No British arms for Ukrainian nazis!

by New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined other anti-fascist activists protesting  opposite the residence of devoted Zelensky fan Sir Keir Starmer in Whitehall calling for an end to British military, financial and "advisory" support for the Banderite regime in Kiev. While some of those passing by were clearly unhappy to see our protest, many people gave thumbs up signs, and vehicles beeped to show their support. The protest was organised by International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity (IUAFS), which has campaigned since 2017 in solidarity with Ukrainian anti-fascists and democrats, both inside Ukraine and the millions living in exile. With events in Venezuela, Cuba, and of course the horrific American-Israeli aggression against Iran and Lebanon, the ongoing struggle against Azoz-Right Sector repression in Ukraine has been overshadowed, but members of IUAFS are determined to continue their campaign until the Ukrainian people are liberated from the Nazi plague.
And across Western Europe demonstrations were held in support of the Kononovich brothers who led the communist youth movement in Ukraine before their arrest in 2022.
The brothers say their electronic ankle tags, which were attached when they were released from prison to allow the authorities to control their movements, have now been removed at a police station without a court order. While this sounds at first like a benefit, the unofficial removal of their monitors also puts the brothers at increased risk. They are not assigned to any government agency, which means no agency can be held responsible should a “tragic accident” occur.
“We think we’ll disappear somewhere in the recruitment office, or be murdered at a training ground” the brothers said. “Dear comrades, please be vigilant during these tense days! We have information that the Zelensky regime is preparing another charge under Article 111 (treason, life imprisonment) against us; they could put us in prison. Anything could happen; the Zelensky regime will resort to anything, even murder.”
The two brothers were last arrested in 2025 for “conscientious objection” to participation in NATO’s proxy war against Russia.
In March 2022, they were arrested and charged with “acts aimed at seizing state power” as well as the dissemination of “materials calling for the violent overthrow of the government”. They were later transferred from prison to house arrest. 
Mikhail Kononovich was the general secretary of the Ukrainian Komsomol, The Communist Party of Ukraine’s movement. The fascist regime banned both the Communist Party of Ukraine and the Komsomol in 2015 and all their assets were seized in 2022 following the Russian intervention to defend the people of the Donbas.

Free Mikhail and Alexander Kononovich!

by Theo Russell

Last Friday the Kononovich brothers Alexander and Mikhail, joined comrades from across Europe at an online meeting organised by the Turkish-based Anti Imperialist Front.
The brothers, members of the Leninist Communist Youth of Ukraine and ethnic Belarusians from the West Ukrainian Volhynia region, were arrested on 7th March 2022 and tortured in a Kiev detention centre. At that time the NATO puppet president Zelensky banned every opposition party in Ukraine. On 5th July 2022 the Communist Party of Ukraine was permanently banned, with all of its assets seized.
They are currently under house arrest and wearing ankle tags, and the case against them is still going through the courts. They explained that while the government had failed to provide credible evidence against the brothers, they are hoping to stop the case as soon as possible and then send them straight to the front line of the war.
Mikhail Kononovich told the meeting that "the Kiev regime knows we are not guilty and is trying to end our court case in any way possible. When it was opened they thought we would agree to confess our guilt, they thought they could break us, but we are communists, so it didn't work out like that. And the main thing is that they underestimated the level of international support we received.
"Their aim now is to end the case as quickly as possible and then send us immediately to the front line of the war.
"We know that thousands of comrades are fighting for us, and it's not possible for us to betray them. We have families, we have children, and we don't want to die, we're not idiots, but it's better to die than to betray all of you".
Less than three weeks ago Alexander was kidnapped outside the courthouse and sent to a military recruitment centre. He was only saved from being sent to the front because Mikhail had a phone and sent a message to international supporters. He compared the situation in Ukraine with that of Chile after the 1973 Pinochet coup.
Such kidnappings have occurred ever since the 2014 coup, with police standing by and judges cowered by death threats from the Nazi gangs. The brothers are currently under house arrest and wearing GPS ankle bracelets.
The meeting also discussed the possibility of the brothers being sent to serve their sentences in an EU state on the basis that the Kiev regime can't guarantee their safety. They said this had actually happened to some other defendants from Ukraine.
It was agreed at the meeting to hold an emergency protest at Ukrainian embassies around the world, including Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Serbia, Greece, Germany, and Britain, and a further protest on Saturday 4th April.

Free the Kononovich brothers!

by New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined other anti-fascist campaigners protesting outside the Ukrainian embassy on Monday 26th May against the continued detention of two communist activists who are now being press-ganged into the Ukrainian army.

International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity (IUAFS), which called the picket, has long campaigned in defence of Mikhail Kononovich and his brother Alexander, leading activists of the Leninist Communist Youth of Ukraine, the youth wing of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
The Kononovich brothers were arrested on 2nd March 2022 on trumped up charges of being “propagandists” aiming to “destabilise” the internal situation in Ukraine. They were then
subjected to months of beatings, torture, abuse and sleep deprivation in solitary confinement in the dungeons of the secret police. International pressure eventually forced the Kiev regime to release them. They have only appeared in court for initial processing. They have never had the opportunity of a full trial for the political charges against them. Now the brothers are back in jail.
On 22nd May Mikhail and Alexander were held by the police while on their way to a hospital. They were then taken to a military recruitment centre for allegedly evading military service. When they called their lawyer he too was arrested and taken to another military recruitment centre.
The brothers have issued this statement: "Comrades, we officially declare: Zelensky's regime wants to kill us! They want to send us to the front and then nothing needs to be proven, whether we are guilty or not, no one will care. They will kill us, no problem!
"The regime will now decide how to deliver us to the Volyn region, where we are registered and are on military registration. This is what is happening, comrades! They will not leave us alone, they have planned our murder".