurbekov is a lieutenant-colonel of unit 51460 of the 64th Separate Russian Motorized Rifle Brigade. He is a Kyrgyz according to some sources, a Karakalpak according to others.  His grandfather and father served in the Red Army and his brother belongs to the FSB [Federal Security Bureau].

Korokykh, born in 1974, nicknamed “Malyuta” in Ukrainian and “Botsman” in Russian, is a Belarusian neo-Nazi and, a member of the Russian fascist organization RNE (Russian National Unity), which he left to found the National Socialist Society.

He is a founder of the NGO Zirka, “Dawn” (Protection and Reconstruction of the Country), suspected of a series of murders and assaults in Belarus and then in Ukraine, where he has been active since 2014. Incorporated into the Azov Battalion (a neo-Nazi wing of the Ukrainian military), he was naturalized Ukrainian in December 2014 during a ceremony where (former Ukrainian) President Petro Poroshenko thanked him for his services.

In May 2015, Korothkykh became the head of the newly created Police Service for the Security of Strategic Objects and headed it until 2017. He also had dealings with Foxtrot-13, a police-run security company. In 2020, (Ian Beletsky), one of the authors of a file on Korothkykh, published by the Institute for National Policy, accusing him, among other things, of being an FSB agent, was kidnapped and severely beaten in the vicinity of Kiev, by the “usual suspects.”

Korotkykh arrived in Bucha with his men in early April. Imagine what kind of “humanitarian” work they dedicated themselves to: burying corpses or producing them?

‘Dracula of Bucharest’ and other myths

The Bucha staging will go down in history as the “detail” that tipped Ukraine into the European Union, another mountain of exquisite corpses in the closets of Brussels. Enough to definitively dethrone the ghostly “4,630 corpses of Timişoara, (city in western Romania), victims of the communist ‘Dracula of Bucharest’” that made the front page of the free and democratic press, from “Le Figaro” to “Libération.”

This was an exemplary media invention now taught in journalism schools, dating from a prehistoric time (December 1989), when the Internet did not exist, but when a poor Romanian speaking a foreign language could sell any hoax to a media thirsty for a “scoop.”

Some examples I remember: “Ceausescu had an underground highway dug from his palace to the Black Sea (225 km),” “Securitate uses Arab snipers to shoot pro-democracy demonstrators,” and “Elena Ceausescu had a fridge full of roast beef in her palace (human meat, of course).”  

And the most beautiful: “Ceaușescu, suffering from leukemia, needed to change his blood every month. Young people drained of their blood would have been discovered in the Carpathian forest. Ceaușescu a vampire? How can we believe it? The rumor had announced mass graves which were found in Timişoara. And they are not the last.” (French television channel TF1)
 A variant of the story was even circulating in Paraguay about the dictator Stroessner, alleging he was suffering from a skin disease and had to take a regular bath in the blood of young virgins, who were kidnapped and bled by his henchmen. But this was due to Indian tales and legends about the “chupasangre,” the vampires, meaning the Spanish conquerors. In short, stories of "brutes.” “Civilized” people armed with their iPhones do no better.

"Everything that ever happens is always the way it should happen and always for the better".
Local monument to the Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940) born in Kiev, who spent his vacations in the family dacha in Bucha.
"The moment someone telegraphs that his head has been cut off, it means that it is not completely cut off..." (The Master and Margarita)