UKRAINE
Murders, disappearances, imprisonment and torture in Donbass of the Minsk agreement
In the Donbass a tragic situation is experienced today. The population endeavor a terrible cost of life and the constant siege by the Poroshenko puppet government Kievan army. There are attempts to crush and sell out the revolution in which the heroic miners of the Don region raised to their feet, in defense of their work and their families, against the plans of the IMF and the EU. To achieve this, imperialism has concocted the agreements of Minsk signed by Germany, France, Russia, Poroshenko for Kiev, and Plotnitsky and Zakharchenko for the republics of Lugansk and Donetsk respectively, in September 2014 and February 2015, with US imperialism behind the scenes. This counter-revolutionary pact aims to divide the Ukrainian working class using demilitarized zones, so that revolution in the Donbass that won over their siblings from Kiev (who refused to go to a fratricidal war, ran to fight on the side of the Don and confronted IMF plans) did not reach the capital city and take the head of hated Poroshenko.
Massive counter-revolutionary forces were concentrated since then to enforce the Covenants of Minsk laying as a central point disarming all ‘illegal’ militias and their entry into the regular army.
The Communist parties traveled from Russia, Spain and throughout Europe for conferences on behalf of “antifascism” and the fulfillment of the Minsk agreements, conference that were also attended by Renegades of Trotskyism as Antarsya or to which they sent their greetings as the EEK, both Greek parties; but not only that. Members of the European Communist parties inserted into and took a clean sweep of the militias of the miners in the Donbass, as is the case with the battle-hardened Ghost militia, which today have joined Lugansk regular army.
To carry out this task, however it was necessary to do away with any hint of opposition to the bourgeoisie and pro-Russian oligarchy and the Minsk agreements. Blacklists, imprisonments, detentions, torture and disappearances, killings have become commonplace in the Don region. Let’s take a look at some of the most widespread cases of this true purge against opponents that it is experiencing.
Four leaders who publicly denounced Plotnitsky (considered “the man of the Kremlin” in the region) and Zakharchenko as “traitors” after signing the compacts of Minsk appeared brutally murdered along with their companions in “friendly territory”.
Aleksandr Bednov was the Commander of the Batman Brigade of Lugansk and member of the 4th Battalion of Lugansk. Brigade name was due to it carrying out intelligence work; it members moved as nocturnal bats. Thus, they investigated and knew how Plotnitsky was trafficking “humanitarian aid” from Russia and even how he was selling coal from the Don region to Kiev. In December 2014 the Plotnitsky Government had issued an arrest warrant for Bednov and some members of his militia.
January 1st, 2015 Bednov was killed along with six of his men near the village of Georgievka, in the South of Lugansk. Two cars were carrying Bednov and his militiamen when they were attacked in an ambush by grenade launchers, according to some survivors to the attack.
The Batman Brigade was dissolved after the killing of its commander. |
Aleksandr Bednov
Bednov's car
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Days later, on January 22th 2015, Evgeny Ischenko, Mayor of Pervomaisk and right hand of Pavel Dremov, also was killed.
Ischenko, such as Dremov had filmed videos, from the bombed-out areas of Pervomaisk in which he denounced the representatives of the republics of Lugansk and Donetsk as traitors for their signing of the agreements of Minsk, exclaiming loudly that those agreements were a disgrace, for being a lie and pacts with the murderers of the Donbass people. Showing the atrocities of the bombing, the shattered bodies, he called to confront the Governments of Donetsk and Lugansk for having signed the fake “ceasefire”. These videos circulating on the web are from December 2014, days before his assassination. |
Evgeny Ischenko
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Alexey Mozgovoy was the Commander of the Ghost Brigade which bore that name since it was always considered as having disappeared, though it always returned to combat. Commander Mozgovoy was a fervent opponent to the Minsk agreements who also denounced them as a betrayal to the insurgent people. He denounced these agreements had only granted the battered army of Kiev that was losing the war the time needed for it to rearm. In addition, he was a great opponent to pro-Russian Governments of the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk and Ukrainian and Russian oligarchy. Mozgovoy fought for the union of the Ukrainian people and for the revolution to succeed in Kiev. All his positions are reflected in fervent public speeches during which he even denounced those “who are in Government (but) located very far from the battlefield”. Alexey Mozgovoy was killed in an ambush between the town of Mikhaylovka and Alchevsk, Lugansk-Alch road. His car exploded because of a bomb and was then machine-gunned on May 23, 2015.
Days earlier, the “Anti-fascism, internationalism, solidarity” Forum had met in his city, Alchevsk, which included Communists from all over the world, and even forsaken of Trotskyism as (Greek) Antarsya participated with their delegations and EEK (sister party of Argentina PO) sent its warm and brotherly greeting. There, the main decision taken was the requirement of compliance with the agreements of Minsk that Mozgovoy opposed.
Prizrak (Phantom) Brigade was composed in its majority by mine worker militiamen and was notable for being one of the more hardened in the fight against the fascist army of Kiev. For example it played a central role in the battle of Debaltseve where they had surrounded some 10000 soldiers of Kiev in January 2015. It was Putin who gave the order that a humanitarian corridor be opened at that time “so the soldiers return to their homes with their families” and Zakharchenko, the leader of the Republic of Donetsk was who did take this order out, when the militias of the Don had a true military victory and advancing territorially. A month later the second counter-revolutionary Minsk Pact would be signed to curb the advance of the rebels increasingly winning the support of their siblings from Kiev.
The Ghost Brigade had one 404 Battalion composed by Communists, but also by the Interunit, ‘internationalist volunteers’ unit. After the murder of Mozgovoy, members of these units took a literally clean sweep of the Ghost Brigade and began to call to the fulfillment of the Covenants of Minsk, with the Russian commander Markov in its head. Base units were also dissolved and they integrated the Ghost Brigade into the regular army; from official releases they stated that “in all restructuring there are losses”. |
Alexsei Mozgovoy
His car after the attack
Biriukov and Markov, new commanders of the Ghost Brigade
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Pavel Dremov was a bricklayer worker before the conflict unleashed in Ukraine. He then became the Commander of the Cossack Brigade and was seen as the “Savior” of Stakhanov, a town in Lugansk close to Alchvesk, where he was based. He was killed on Saturday, December 12, 2015 on the road linking Pervomaisk and Stakhanov, when a bomb exploded in his car. While he died instantly, the driver of the vehicle died way to the hospital. In December 2014 he had recorded a video titled “Plotnitsky, resign!” where he denounced the theft and sale of coal by Plotnitsky and his Entourage to Kiev, and fraud in the votes -that those who did not vote, did not receive their pensions. He also said that only one of 10 trucks of humanitarian aid had reached those who needed it, while the rest had been sold.
He called the presidents of Donetsk and Lugansk as “shady businessmen”, dealing with money, power and the cease-fire together with the Board in Kiev.
The same as the above mentioned murdered fighters he denounced the Minsk Covenants and Plotnitsky for surrendering to Kiev. |
Pavel Dremov
His car after the attack
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