It is no secret that the much-touted and anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian forces occupying much of the south of the country has achieved few results since it began in June, fueling speculation that despite receiving billions of dollars in aid and advanced Western weapons systems, the country may not be able to win the war.
Ukraine is still completely dependent on Western aid to fight, and a halt in cash could be disastrous for the war effort.
Rather than touring parliaments and asking for cash, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has, in recent days, floated a new tactic: threats.
In an interview with the Economist magazine, President Zelensky made a not-so-veiled threat toward the West, warning that some of the millions of Ukrainian refugees who have been cared for by European nations and others could cause problems if aid to Ukraine is stopped.
U.S. politician and former candidate for Arizona governor Kari Lake identified the comments as a threat, saying in a post on X, “Is Zelensky suggesting that Ukrainian refugees in other countries could be activated LIKE terrorist splinter cells if we stop funding Joe Biden’s proxy war with Russia? This reads like a threat. How else are we supposed to interpret this?”
While President Zelensky’s comments can be perceived as threatening, they are also somewhat vague, but they came around the same time as threats from a Ukrainian military spokesman named Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, who was much more specific.
Ashton-Cirillo, an American-born male-to-female transgender person, threatened “Russia’s war criminal propagandists,” stating that the Ukrainians would hunt them down.
“Next week, the teeth of the Russian devils will gnash even harder, and their rabid mouths will foam in uncontrollable frenzy as the world will see a favourite Kremlin propagandist pay for their crimes. This puppet of Putin is only the first. Russia’s war criminal propagandists will all be hunted down, and justice will be served,” Ashton-Cirillo said in a video posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
American activist Charlie Kirk, head of Turning Point USA, commented on the clip, posting, “Ashton-Cirillo is now taking to social media threatening to hunt down and kill those who criticize the country’s government,” and added, “Why are we giving these psychos our money?”
The case of Gonzalo Lira
The specific case Ashton-Cirillo was referring to is likely that of American-Chilean blogger Gonzalo Lira, who attempted to flee Ukraine in late July after claiming that he had been extorted and tortured in a Ukrainian pre-trial detention centre.
The Ukrainian military spokesman stated in another post that the Ukrainian authorities had been directly involved with the trial of Lira in Kharkiv, with Ashton-Cirillo claiming to have testified against Lira and been allegedly questioned by Lira and his lawyer.
Lira previously posted a thread of posts on X in July, stating that he had been viciously beaten by fellow inmates at the behest of prison guards, with one inmate scratching his eyeball with a toothpick.
Originally arrested in May, Lira was accused of trying to discredit the Ukrainian political and military leadership as his videos posted on social media were often complimentary of Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin while denigrating the Kyiv regime.
It is unknown exactly what penalty Lira faces, although he has claimed that years in prison could be a death sentence due to his existing medical conditions.
The case of Lira also highlights the seeming lack of interest from the United States, despite Lira holding a U.S. passport. When asked about Lira’s situation in August, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller gave no comment, asking for verification of Lira’s July claims.
The assassination of Darya Dugin
Lira’s case took place completely within Ukraine, which is under a state of emergency, but have Ukranians threatened opponents of the regime outside of the country’s borders? The murder of Russian activist Darya Dugina appears to confirm that Ukraine is willing to kill opponents abroad.
Dugina, the 29-year-old daughter of Russian political philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, who is often described as “Putin’s brain” in the West, was killed on August 20th, 2022, when a bomb was set off inside her car as she was travelling from a festival just outside of Moscow in which her father gave a lecture.
Many speculated at the time that the bomb was not meant to kill Darya specifically but had been aimed at her father, who chose to travel in a different car that day.
Russian authorities almost immediately pinned responsibility for the killing on Ukrainian operatives, naming and releasing pictures of a woman named Natalya Vovk, who Russia claimed had used false identification and fake licence plates provided to her by another Ukrainian, identified as Bogdan Tsyganenko.
Vovk rented an apartment in the same building as Dugina and later fled to Estonia immediately after the bombing.
Following the killing of Dugina, Ukrainian authorities denied involvement, despite Russia claiming the Ukrainian special services had been directly involved in the assassination.
Just months later, in October, American officials admitted they also believed that Ukraine had been behind the killing but claimed they had not been given any prior warning by Ukrainian officials.
According to a report from the New York Times newspaper, American officials were against the killing and even admonished the Ukrainians for carrying it out.
Enemies lists
Ukraine has shown a willingness to murder political opponents overseas through the killing of Dugina and has little qualms about arresting Americans who criticise the regime, like Gonzalo Lira, but are others in the West potential targets?
The Ukrainian government has been keeping a list of enemies since 2021, when President Zelensky founded the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, which is part of the country’s National Security and Defense Council.
Many sceptics of the Zelensky government and the war are found on the centre’s website, including Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, leftist journalist Glenn Greenwald, former U.S. Colonel Douglas Macgregor, and political scientist John Mearsheimer.
