Alleged assassination video of former Ukrainian MP Iryna Farion appears online, neo-Nazi movement claims responsibility – photos
A video has appeared on Russian Telegram channels that claims to show the murder of the former Ukrainian MP and linguist Iryna Farion, as well as the "manifesto of the Ukrainian Autonomous Revolutionary Racist", the group which is allegedly claiming responsibility for the murder. Ukrainian law enforcement officers are currently investigating the 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 posted on Russian channels late on 24 July. It includes a short clip purporting to be of the murder at the end of a lengthy video titled "Manifesto of the Ukrainian Autonomous Revolutionary Racist". The entire video is watermarked "NS/WP".
The segment allegedly showing Farion's murder lasts for no more than 10 seconds. As the camera is covered up for most of the time, it is difficult to discern any details. However, screams and a gunshot can be heard, and the location of the incident is briefly visible.
The Astra Telegram channel compared a screenshot from the video with a photo from the crime scene, and the two images do look similar
NS/WP stands for National Socialism/White Power. Russian channels label it a neo-Nazi group.
The video is not on NS/WP’s Telegram channel, but it does contain a link to another channel, ODERINT DUM METUANT (Latin for "Let them hate, so long as they fear"), which features a nearly four-minute-long video containing the "manifesto" and alleged footage of Farion's murder.
The lengthy text scrolls down against a background of views of Kyiv. The basic idea in it is that "there should be no war except racial war," which the author proposes that everyone should wage together. The group also pledges to "punish everyone who sold the country after the Maidan [i.e. the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine in 2014 – ed.]."
The manifesto’s author calls Farion a "wrecker and racial traitor" and declares that they are taking responsibility for her murder. After that there is a clip from one of Iryna Farion’s YouTube Ukrainian language lessons, followed by the video purporting to be of the murder.
This channel also features a 10-page PDF document titled "Manifesto of the Ukrainian Autonomous Revolutionary Racist". The sections include an introduction, some information about the movement, and 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 is already being investigated.
"It is being examined by specialist criminal analysts. We will let you know 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 an internet forum of the same name.
The organisation was re-established in 2020, this time through its Telegram channel. It claimed responsibility for arson attacks on Russian military enlistment offices when the invasion of Ukraine began.
In May 2021, the Russian Supreme Court designated it a "terrorist organisation".
According to Radio Liberty, many Russian far-right activists believe that NS/WP is a project run by the Russian secret services to draw young individuals into illegal activities so that they can then be arrested and neutralised or coerced.
In 2022 and 2023, the FSB claimed to have detained "dozens of members" of a "neo-Nazi group" reportedly affiliated with the NS/WP, who the secret services said had been planning to carry out attacks against the 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 have put a man who may have been involved in the murder on the wanted list.
- Iryna Farion was buried in the city of Lviv.
- Investigators believe that Farion’s murder required at least a month of preparation, and that the perpetrator may have had accomplices.
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