Comrades Mikhail Kononovich, First Secretary of the Leninist Communist Youth Union of Ukraine (LKSMU), and his brother Aleksander Kononovich, also a dedicated member of LKSMU, were outrageously arrested and kidnapped in Kyiv by elements of the Ukrainian security services three years ago. For years we are witnessing the most brutal repression against our comrades in Ukraine by the fascist regime.
These arrests were not based on any legitimate legal grounds but on entirely fabricated, baseless, and profoundly offensive accusations of being “spies” for Russia and Belarus, orchestrating a coup d’état, and other blatant falsehoods, serving merely as cynical pretexts for their political persecution and the broader suppression of dissenting voices.
Whereas, Comrades Mikhail and Aleksander Kononovich stand as true Ukrainian patriots, unwavering anti-fascists, profound humanists, and steadfast fighters for social justice and the rights of the working people, whose entire progressive activities and tireless commitment to peace and class struggle merit the highest recognition and commendation, not detention based on invented charges and the persecution of a fascist regime.
For the past decade, the Kononovich brothers have been repeatedly targeted, harassed, intimidated, and subjected to violent attacks by Ukrainian neo-Nazis and ultra-right extremists, living and bravely continuing their work in Ukraine under extraordinarily difficult and dangerous conditions, yet consistently remaining exemplary citizens in the face of brutal repression.
After significant international pressure, they were released from the dungeons of the Ukrainian security services into a precarious house arrest with an ankle monitor, yet their situation remains dire and has, in fact, deteriorated into a new form of violence, culminating in the grave and life-threatening decision by the Kyiv regime to forcibly conscript them and send them to the front lines, where the fascist regime’s aligned Nazi and Banderite elements would undoubtedly seek their summary execution and extermination.
This desperate attempt to force Comrades Kononovich to the front lines is a thinly veiled scheme by the current Ukrainian regime to silence them permanently, as they have failed to secure a conviction through their sham legal processes, effectively seeking to assassinate them for their principled anti-fascist and communist stance.
The persecution of the Kononovich brothers is a stark and undeniable demonstration of the reactionary, Banderite-influenced Ukrainian regime’s systematic and escalating repression against anti-imperialist, anti-fascist, and communist militancy, a policy intensified particularly since the illegitimate coup d’état of 2014 and the subsequent anti-democratic outlawing of communism in 2015, which continues to this day with widespread “decommunization” laws and persecution of political opponents.
This so-called “decommunization” policy, vehemently enforced by the Kyiv regime, has involved the banning of the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU) and its youth wing, the prohibition of communist symbols, the destruction of historical monuments, and the criminalization of any positive discourse on Soviet history, thereby trampling upon fundamental democratic rights and historical truth, and creating an environment ripe for fascist resurgence.
The very existence and perpetuation of this repressive, Banderite regime in Kyiv is a direct consequence of the aggressive imperialists of the United States, NATO, and the European Union, who openly orchestrated and supported the 2014 coup d’état, installing a puppet government that serves their geopolitical interests at the expense of the Ukrainian people.
These imperialist powers, the USA, NATO and EU have continuously fueled the conflict in Ukraine through billions in military aid, extensive weapon supplies, joint military exercises, and covert paramilitary training programs for Ukrainian special forces, transforming Ukraine into a strategic pawn and an arena for their proxy war against Russia, thus bearing direct responsibility for the current tragic situation and the escalation of violence against genuine anti-fascists.
The antiimperialist organizations have consistently called for and engaged in global weeks and resolute actions of solidarity with the Kononovich brothers and all political prisoners, unequivocally demanding their freedom and an immediate end to the persecution of Ukrainian anti-fascists.
Despite torture, beatings, death threats, and constant intimidation from the Ukrainian security services and fascist elements operating under the regime’s protection, Comrades Mikhail and Aleksander Kononovich have remained defiant, inspiring communists and anti-imperialists worldwide to redouble their efforts for liberation and social justice.
We express our strongest condemnation at the continued arbitrary detention, brutal persecution, and the life-threatening decision by the illegitimate, Banderite Kyiv regime to forcibly send Comrades Mikhail and Aleksander Kononovich to the front lines, recognizing that their only “crime” is their unwavering commitment to communist ideas, anti-fascism, and their courageous opposition to the reactionary and pro-imperialist policies of the Ukrainian government.
We demand the immediate, unconditional, and absolute release of Comrades Mikhail and Aleksander Kononovich from all false charges, the immediate lifting of their house arrest, and an immediate end to their constant harassment, persecution, and stigmatization, as well as an end to the repression of all Ukrainian anti-fascists, true patriots, and especially communists, whose fundamental rights are being systematically violated.
We affirm with utmost conviction that the ultimate responsibility for the physical integrity, safety, and any harm that may befall Comrades Mikhail and Aleksander Kononovich lies squarely with the reactionary Ukrainian regime, and, equally, with its principal imperialist backers and instigators: the United States, NATO, and the European Union, whose support enables and legitimizes the regime’s fascist tendencies and repressive actions.
We reaffirm our unwavering and unbreakable solidarity with Comrades Mikhail and Aleksander Kononovich and all progressive forces, communists, and the resilient people in Ukraine who have for the past eight years been the victims of an anti-people, puppet regime, which ruthlessly serves the interests of imperialism and local oligarchs.
We pledge to intensify and escalate international pressure, solidarity actions, and public awareness campaigns until Comrades Mikhail and Aleksander Kononovich are completely free, all fabricated accusations against them are irrevocably withdrawn, and the persecution of anti-fascists and communists in Ukraine ceases, ensuring that no comrade is abandoned in the global struggle for a world free of exploitation, oppression, and imperialist aggression.
We call upon all anti-imperialist, anti-fascist, and democratic organizations, youth
movements, and peace-loving peoples worldwide to unite in condemning the Zelensky regime’s Banderite agenda and its imperialist overlords, and to tirelessly advocate for the self-determination of the Ukrainian people free from fascist and foreign domination.
FREEDOM FOR THE KONONOVICH BROTHERS!
DOWN WITH THE ZELENSKY FASCIST REGIME!
NO TO USA-NATO-EU IMPERIALISM!
