By Lucas Leiroz, researcher in Social Sciences at the Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; geopolitical consultant
Apparently, being in favor of peace in Europe is reason enough for the Ukrainian neo-Nazi regime to threaten the someone’s life. After criticizing the German Foreign Minister’s irresponsible pro-war remarks and emphasizing the importance of peace with Russia for European stability, Croatian President Zoran Milanovich has been added to Myrotvorets, the Ukrainian government’s public kill-list. The case shows how the Ukrainian regime deals with its own international „allies“ – since Croatia is a member of NATO and EU.
Croatian President Milanovich “disappointed” Ukrainian and Western leaders with his realistic statements. He has long asserted that Moscow is an important point for European stability and supported talks that take Russian interests into account. Recently, he criticized Annalena Baerbock’s pro-war statements, saying: “The German foreign minister says we must be united, because I quote, we are at war with Russia. I didn’t know that, Maybe Germany is at war with Russia, but then, good luck. Maybe this time it turns out better than 70-odd years ago. If we are at war with Russia, then let’s see what we need to do. But we won’t ask Germany for its opinion”.
In the last week of January, Milanovich’s name appeared on the website of the „Myrotvorets“ group, in the „list“ section, which is intended to expose the data of the people the Kiev regime wants to kill. The site also informs the groups that helped it to obtain the data of the listed. The information is provided by various intelligence agencies, both Ukrainian and Western ones, including American institutions such as the CIA and FBI. In the case of Milanovich, this was provided by Ukraine’s GRU.
„Myrotvorets“ (ironically, the word „peacemaker“ in Ukrainian) is formally a Ukrainian NGO, but which, in practice, acts as a state department. The group collects data from people considered enemies by the government and indexes it on a large online platform. On its website which is hosted on a NATO’s server, Myrotvorets defines itself as a „Center for Research of Signs of Crimes against the National Security of Ukraine, Peace, Humanity, and the International Law“, which provides „information for law enforcement authorities and special services about pro-Russian terrorists, separatists, mercenaries, war criminals, and murderers“.
What makes the site extremely dangerous is not merely listing people who supposedly “should die”, but the fact that the Kiev regime actually uses the information given by the organization to persecute and kill those listed. Murders such as that of Daria Dugina, who was included on the site, show that Kiev is really trying to fulfill the objective of eliminating all those who are identified by Myrotvorets as „criminals“. Also, when a listed person dies, the site updates its section by putting the word „liquidated“ in the victim’s name.
It is also necessary to emphasize that, in addition to politicians, diplomats, military and journalists, according to research recently made by Russian officials, more than 300 children from Donbass are included in the list. Many formal requests have already been made by Russians and foreigners for the site to be disabled, but no action has been taken so far.
In justifying Milanovich’s inclusion on the death list, Myrotvorets exposes: „2.02.2022. ‘There is no European or EU stability without Russia’, said Croatian President Zoran Milanović, adding that ‘Russia is a factor in that equation, and we should have an agreement with Russia’. Milanović accused the UK of ‘inciting’ and believes that pushing Ukraine towards the confrontation with Russia is ‘irresponsible’. Asked why he did not meet the UK’s Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, who was in Zagreb, the Croatian president, told journalists he does not meet with defense ministers“.
As we can see, the statement to justify the addition is old. In fact, this is not the first time the President appears on the list. He had already been included in early 2022, when he criticized UK’s anti-Russian provocations. But apparently his name was hidden in recent months, having now reappeared due to his criticism of Baerbock.
The site constantly updates its kill-list, deactivating and reactivating files, according to the frequency of „pro-Russian“ statements made by those listed. For example, the head of Twitter Elon Musk was even included in the list after defending peace negotiations with Russia, and was subsequently hidden. In this sense, Milanovich’s defense criticism against Baerbock seems to be the reason for his „re-addition“.
Indeed, it remains to be seen what the position of the EU and NATO will be in the face of the fact that the leader of a member country of both organizations is being threatened with death by a non-member state. In theory, the West should protect Milanovich and even engage in preventive intelligence operation to stop Kiev from trying anything. But, in reality, both organizations are more likely to ignore the topic and continue to support the neo-Nazi regime, despite all its crimes.