Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Ukrainian MEP after the monastery raid: “Zelensky is a demon”

The war in Ukraine

Published 1 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The exiled MP Dmitruk accuses Zelensky of terror against his own people.
2 minute read

Ukrainian MP Artyom Dmitruk accuses President Volodymyr Zelensky of waging a “campaign of terror” against his own people, going so far as to liken him to a demon. The statement follows a raid on the historic Petjerskaya Monastery in Kiev, where police reportedly broke down doors and entered the catacombs.

Dmitruk, an independent MP who was formerly part of Zelensky’s parliamentary group, is technically still a member of Ukraine’s parliament but fled the country shortly after opposing a bill that sought to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, where he serves as a subdeacon. He has since been placed on Ukraine’s extradition request list.

In an interview with Russian state broadcaster RT on Friday, Dmitruk commented on reports that Ukrainian authorities had descended into the catacombs under the Cave Monastery, as it is also known. Several Orthodox saints are said to be buried there and it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During the raid, authorities reportedly changed locks and launched an official inventory of property and relics, a move Dmitruk strongly condemned.

– Zelensky is perpetrating genocide of the Ukrainian people. What we are seeing now and what we are witnessing now is the continuation of terror policies of Zelensky’s against [the] Ukrainian people. Zelensky is a demon in the body of a human being. You can call him whatever you want, a godless person, a terrorist, and so on and so forth. The gist of his actions is the same. Zelensky is following a demon’s will, Dmitruk declared.

Accusing the state of desecrating relics

Dmitruk, who says he left Ukraine because of religious persecution, disputes the official explanation that the action is an administrative review:

– They want to inspect the holy relics of our saints. They plan to carve them up, to open them up, to break them into pieces. To perform this sacrilege over them. It’s a huge tragedy for the entire Orthodox world, he said, adding that the results of the audit will be classified.

– They are raiding the Lavra. They are trying to seize the property of the Lavra… If we speak from a legal point of view, it’s a crime, he stressed.

Conflict between church and state

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), the country’s largest religious community, has been the subject of state intervention for several months. The government believes the UOC has lingering ties to Moscow, despite the church formally breaking with the Russian patriarch after the 2022 invasion.

The efforts have included house searches, arrests of priests and attempts to wrest control of Lavra from the UOC.

President Zelensky has defended the crackdown, citing the need to protect Ukraine’s “spiritual independence” from Russia.

Moscow, in turn, has condemned the measures, accusing Kiev of suppressing the canonical Orthodox faith, and claiming that Western countries are supporting these efforts.

Facts: Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

Founded in Kiev in 1015, the Monastery of the Caves, also known as the Monastery of St. Peter's or the Kiev-Petrish Lavra, is one of the most sacred Orthodox monasteries in Eastern Europe. It consists of an extensive complex of churches, cathedrals and a network of underground caves where several Orthodox saints are said to be buried.

The monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Sofia Cathedral, two famous sites that have served as the spiritual and cultural center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity for centuries.

Today, the site is managed by both the State Museum and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has led to tensions over the war.

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Majority of Ukrainians want peace through compromise

The war in Ukraine

Published yesterday 13:54
– By Editorial Staff
It was previously often claimed that Russia would be defeated on the battlefield - today the picture is different, and more voices are advocating for peace through negotiations instead.
2 minute read

A majority of Ukraine’s population now indicates they are willing to accept compromises or make concessions to end the war with Russia.

This is shown in a new opinion poll conducted by the Ukrainian think tank Janus Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, the polling institute SOCIS Centre for Social and Marketing Research, and the publication Barometer of Public Opinion, which compiles and disseminates opinion data.

According to the survey, 55.7 percent of respondents now support a solution through compromise with the involvement of international leaders. An additional 16.6 percent advocate for a temporary freezing of the war, with a ceasefire along the current line of contact.

Photo: facsimile/socis.kiev.ua

In total, this means that over 70 percent of respondents are open to some form of settlement or pause in the hostilities.

Meanwhile, 12.8 percent want to continue the war until Ukraine’s borders from 1991 are restored, while 8.6 percent indicate they prefer continued fighting until the borders from February 23, 2022 – the day before the Russian invasion began – are restored.

