On May 21, the Kononovich brothers, who had been serving time in the military for three years, were taken to a recruitment center. On their way to the hospital, the police detained them, threatening them with weapons, for the third time.
Their lawyer, Denis Zapisny, had also been detained, so they were unable to contact him. They went to the Solomianskiy District Court in Kiev, where their case is being held, and only after appearing were they able to leave. Now, in addition to being criminally prosecuted for being communists, they are wanted for draft evasion. The Territorial Recruitment Office (TCC), the forced conscription agency, informed them that they would be transferred to Volhynia (west of the country) to perform their military service, despite not having the legal right to leave Kiev.
Mikhail Kononovich made this statement in a call for solidarity from the international left:
“Comrades, we officially declare: the Zelensky regime wants to kill us! They want to send us to the front, and then there will be no need to prove anything. Whether we are guilty or innocent, no one will care. They will kill us, no problem!”
From the Communist Youth of the People of Spain (JCPE), we once again express our solidarity with the Kononovich brothers and all the communist youth who are standing up to the Zelensky regime in Ukraine. The brothers’ release will never guarantee their freedom if they do not leave this fascist regime that persecutes their militancy. Their release is necessary so that they stop trying to end the lives of these communist militants as punishment for all conscious youth.
Communist solidarity with the Kononovich brothers; we mobilize for their safety!
Statement originally published by the Communist Youth of the Peoples of Spain (JCPE)
Original: https://jcpe.es/internacional/libertad-para-los-hermanos-kononovich/
Please share this statement around on social media in solidarity!
