NEW – April 24, 2022
Part 1 can be found here, part 2 – here, part 4 – here
The crimes of Ukrainian nationalists have no statute of limitations! Their atrocities are not to be forgotten.
The Ministry of Defence of Russia, together with the Central Archive of the Military Department, continues to publish archival materials – documentary evidence of numerous atrocities of Ukrainian nationalists-Banderists on the territory of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic during the Great Patriotic War.
The publication of the documents is aimed at preserving the historical memory and truth about the bloody mass crimes and atrocities of Ukrainian nationalists against their people, which have been deliberately forgotten by the criminal Ukrainian regime in recent years.
The message of the Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army from February 1, 1943
The document says that the German authorities are arresting “participants and leaders of the Petliurist Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), campaigning for the creation of an independent Ukrainian state.”
In the event of the restoration of Soviet power in Ukraine, members of the organisation must infiltrate the governing Soviet bodies and carry out sabotage.
The document also states that “the arrested leader of OUN, Stepan Bandera, is in prison in Berlin.”
Report of the Counterintelligence Department of the People ‘s Commissariat of Defence “SMERSH” of the 1st Ukrainian Front from August 30, 1944
Counterintelligence reports on the activation of a gang of nationalists “numbering over 1,000 people” in the Kamenka-Strumilovsky district. Several cases of gang attacks are described.
Attached to the document is a leaflet-appeal of nationalists calling on Ukrainians-Galicians “to fulfil their duty and as fighters voluntarily join the ranks of the German armed forces or as volunteers [in the] 14th ‘SS ‘Galicia’ Volunteer Division’.”
The leaflet also says that the mobilised Ukrainians are not trained in the Red Army, they form “suicide brigades” from them that are “sent to the areas of heavy fighting”. By this, according to nationalist propagandists, the Bolsheviks “continue to pursue their deliberate policy of destroying the Ukrainian nation.”
Special message of the Chief of the Ukrainian Staff of the partisan movement “About the agreements of Ukrainian nationalists with the Germans” from February 14, 1944
The document cites many facts of the work of Ukrainian nationalists for the Nazi invaders and in their interests. “(…) Recently, in connection with the successful advance of Red Army units to the west and the liberation of a number of districts of the Western regions of Ukraine, Ukrainian nationalist elements have been taking measures in agreement with the German occupation authorities. The Germans, in turn, willingly agree to such agreements in order to use the nationalists in their interests for subversive, sabotage and terrorist activities in the rear of the advancing Red Army.”
It is also said about the condition of the Germans: in return for the supply of German weapons, Ukrainian nationalists are obliged to “help the Germans with food, cattle, horses.” “In addition, the Germans promised not to touch the nationalists and to help them in the fight against the Red Army.”
Memo of the Head of the Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army “On the military counterrevolutionary organisation of Ukrainian nationalists in the western regions of Ukraine” from April 11, 1944
The document provides a detailed analysis of the structure and forms of anti-Soviet activity of Ukrainian bandit armed formations (UPA, UPR, UNS [Ukrainian People’s Self-Defence]), arming and supplying nationalists.
Ukrainian nationalists began to cooperate with the Germans from the very beginning of the war: “In the very first days of the attack of fascist Germany on the USSR (…), Ukrainian nationalists issued an appeal to help the German invaders. In an address to Ukrainian teachers, OUN welcomes ‘the German army, the most cultured army in the world’.”
Deception, slander and falsification of facts are indicated as characteristic methods of the fight of Ukrainian nationalists: “Ukrainian nationalists are trying to impersonate true supporters, saviours of the Ukrainian people. They claim that they are fighting both against Moscow and against the Germans for the liberation of the Ukrainian nation. This, of course, is a lie. Ukrainian nationalists helped the Germans in every possible way in their fight against the Red Army, hoping that they would give them the opportunity to seize power.”
It is noteworthy that, disappointed in the defeated Nazi Germany, Ukrainian nationalists began to hope for a post-war “clash between the USSR and England. They think to take advantage of this and establish their power in Ukraine.”