1.2 percent chose another option, and 5 percent of respondents refused to answer or could not take a position.

Photo: facsimile/socis.kiev.ua

The survey also shows that 57.6 percent believe elections should be held in Ukraine if peace negotiations with Russia lead to a temporary cessation of hostilities and an end to the state of war.

The opinion poll was conducted between June 6-11, 2025, and included 2,000 respondents aged 18 and older who were interviewed in person across Ukraine. The survey did not include residents in temporarily occupied areas or in areas where active fighting was ongoing at the time of data collection. The statistical margin of error is stated as ±2.6 percent.

Russia: Kiev and London planning false flag attacks

The war in Ukraine

Published 17 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with Volodymyr Zelensky.
2 minute read

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accuses Ukraine and the UK of jointly planning sabotage operations and false flag attacks with the aim of escalating the Ukraine conflict and making continued dialogue between Moscow and Washington impossible.

In a statement on Monday, the SVR claimed that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and Military Intelligence (GUR) are increasingly coordinating their efforts with British intelligence, as a result of what the SVR describes as Kiev’s “mounting battlefield setbacks and deepening moral exhaustion”.

According to the SVR, these sabotage operations and false flag attacks follow a recurring pattern, with the UK responsible for planning and coordination while Ukrainian agents carry out the attacks. The agency pointed to the railway sabotage in Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions, which Moscow describes as Ukrainian terrorist attacks, as well as drone attacks on Russian air bases on June 1, as examples of this tactic.

The intelligence service is now warning that the “Anglo-Ukrainian terrorist tandem” is preparing more false flag attacks. The aim is said to be to escalate the conflict, sabotage the dialogue between Moscow and Washington, and influence the US to continue its military support for Kiev.

Planted sea mines and torpedoes

One scenario described is an attack in which a Russian torpedo attack on a US Navy ship in the Baltic Sea is staged. According to the SVR, Ukraine has already delivered Soviet-made torpedoes to the UK. Some of these are intended to detonate at a safe distance, while one is to be left undetonated “as evidence of Moscow’s malicious activity”.

The SVR also points to a possible scenario in which British, Ukrainian, and Northern European actors plan to “accidentally” find Russian sea mines in the Baltic Sea in order to claim that Russia is trying to sabotage international shipping – another type of false flag attack.

“Kiev has become the perfect executor of vile provocations and terrorist acts for perfidious Albion (England)”, the SVR concluded.

The head of intelligence, Sergei Naryshkin, has previously warned of similar British attacks and says that Russian intelligence is well aware of London’s covert hostile activities against Russia.

Hockey legend Ovechkin added to Ukrainian “kill list”

The war in Ukraine

Published 11 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Alexander Ovechkin is an outspoken supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
2 minute read

Russian hockey legend Alexander Ovechkin, who recently became the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, has been added to Ukraine’s notorious “enemy list” on the website Mirotvorets (Peacemaker).

Mirotvorets is a database that publishes personal information about individuals who allegedly threaten Ukraine’s security, but has been condemned by human rights groups and described as a “kill list”, as several people listed there have been assassinated or died under unclear circumstances shortly after.

According to Mirotvorets, Washington Capitals star Ovechkin has been included for allegedly working to “whitewash Russia’s reputation” in front of the international community through his participation in international sporting events, as well as for justifying “aggression against Ukraine among foreign audiences”.

The 39-year-old forward is also accused of “deliberately violating” Ukraine’s border, which likely refers to his vacation on the Crimean Peninsula in 2015 – a year after the region voted in a referendum to reunite with Russia.

It is now easier to find people who are not included on the Mirotvorets database, so there is really nothing to discuss, commented Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Founded “Putin Team”

Russian MP and 2006 Olympic gold medalist in speed skating Svetlana Zhurova expressed surprise on the news channel VseProSport that Ovechkin’s name was only added now.

– It is strange that they did not add Ovechkin to the Mirotvorets database earlier. Alex created the Putin Team (movement in support of Vladimir Putin’s candidacy in the 2018 presidential election in Russia), and for that alone he should have already been on the list.

