American conservative journalist and political commentator Jack Posobiec has been included on a Ukrainian-run list of supposed enemies of Ukraine, which claimed that his public statements amount to acts against the national security of Ukraine.
The shadowy organisation behind the list, which claims to act independently from the Ukrainian state, describes Posobiec as a “pro-Russian activist”, a “provocateur”, and recommends that law enforcement agencies consider his statements as “deliberate acts against the national security of Ukraine, peace, the security of humanity and international law and order, as well as other offences.”
In response to his inclusion on the “criminal” list, the Human Events senior editor said: “After the collapse of his counteroffensive, Zelensky’s biggest threat isn’t me, it’s his own intelligence services. Hope you don’t get put on the CIA’s Early Retirement Plan, Volod. Drop the receipts on the Bidens and we’ll find you a nice McMansion in Sarasota.”
In addition to the Human Events editor, the list is comprised of thousands of individuals deemed to be enemies of Ukraine, lumping together Russian spies alongside journalists, former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Hungarian Prime Minster Viktor Orban and even Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters
The website, which features graphic images of apparently slain Russian soldiers declares on its homepage that “Russians and other enemies should be killed”. In an Orwellian turn of phrase the organisation’s name, Myrotvorets, translates to “Peacemaker”.
Screenshot, Myrotvorets Centre
Launched in 2014 by former Ukrainian government minister George Tuka, the website has been reported to be run by a former member of Ukraine’s state intelligence service under the alias of “Roman Zaitsev”.
Tuka has maintained that the organisation acts independently from the Ukrainian government, however, according to The Times of London, the Myrotvorets list has previously been used by government officials at checkpoints to screen individuals in addition to official government databases. The former government minister has also claimed prior to the Russian invasion that the list has been used to arrest over a thousand people within Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the site states: “The Myrotvorets Center has no objection to the use of information and data on its official website by employees of the Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Border Service and the Armed Forces of Ukraine in their reconnaissance or intelligence activities.
“We also invite foreign law enforcement authorities to cooperate in uncovering our investigation subjects (traitors, mercenaries, terrorists, Russian military personnel/war criminals) on the territory of other countries.”
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Europe’s largest journalist association, has expressed concern about a new Ukrainian law that could arbitrarily censor media in the country. https://t.co/ZBVFEa1dJP
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 9, 2023
The website has been colloquially referred to as a “kill list“. According to The Times, the site has been tied to the murder of several individuals, including publicist Oles Buzina and legislator Oleg Kalashnikov, both of whom were shot and killed in Kyiv in April of 2015 closely following the publication of their names by the Myrotvorets group.
Tuka has denied any connection between the site and the murders, but said that both individuals were “enemies of Ukraine,” adding: “I don’t miss either of them.”
Concerns over impeding free speech and political reprisals has seen international organisations such as the United Nations has called on the government of Ukraine to investigate the group and to take measures to remove the personal data published on the site.
The issue of the lack of free speech in Ukraine has come to the forefront of the debate following threats to “hunt down” alleged Russian propagandists from Kyiv’s apparent American transgender military spokesperson Sarah Ashton-Cirillo.
As Breitbart News reported, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) has demanded that the Biden administration reveal if it has any information indicating that Ukraine is preparing violent attacks on so-called propagandists. Sen. Vance went on to question Ashton-Cirillo if there were “any American citizens on the kill list?”
In response, Ashton-Cirillo claimed that threats against journalists and the existence of a Ukrainian “kill list” were merely more “Kremlin lies and propaganda”.
Ukraine’s Trans ‘Spokesperson’ Lashes Out at Sen. J.D. Vance for Spreading ‘Gender Chaos’, Refuses to Deny U.S. Gov’t Tieshttps://t.co/eLUui3iwkl
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 18, 2023