Extract from the political report of the Political Department of the 1st Ukrainian Front “On the bandit actions of Ukrainian nationalists”
The document notes the significant activity of gangs of “German-Ukrainian nationalists” in the districts of Rovno, Tarnopol, Chernovtsi and other regions of western Ukraine – attacks on Red Army soldiers, killing or taking them with them, taking away their weapons, documents, orders, uniforms. “And sometimes they dare to attack our entire units.”
Many cases of nationalist attacks on military personnel, headquarters and entire units of the Red Army, provocations (disguises), anti-Soviet agitation of the population and captured fighters, terror of the population are described.
A case of the brazen self-assurance of Ukrainian nationalist bandits is described. In the village of Zhabye, Chernovtsi region, upon the arrival of our troops (front-line units), “the leader of the gang gave the commander of the 4th Rifle Company an ultimatum: do not prevent us from exterminating the Poles, then we will not touch your fighters.”
“In terms of cruelty and inhumane reprisals against civilians, especially Poles, the Ukrainian nationalists are not inferior to the Germans.”
Report of the Chief Military Prosecutor of the Red Army to the Chief of the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army from September 16, 1944
The document lists three cases of attack and murder by Banderist officers of military enlistment offices in the Stanislavsky region during mobilisation activities.
Investigations are being conducted in all cases.
Extraordinary political report of the head of the Political Department of the Kiev Military District from August 26, 1944
The document provides a detailed analysis of the armed attack of a Banderist gang on five Red Army soldiers who were returning to their group from topographic work.
Having accepted the battle with superior enemy forces, the Red Army soldiers took up a circular defense and exchanged fire with the nationalists for 13 hours.
With the onset of night, Banderists, having been refused an offer to surrender, set fire to the house in which the soldiers of the Red Army were defending themselves. From all the Red Army soldiers, only one survived in the end.
Information of the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army “About the activities of gangs of Ukrainian nationalists in the rear of the 1st Ukrainian Front and the fight against them” from September 23, 1944
According to the document, “large gangs operating on the territory of the Rava-Russky, Ugnevsky, Magerovsky, Nemirovsky, Veliko-Mostovsky and Yavorovsky districts of the Lvov region consist of remnants of the defeated divisions of the ‘SS’ Galicia, former auxiliary policemen and people forcibly mobilised from the local population, as well as those evading mobilisation to the Red Army. These gangs have a sufficient number of automatic weapons and ammunition, are subordinate to well-trained commanders who have undergone military training in the UPA field schools, and special instructors trained by OUN in the Carpathians.”
There are cases of bandit attacks on railway trains, the murder of peaceful Ukrainians for refusing to join “UPA”, the murder of Soviet border guards and Polish families.
It reports on the successful actions of the NKVD units guarding the rear of the 1st Ukrainian Front, with three regiments of the Red Army attached to eliminate bandits: “As a result of their operations from August 22 to 27, 1944, 1,549 bandits were killed, 541 were captured (…). Weapons seized: ‘M-1’ armoured personnel carriers – 1, mortars – 6, mines – 323, machine guns – 3, light machine guns – 15, large-caliber ‘DSH’ – 4, submachine guns – 73, rifles – 170, grenades – 385 and cartridges – 33,459.”
Information of the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army “About Banderist bandit activity in the rear of the 4th Ukrainian Front” from September 26, 1944
The special cruelty of the Ukrainian nationalists against the servicemen of the 4th Ukrainian Front is confirmed by the information of the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army from September 26, 1944 (about the activation of Banderist gangs).
The document describes the consequences of the torture of captured Red Army soldiers: “On August 31, near the village of Gurny, Staro-Samborsky district, bandits brutally killed Private Kopylov and seriously wounded Private Sinyavsky from the 115th Engineer battalion.
Kopylov’s arms and legs were twisted, his left eye was plucked out and his nose was cut off. After the brutal torture, Kopylov was shot with a burst from a machine gun.”