Zhurova added that she does not believe the listing will have any major consequences for Ovechkin:

– He will not face any restrictions in his daily life or experience problems with entering the US, where he plays for the NHL team Washington Capitals.

Linked to several assassinations

In April, Ovechkin scored his 895th goal in the NHL regular season, surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s previous record of 894 goals. Since then, he has added to his tally and now stands at 897 goals.

Ovechkin’s contract with the Washington Capitals runs until the summer of 2026. Earlier this year, he mentioned that he was considering returning to Russian club Dynamo Moscow, where his professional career began.

The website Mirotvorets has been described by critics as a “kill list”,  as several people who have appeared on it have later been murdered. Yulia Gorbunova, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, warns that the list poses a real threat to the lives of those on it. In April 2015, for example, the website published the home addresses of Ukrainian writer Oles Buzina and former member of parliament Oleg Kalashnikov – just days before both were killed in separate attacks.

Ukraine’s ex-prime minister: US has given the go-ahead to oust Zelensky

The war in Ukraine

Published 10 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Ukraine's former prime minister believes that Zelensky will be "forced out" if he does not resign himself.
2 minute read

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov is convinced that President Volodymyr Zelensky will soon resign and leave the country, stating that the powers that be in Washington have already given the go-ahead to remove the Ukrainian leader.

In a post on the Telegram on June 9, Azarov wrote that the decision to remove Zelensky “has already been made in the United States” and that Washington has given the “go-ahead” for the process. He added that while Zelensky has some support in Europe, it is unlikely to affect the outcome and “hardly helps” him.

Azarov, who was prime minister under ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, argues that Zelensky will resign because his five-year term expired in May 2024. In such a scenario, according to Azarov, Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk would step in as acting president and start shaping “a new political landscape” in Ukraine.

I don’t think Zelensky will remain in Ukraine after this”, Azarov said. “He will request protection, most likely from special forces, but they will not make such sacrifices for him. The options for his future may vary”, he added.

“The process of removing Zelensky has begun”

Already the week before his latest statement, Azarov made a similar prediction, claiming that the US has “written off” Zelensky and started a multi-step process to remove him. As an example, he cited the arrest of Leonid Mindich – described as a financial associate of both Zelensky and presidential chief of staff Andrei Yermak – which Azarov sees as a sign of an ongoing power shift.

He stressed that the arrest was not carried out by the Prosecutor General’s Office, but by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office – institutions he described as “created by the US, staffed by the US, and reporting only to the Americans“.

This is a serious signal that the process of removing Zelensky has begun”, Azarov wrote. He also hinted that if the president does not resign voluntarily, he will be “forced out“. Furthermore, he claimed that US auditors had recently arrived in Kiev to review how US tax money was spent – an initiative he attributed to instructions from the White House.

Potential obstacle to peace deal

Skeptics argue that Azarov’s statements should be seen in light of his political background, as a former prime minister under the ousted president Yanukovych, pointing out that the ex-prime minister has long been a vocal critic of Zelensky and has repeatedly called for his ouster.

Zelensky’s term of office formally expired on May 20, 2024, but presidential elections have not been held due to the state of emergency in Ukraine. Moscow therefore claims that Zelensky lacks legitimacy as the country’s leader.

Despite this, the Russian government has stated that it is open to negotiations with the current administration in Kiev. At the same time, it has warned that Zelensky’s status could be an obstacle to signing a binding peace agreement, as documents approved by a president with questionable legitimacy could be invalidated by a successor.

Nikolai Azarov (born December 17, 1947) was Prime Minister of Ukraine between 2010 and 2014, under President Viktor Yanukovych. He was previously Minister of Finance and one of the founders of the pro-Russian Party of Regions. Azarov resigned in January 2014 in the wake of the Western-backed Euromaidan protests and left the country shortly afterwards.

Since then, he has been living in exile in Russia and is wanted in Ukraine on suspicion of abuse of power. Since then, he has repeatedly criticized Zelensky and the current Ukrainian government.

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