Greenwald commented on his inclusion on the list, telling Unherd:
War proponents in the West and other functionaries of Western security state agencies have used the same tactics for decades to demonize anyone questioning the foreign policy of the US and NATO. Chief among them, going back to the start of the Cold War, is accusing any dissidents of spreading “Russian propaganda” or otherwise serving the Kremlin. That’s all this is from the Ukrainians: just standard McCarthyite idiocy.
Another Ukrainian website known as Myrotvorets also keeps a list of enemies of Ukraine, and while it is not explicitly affiliated with the government, the website is said to be linked to the Ukrainian security service, the SBU.
Myrotvorets has also been known to publish the home addresses of its targets, including those of publicist Oles Buzina and legislator Oleh Kalashnikov, who were both killed just days later.
Prominent Western politicians are also on the list, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Croatian President Zoran Milanović, former U.S. President Donald J. Trump, Senator Rand Paul, and former French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour, among others.
Media personalities like Tucker Carlson also appear alongside film director Oliver Stone, musician Roger Waters, and journalist Glenn Greenwald. Both Darya Dugina and Gonzalo Lira also appear on the list.
Western neo-Nazis in Ukraine: A potential source of future terror
Ukraine’s more extreme elements, such as the infamous Azov Battalion, are well-known for having neo-Nazi sympathies and are also well-linked to other neo-Nazi extremists in Europe and elsewhere.
In 2022, the Washington Post published an article by SITE Intelligence Group executive director Rita Katz that claimed that neo-Nazis from Europe and other Western nations were flocking to fight with Ukrainian forces, noting many had been recruited by the Azov Battalion.
“To them, Ukraine is a sandbox for fascist state-building, ripe for the kind of armed far-right power grab they long to see in their own countries,” Katz wrote.
Katz goes on to claim that the situation in Ukraine may be a breeding ground for future terrorism, stating:
In many ways, the Ukraine situation reminds me of Syria in the early and middle years of the last decade. Just as the Syrian conflict served as a perfect breeding ground for groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, similar conditions may be brewing in Ukraine for the far right. Syria became a plotting and training ground for terrorists to mount attacks in the West, such as the attacks in Paris in 2015 and in Brussels in 2016 attacks.
The extremists who successfully make it to Ukraine could return home with new weapons and combat experience under their belts—or stay in Ukraine, where they can further influence their countrymen online. Just because extremists are “somewhere else” does not make them any less dangerous to the countries they come from, as we’ve learned all too well.
Weapons flowing from Ukraine following the end of the conflict could end up in the hands of not only potential terrorists but also criminal gangs, an issue police in Sweden and elsewhere have raised their own concerns about over the course of the war.
Ukraine has shown a willingness to kill political opponents overseas and has lists of enemies and the potential infrastructure to recruit extremists to carry out possible operations.
The recent veiled threats from President Zelensky and people like Sarah Ashton-Cirillo clearly present a serious concern that a defeated Ukraine may pose a real threat to Western conservatives and others who have been vocally opposed to supporting the Zelensky government or have been publicly pro-Russia.
A Defeated Ukraine Is a Real Threat to Western War Sceptics
It is no secret that the much-touted and anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian forces occupying much of the south of the country has achieved few results since it began in June, fueling speculation that despite receiving billions of dollars in aid and advanced Western weapons systems, the country may not be able to win the war.
Ukraine is still completely dependent on Western aid to fight, and a halt in cash could be disastrous for the war effort.
Rather than touring parliaments and asking for cash, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has, in recent days, floated a new tactic: threats.
In an interview with the Economist magazine, President Zelensky made a not-so-veiled threat toward the West, warning that some of the millions of Ukrainian refugees who have been cared for by European nations and others could cause problems if aid to Ukraine is stopped.
U.S. politician and former candidate for Arizona governor Kari Lake identified the comments as a threat, saying in a post on X, “Is Zelensky suggesting that Ukrainian refugees in other countries could be activated LIKE terrorist splinter cells if we stop funding Joe Biden’s proxy war with Russia? This reads like a threat. How else are we supposed to interpret this?”
While President Zelensky’s comments can be perceived as threatening, they are also somewhat vague, but they came around the same time as threats from a Ukrainian military spokesman named Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, who was much more specific.
Ashton-Cirillo, an American-born male-to-female transgender person, threatened “Russia’s war criminal propagandists,” stating that the Ukrainians would hunt them down.
“Next week, the teeth of the Russian devils will gnash even harder, and their rabid mouths will foam in uncontrollable frenzy as the world will see a favourite Kremlin propagandist pay for their crimes. This puppet of Putin is only the first. Russia’s war criminal propagandists will all be hunted down, and justice will be served,” Ashton-Cirillo said in a video posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
American activist Charlie Kirk, head of Turning Point USA, commented on the clip, posting, “Ashton-Cirillo is now taking to social media threatening to hunt down and kill those who criticize the country’s government,” and added, “Why are we giving these psychos our money?”
The case of Gonzalo Lira
The specific case Ashton-Cirillo was referring to is likely that of American-Chilean blogger Gonzalo Lira, who attempted to flee Ukraine in late July after claiming that he had been extorted and tortured in a Ukrainian pre-trial detention centre.