Political report of the Political Department of the 1st Ukrainian Front “on the terrorist actions of Banderists” from December 22, 1944
Attacks on “separate groups of servicemen and Soviet-party activists in some areas of the Lvov region” are reported.
“On November 29 of this year, Banderists in the number of up to 300 people, dressed in the uniform of Red Army soldiers and officers, attacked the town of Beliy Kamen” However, at that time, seven Red Army servicemen drove up to the village on a tractor and did not suspect that nationalists in disguise were operating in the village. “At the entrance to the village of Beliy Kamen, the bandits threw grenades at them and fired at them with rifle and machine gun fire. 3 fighters, including the driver, were immediately killed, and the rest were engaged in a shootout with Banderists until they were partly killed, partly seriously wounded. The bandits took off the uniforms from the captured wounded and killed Red Army soldiers, took away their documents and brutally abused them.” In the village itself, as is reported in the report, Banderists killed up to 50 people.
Political report of the Political Department of the Carpathian Military District “On the bandit actions of Ukrainian nationalists in the areas of deployment of troops of the Carpathian Military District” from November 17, 1945
The document provides an analysis of the bandit actions of Ukrainian nationalists on the territory of the Carpathian military district against the civilian population and military units of the district.
It is reported that the bandits systematically exterminate one-by-one local residents – supporters of the Soviet government, employees of institutions and activists and their families. “According to far incomplete data received from the regional military commissars and political departments of the formations, in September-October alone bandits killed over 70, took 8 Soviet, party, Komsomol and economic workers and activists into the woods.”
Ukrainian nationalist bandits everywhere disrupt the implementation of state measures, both mobilisation and food, cause material damage to the national economy (disrupt links, destroy agricultural equipment, spoil railway tracks, undermine passenger trains, rob shops and rural settlements). It is separately noted that bandits burn schools and bridges.
The report mentions hundreds of facts of terror and robbery of demobilised Red Army soldiers arriving home in villages, as well as about many single and group attacks on active soldiers and officers.
Report of the Military Council of the 1st Ukrainian Front from August 1944
The document mentions the “completely unsatisfactory” course of mobilisation “from the western regions of Ukraine” – the Lvov region, which is explained by “the increased activity of Banderist and other German-Ukrainian nationalist organisations carrying out work to disrupt mobilisation.” Several examples of attacks on columns of conscripts and military personnel are given.
Examples of acts of sabotage by Ukrainian nationalists against military personnel are given.
“On August 10, unknown bandits took Elena Ponevina, a typist of the Military Trade of the 2nd Air Army, into the forest. The bandits raped her, carved stars on her arms, legs and chest. Naked, tied up, with the inscription ‘Russia’ on her stomach, they left her in the forest.”
“On the night of August 2, Hero of the Soviet Union, navigator of the 227th Assault Aviation Division and Major Toporkov was shot in the stomach in the village of Lenchuvka, Podgayevsky district.”
Political report of the Head of the Political Department of the 1st Ukrainian Front “On the bandit actions of Ukrainian nationalists” from April 26, 1944
The report mentions the significant activity of gangs of Ukrainian nationalists in the areas of Rovno, Ternopol, Chernovtsi and other regions of western Ukraine. Examples of attacks, murders and captivity of individual servicemen, attacks on teams and entire units of the Red Army are given.
Captured Banderists are quoted as saying that their gang numbers about 1,600 people and “has the task of destroying our garrisons and massacring the Polish population.”
The document also mentions many facts of successful actions of units and divisions to repel bandit attacks. The measures taken by political organisations “to increase the revolutionary vigilance of personnel to expose the counterrevolutionary essence of German-Ukrainian nationalists”, as well as extensive explanatory work among the local population, are listed. For example, “political organisations have allocated over 500 qualified agitators who know the Ukrainian language to work with the local population.”
