INTERNATIONAL UKRAINE ANTI-FASCIST SOLIDARITY

A very successful online meeting to mobilise international support for the Free the Kononovich Brothers campaign took place on Thursday 25th August, with 50 participants from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the USA, England and Scotland. Organised by the London-based International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity campaign (IUAFS), the seminar called for the release of the Kononovich brothers and all Ukrainian political prisoners, and for the restoration of all political and media freedoms. Chaired by Theo Russell, the key speakers were: Chris Williamson, former Labour MP; Alexey Albu from Borotba (Struggle), a survivor of the 2014 Odessa Trade Union House Fire massacre; Steve Sweeney, Moscow-based investigative journalist and former Morning Star international editor; John Parker from Solidarity with Donbass and Antifascists in Ukraine (joining from Los Angeles); Phil Wilayto, Odessa Solidarity Campaign (Virginia USA); and members of the Young Communist League of the Russian Federat

by New Worker correspondent A very successful online meeting to mobilise international support for the Free the Kononovich Brothers campaign took place on Thursday 25th August, with 50 participants from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the USA, England and Scotland. Organised by the London-based International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity campaign (IUAFS) the seminar called for the release of the Kononovich brothers and all Ukrainian political prisoners and the restoration of all political and media freedoms.      Chaired by Theo Russell the key speakers were Chris Williamson, former Labour MP, Alexey Albu from Borotba (Struggle), a survivor of the 2014 Odessa Trade Union House Fire massacre, Steve Sweeney, Moscow-based investigative journalist and former Morning Star international editor, John Parker from Solidarity with Donbass and Antifascists in Ukraine (joining from Los Angeles), Phil Wilayto, Odessa Solidarity Campaign (Virginia USA), and members of the Young Communist Leag

    Thursday 25th August   CLICK ON THIS LINK TO JOIN THE ZOOM MEETING AT 7PM BST, THU 25 AUGUST:   Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82347234197?pwd=NXQyUTdhdUpPRmtKaGVoT1NHSVJ1dz09 (The meeting will open 30 minutes early so that participants can be ready for the start)   Free the Kononovych Brothers! Free all Ukrainian Political Prisoners! Restore political and media freedoms in Ukraine! S peakers from the UK, US and Ukraine Chris Williamson, Trade Union & Socialist Coalition (UK), ex-Labour Party MP and Shadow Minister Alexey Albu, Borotba (Struggle), survivor of the 2014 Odessa Trade Union House Fire massacre Steve Sweeney, former International Editor, The Morning Star Dmitry Dezhnev, Union of Ukrainian Political Emigrants and Refugees (depending on communication availability with eastern Ukraine) Phil Wilayto, Odessa Solidarity Campaign (Virginia, USA) Organised by: International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity Facebook: tinyurl.com/

7pm BST Thursday 25 August  Free the Kononovych Brothers! Free all Ukrainian Political Prisoners!  Restore political and media freedoms! Speakers:     • Chris Williamson, former Labour Party MP      • Alexey Albu, Borotba (Struggle)     • Dmitry Dezhnev, Union of Ukrainian Political Emigrants      • Phil Wilayto, Odessa Solidarity Campaign, Virginia USA     • Steve Sweeeney, ex-International Editor Morning Star     • Melinda Butterfield, Solidarity with Donbass & Antifascists in  Ukraine, New York          Eventbrite booking: tinyurl.com/2p988k3t Sign the petition: tinyurl.com/3b8d9ay8 facebook.com/Freekonbrothers IUAFS(Created July 2020) Facebook: tinyurl.com/2p8926fv Blog: https://iuafs.blogspot.com/ Email: ukraineantifascist@gmail.com

Our case is completely fabricated from start to finish The trial of Mikhail and Alexander Kononovich began in the Solomensky District Court of Kiev on July 1st, without the physical presence of the defenders but via teleconference. Under the pretext of false and groundless accusations, the two brothers, members of the Leninist Communist Youth Union of Ukraine were arrested on 7th March 2022 and tortured in a Kiev detention centre. Since then, numerous Communist Parties and Youth organisations from all over the world, including the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) have demanded their immediate release. The EU Parliament Group of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) has already submitted two written questions (first and second) to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs concerning the case of Kononovich brothers. In their first speech to the courtroom, Mikhail and Alexander talked about the fabricated nature of the accusations, expressed appreciation for the internation