Throughout modern history, Ukrainians have been fighting for their independence against outsiders such as the Poles, Germans and Soviets. After battling German occupiers during World War II, the Ukrainian resistance refocused once again on Moscow, which had incorporated Ukraine into the Soviet Union (and starved the nation during the 1930s.) To many Ukrainians, they were freedom fighters. To the Soviets, and others, they were Nazi-collaborators who continued the fight after WW2. The debate continues as part of the Ukraine/Russia war. In June 2023, Moscow called the leader of the Cold War resistance, Stepan Bandera, a Nazi collaborator. Moscow did not mention the KGB killed Bander with a cyanide gun (see below) "Referring to Nazi collaborators Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych, (an Israeli diplomat) recently said Israel does not like that the pair are role models but conceded that 'for most Ukrainians, these are heroes who fought for their independence.' He also noted that Tel Aviv’s support for Ukraine should not be conditioned to Kiev’s portrayal of such figures as heroes. During Tuesday’s summoning, the Russian Foreign Ministry blasted Brodsky for 'whitewashing' Ukrainian Nazi accomplices." See the report here. The Cold War battle reached its peak in the late 1940s; the Ukrainian guerrillas even developed a system of elaborate bunkers across parts of the nation. See an excellent 2012 thesis on this conflict by a Ukrainian officer at the US Army Command and General Staff College here: http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=ADA562947 Then, as now, anti-Russian sentiment was strongest in Ukraine's west. By 1950 Soviet counterinsurgency tactics had turned the tide (reports claim Soviet tactics included special units that impersonated resistance fighters and then brutalized the local population.) Significant resistance attacks ended by about 1957. By some estimates, the guerrillas killed 15-30,000 Soviets and Ukrainian sympathizers. The toll to resistance fighters and their networks was much higher. The Soviet KGB also worked to snuff out external support for Ukrainian independence with tactics that included assassinating exiled leaders with a cyanide gun (see below). CIA Work with Ukrainian Resistance: Operation "Aerodynamic" The CIA and British intelligence followed the resistance closely and ended up supporting two different factions. Under an operation code-named "Aerodynamic," the CIA provided financial and operational support -- including airdropping agents and supporting clandestine radio broadcasts -- for Ukrainian anti-Soviet guerrillas. Although the US did not actively support Ukrainian independence, it was eager to exploit areas of Soviet weakness. The 1953 report below summarizes the movement and assesses the potential usefulness of the Ukrainians during a "hot war" between the US and Soviet Union. The program switched its focus to propaganda and other support outside Ukraine as the Soviets consolidated their control later in the decade. Critics have questioned the value of this operation and criticized the US government for supporting Ukrainians involved in "ethnic cleansing" and anti-semitism during World War II. Page missing Excerpt from CIA Report on Cyanide Gun Used to Kill Exiled Ukrainian Resistance Leader Stepan (aka) Stefan Bandera in 1959:
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