Political report of the head of the political department of the Ternopol Regional Military Commissariat “On the activities of gangs of German-Ukrainian nationalists in the territory of the Ternopol region” from October 27, 1944
In addition to the cases of robberies, atrocities and murders, the report contains facts indicating the provocative nature of the actions of the nationalists.
To commit a terrorist attack, bandits often dressed up in the uniform of Soviet officers: “In the Skalatsky district, a group of 8 people, in military uniform, and – one of them in the uniform of a captain, the other a lieutenant, – on 9.10 of this year at 19.00 drove up to the place where the workers of the MTS (machine and tractor station – ed.) produced the threshing of bread. (…) The Banderists, under the force of arms, took the workers aside, turned their faces towards the field and set fire to bread, a tractor and a threshing machine, and themselves disappeared into the forest.”
Political report of the head of the political department of the Rovno Regional Military Commissariat “On the actions of bourgeois-nationalist gangs in the Rovno region for the month of July” from July 24, 1944
The document says that bourgeois-nationalist gangs in the districts of the region “still continue to exist, but recently, bandit organisations, instead of large groups, as it was before, have broken up into small groups with the task of carrying out terrorist attacks against senior officials, village council activists and Red Army servicemen, while aiming to disrupt the activities carried out by organisations of the Soviet authorities.”
The report cites cases of brutal killings of civilians and military personnel. “In the village of Kareliki, Banderists broke into the house of a worker of the financial department of the district executive committee and shot 9 people, including children.” “In the village of Lizino, the Banderists cut off the head of the secretary of the village council of Litovka.”
The document also mentions the growing hostility of the local population towards Banderists. “It’s possible to often hear when the population begins to say that bourgeois-nationalist gangs are lackeys of German fascism and they will not achieve anything anyway.” “In the Berezovsky district military commissariat, one Banderist tried to escape from the transfer point, local residents noticed and not only helped to catch him, but beat him for trying to escape from the transfer point.”
Political report of the head of the political department of the Rovno Regional Military Commissariat “On the actions of bourgeois-nationalist gangs in the Rovno region” from August 29, 1944
The document lists many cases of bandit attacks by Ukrainian nationalists on the civilian population of Ukrainian villages and soldiers of the Red Army, as well as sabotage against trains and enterprises.
“All the actions of bourgeois-nationalist gangs are aimed at disrupting the activities of the Soviet government through robbery, sabotage and terror,” the report says.
“In the village of Barikevichi, a gang of 26 people brutally tortured two daughters of the deputy chairman of the village council, and he (the deputy chairman of the village council), his wife and 11 other people from the village activists were taken away in the direction of the Uzhenetsky forest, their fate is still unknown.”
Political report of the Head of the Political Department of the 1st Ukrainian Front “On the bandit activities of Ukrainian nationalists in the areas of the western regions of Ukraine liberated from the Germans” from August 10, 1944
The report indicates the activation of Banderist gangs in the Rovno and Lvov regions in connection with the advance of our front to the west.
The facts of bandit attacks, murders of Red Army servicemen, nationalists’ disruptions of mobilisation are given. It is also said that many conscripts are “themselves associated with bandits.”
“As a result of the active work of bandits from the districts of the Lvov region, only 3,380 conscripted out of 52,639 registered people have been called up.”
Report of the head of the Volyn Regional Military Enlistment Office from June 10, 1946
The document describes many episodes of Banderist brutality and barbarity.
Thus, in one locality, a group of 7 nationalists killed the chairman of the village council and the district commissioner of the local department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
At the same time, “both of them were brutally tortured: eyes were gouged out, stabbed with daggers, burnt with hot iron and ramrods.”
Report of the head of the political department of the Lvov Regional Military Enlistment Office from June 21, 1946
Not-fully-liquidated Banderists committed crimes against representatives of the church.
The document presents the fact of an attack on a clergyman: “On the night of June 4 this year, a priest of a local church was wounded by two bullets in the head fired by a gang of three bandits in the village of Zapytov. The bandits, having robbed the priest’s apartment, fled in a car.”
Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation
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