Assassination video of former Ukrainian MP Farion appears online, neo-nazi movement takes responsibility
Pravda Ukraine
Russian Telegram channels have published a video claiming to show the murder of Ukrainian former deputy and linguist Iryna Farion, as well as a “manifesto of the Ukrainian Autonomous Revolutionary Racist”, the group which allegedly takes responsibility for the murder. Ukrainian law enforcement is currently investigating this video.
Source: Kremlin-aligned Russian Telegram channel Readovka; Astra Telegram channel; ODERINT DUM METUANT Telegram channel; Mariana Reva, spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, in a comment for Ukrainska Pravda
Details: The video was published on Russian channels late on 24 July. It includes a short clip of the alleged murder at the end of a lengthy video titled Manifesto of the Ukrainian Autonomous Revolutionary Racist. The entire video bears a watermark reading NS/WP.
The segment allegedly showing Farion’s murder lasts no more than 10 seconds. As the camera is largely covered with something, it makes it difficult to discern details. However, screams and a gunshot can be heard, and the location of the incident is visible briefly.
The Astra Telegram channel compared a screenshot from the video with a photo from the crime scene and the two images appear similar.
NS/WP stands for National-Socialism/White Power. Russian channels label it as “neo-Nazi” group.
While the NS/WP channel itself does not host the video, it links to another channel, ODERINT DUM METUANT (Latin for “Let them hate, so long as they fear”), which features a nearly four-minute video containing the “manifesto” and alleged footage of Farion’s murder.
The long text goes in a moving line against the background of the landscapes of Kyiv. Its essence is that “there should be no war, except racial,” which the author proposes to lead all together. The group also promises to “punish everyone who sold the country after the Maidan (i.e. the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine in 2014 – ed.) .”
The author of the manifesto calls Farion a “wrecker and racial traitor” and declares that they were taking over her murder. After that, a small part of the “Ukrainian lesson with Farion” was published and then a video of the alleged murder followed.
This channel also features a 10-page PDF document titled Manifesto of the Ukrainian Autonomous Revolutionary Racist that includes several sections (introduction, information about the movement, the author’s thoughts on power, the military, and how he sees the state “when revolutionary racists seize power”).
Mariana Reva, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman, told Ukrainska Pravda that the video released on Telegram channels was already being reviewed.
“Criminal analysts are particularly interested in it. We will notify you when a final conclusion is reached,” Reva stated.
According to Wikipedia, National Socialism/White Power (NS/WP, NS/WP Crew, Sparrows Crew) is a Russian neo-Nazi group that emerged in the mid-2000s on the same-named Internet forum.
The organisation was re-established in 2020, but this time through its Telegram channel. It claimed responsibility for the arson of Russian military enlistment offices as the invasion of Ukraine began.
In May 2021, the Russian Supreme Court designated it a “terrorist organisation.”
According to Radio Liberty, many Russian ultra-right activists believe that the NS/WP is a Russian secret services’ effort aimed at attracting young individuals to illegal activities, followed by arrest, neutralisation, or coercion.
In 2022 and 2023, the FSB reported on the alleged detention of “dozens of members” of the “neo-Nazi group,” reportedly affiliated with the NS/WP, who, according to the special services, planned attacks against Russian propagandists Vladimir Solovyov, Margarita Simonyan, and Ksenia Sobchak.
Background:
- An assassination attempt was made on former Ukrainian MP Iryna Farion on Masaryk Street in Lviv on the evening of 19 July. Later that night, Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi and Ukraine’s National Police reported that Farion had died in hospital after being shot.
- On 20 July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had received the latest reports on Farion’s murder and all lines of enquiry are being investigated, including the theory that Russia and its secret services were involved.
- The National Police put a man who may be involved in the murder on the wanted list.
- Farion was buried in the city of Lviv.
- Investigators believe that the murder of Farion took at least a month of preparation, and that the perpetrator may have had accomplices.
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