The Ukrainian military spokesman stated in another post that the Ukrainian authorities had been directly involved with the trial of Lira in Kharkiv, with Ashton-Cirillo claiming to have testified against Lira and been allegedly questioned by Lira and his lawyer.
Lira previously posted a thread of posts on X in July, stating that he had been viciously beaten by fellow inmates at the behest of prison guards, with one inmate scratching his eyeball with a toothpick.
Originally arrested in May, Lira was accused of trying to discredit the Ukrainian political and military leadership as his videos posted on social media were often complimentary of Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin while denigrating the Kyiv regime.
It is unknown exactly what penalty Lira faces, although he has claimed that years in prison could be a death sentence due to his existing medical conditions.
The case of Lira also highlights the seeming lack of interest from the United States, despite Lira holding a U.S. passport. When asked about Lira’s situation in August, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller gave no comment, asking for verification of Lira’s July claims.
The assassination of Darya Dugin
Lira’s case took place completely within Ukraine, which is under a state of emergency, but have Ukranians threatened opponents of the regime outside of the country’s borders? The murder of Russian activist Darya Dugina appears to confirm that Ukraine is willing to kill opponents abroad.
Dugina, the 29-year-old daughter of Russian political philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, who is often described as “Putin’s brain” in the West, was killed on August 20th, 2022, when a bomb was set off inside her car as she was travelling from a festival just outside of Moscow in which her father gave a lecture.
Many speculated at the time that the bomb was not meant to kill Darya specifically but had been aimed at her father, who chose to travel in a different car that day.
Russian authorities almost immediately pinned responsibility for the killing on Ukrainian operatives, naming and releasing pictures of a woman named Natalya Vovk, who Russia claimed had used false identification and fake licence plates provided to her by another Ukrainian, identified as Bogdan Tsyganenko.
Vovk rented an apartment in the same building as Dugina and later fled to Estonia immediately after the bombing.
Following the killing of Dugina, Ukrainian authorities denied involvement, despite Russia claiming the Ukrainian special services had been directly involved in the assassination.
Just months later, in October, American officials admitted they also believed that Ukraine had been behind the killing but claimed they had not been given any prior warning by Ukrainian officials.
According to a report from the New York Times newspaper, American officials were against the killing and even admonished the Ukrainians for carrying it out.
Enemies lists
Ukraine has shown a willingness to murder political opponents overseas through the killing of Dugina and has little qualms about arresting Americans who criticise the regime, like Gonzalo Lira, but are others in the West potential targets?
The Ukrainian government has been keeping a list of enemies since 2021, when President Zelensky founded the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, which is part of the country’s National Security and Defense Council.
Many sceptics of the Zelensky government and the war are found on the centre’s website, including Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, leftist journalist Glenn Greenwald, former U.S. Colonel Douglas Macgregor, and political scientist John Mearsheimer.
Greenwald commented on his inclusion on the list, telling Unherd:
Another Ukrainian website known as Myrotvorets also keeps a list of enemies of Ukraine, and while it is not explicitly affiliated with the government, the website is said to be linked to the Ukrainian security service, the SBU.
Myrotvorets has also been known to publish the home addresses of its targets, including those of publicist Oles Buzina and legislator Oleh Kalashnikov, who were both killed just days later.
Prominent Western politicians are also on the list, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Croatian President Zoran Milanović, former U.S. President Donald J. Trump, Senator Rand Paul, and former French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour, among others.
Media personalities like Tucker Carlson also appear alongside film director Oliver Stone, musician Roger Waters, and journalist Glenn Greenwald. Both Darya Dugina and Gonzalo Lira also appear on the list.
Western neo-Nazis in Ukraine: A potential source of future terror
Ukraine’s more extreme elements, such as the infamous Azov Battalion, are well-known for having neo-Nazi sympathies and are also well-linked to other neo-Nazi extremists in Europe and elsewhere.
In 2022, the Washington Post published an article by SITE Intelligence Group executive director Rita Katz that claimed that neo-Nazis from Europe and other Western nations were flocking to fight with Ukrainian forces, noting many had been recruited by the Azov Battalion.
“To them, Ukraine is a sandbox for fascist state-building, ripe for the kind of armed far-right power grab they long to see in their own countries,” Katz wrote.
Katz goes on to claim that the situation in Ukraine may be a breeding ground for future terrorism, stating:
Weapons flowing from Ukraine following the end of the conflict could end up in the hands of not only potential terrorists but also criminal gangs, an issue police in Sweden and elsewhere have raised their own concerns about over the course of the war.
Ukraine has shown a willingness to kill political opponents overseas and has lists of enemies and the potential infrastructure to recruit extremists to carry out possible operations.
The recent veiled threats from President Zelensky and people like Sarah Ashton-Cirillo clearly present a serious concern that a defeated Ukraine may pose a real threat to Western conservatives and others who have been vocally opposed to supporting the Zelensky government or have been publicly pro-Russia.
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