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Ukraine Solidarity Group ✊ A Digest of News from Ukrainian Sources ⚔ 29-June-2026.

In this week’s bulletin

⬤ Hong Kongers support Ukraine.
⬤ Russian torture, also here and here and here and here.
⬤ Russian strike on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

News from the territories occupied by Russia

Crimea Isolated: Putin’s Strategic Prize Turned Into a Strategic Weakness (Byline Times, June 26th)

Medical torture to the end against Crimean Tatar political prisoner with malignant tumour and his family (Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, June 26th)

Mariupol children brainwashed into thanking the Russian invaders for ‘saving’ them (Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, June 26th)

Birthday of Crimean Tatar activist Emir-Usein Kuku, who is being held in Russian captivity for 10 years (Crimea Platform, June 26th)

Russia cripples tortured 23-year-old Ukrainian POW then convicts him of ‘terrorism’ for defending Ukraine (Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, June 25th)

17-year sentences in Russian captivity for refusing to betray Ukraine (Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, June 24th)

Weekly update on the situation in occupied Crimea (Crimea Platform, June 23rd)

Savage sentence against Ukrainian from occupied Luhansk oblast on secret ‘spying’ charges (Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, June 23rd)

Ukrainian teenager who needs vital medication sentenced to 5.5 years for negative comments about Russian invaders (Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, June 22nd)

Russia stages ‘international terrorism trial’ against three Kherson men for resisting its invasion in 2022 (Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, June 22nd)

News from Ukraine

Ukraine’s largest assault regiment investigated over torture allegations (Meduza, 26 June)

The Russian strike on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (Tribunal for Putin, June 25th)

Slovak military aid to Ukraine: in the end, only crumbs may arrive (East Frontier Initiative, 11 June)

War-related news from Russia

Running on empty. Fuel rationing in Russian regions (Mediazona, 26 June)

A Russian soldier who threatened Putin with an army mutiny racked up 10 million Instagram views. Who is he? (Meduza, June 26th)

Roads of death: Ukrainian strikes on transport corridors are disrupting Russia’s military logistics (The Insider, June 25th)

One powerful family, different sides of the war (iStories, 24 June)

Going to extremes: Russian authorities’ persecution of the LGBT community has entered the realm of the absurd (The Insider, June 22nd)

Analysis and comment

How ‘transnational repression’ measures could affect Russians in Europe (Meduza, 27 June)

In Mexico, people fear one imperialist aggressor. In Estonia, it’s a different one (People & Nature, 26 June)

Ukraine fights for its rights, Ukrainians fight for LGBT+ rights (Ukraine Solidarity Campaign, 24 June)

Armenia’s elections and the future of the left (Posle.Media, 24 June)

Ukrainians in solidarity with Palestine (Tempest, June 21st)

Research of human rights abuses

For the First Time, UN Adds Russian Forces to “List of Shame” for Wartime Sexual Violence (Tribunal for Putin, June 24th)

Russian Medical Personnel Torture Ukrainian Captives (Centre for Civil Liberties, June 24th)

PACE discussed Russia’s accountability for crimes against Ukrainian children: Onysiia Syniuk raises concerns over their militarisation and indoctrination (Zmina, June 24th)

ZMINA joins UN roundtable on protecting civic space in Europe and Central Asia (Zmina, June 23rd)

Prisoners’ access to justice: ZMINA and its partners presented a study on barriers to enforcing this right in Ukraine, Greece and Portugal (Zmina, June 17th)

Two fronts: how Russia and the Ukrainian state pressured civil society in 2025 (Europe Solidaire Sans Frontieres, 9 June)

International solidarity

On June 26, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, June 26th)

26th June: International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (Labour Hub, June 26th)

Hong Kong protesters: “Oppose Russian hegemonic aggression! No Peace without Justice!” (People and Nature, June 26th)

Unison national delegate conference reaffirms solidarity with Ukraine (Ukraine Solidarity Campaign, 24 June)

Joint statement of National and International Human Rights Organisations for Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026, Gdańsk (Crimea Human Rights Group, 24 June)

   

🔴This bulletin is put together by labour movement activists in solidarity with Ukrainian resistance. More information at Ukraine Information Group.

We are also on twitter. Our aim is to circulate information in English that to the best of our knowledge is reliable. If you have something you think we should include, please send it to 2U022ukrainesolidarity@gmail.com.


We are now on Facebook and Substack! Please subscribe and tell friends. Better still, people can email us at 2022ukrainesolidarity@gmail.com, and we’ll send them the bulletin direct every Monday. The full-scale Russian assault on Ukraine is going into its third year: we’ll keep information and analysis coming, for as long as it takes.

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News From Ukraine 💣 Bulletin 202

National Secular Society ★ MLAs in Northern Ireland vote to abolish common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel.


The National Secular Society has welcomed a "historic" vote which brings the UK one step closer to ending blasphemy laws.

MLAs in Northern Ireland have voted to support an amendment to the Justice Bill to abolish the common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel. MLAs voted 57 in favour, 24 against.

NI is the last UK nation to retain blasphemy laws: they were abolished in England and Wales in 2008 and in Scotland in 2021. The NSS has campaigned to uphold freedom of expression and end blasphemy laws since its founding in 1866.

The NSS worked closely with Alliance MLA Connie Egan who tabled the amendment. It also briefed MLAs before the vote, urging them to support the amendment.

The Justice Bill is expected to pass its final legislative stages this autumn.

Blasphemy offences "have no place in a modern society that values free expression"

During the debate, Egan said it was "outrageous" that NI still has blasphemy laws "especially as this society does so much to promote freedom to practise, and freedom from, religion". She thanked the NSS and other groups for their "incredibly valuable" input.

Continue @ NSS. 

Success! NSS Welcomes “Historic” Vote To End Blasphemy Laws In The UK

Right Wing Watch 👀 Written by Kyle Mantyla.


As Right Wing Watch has noted multiple times in the past, one of the defining characteristics of Christian nationalist activists is a willingness to misrepresent history, as time after time they spread debunked myths and blatant falsehoods in defense of their right-wing ideology.

This tendency was put on display by right-wing anti-LGBTQ Christian apologist Alex McFarland during a recent episode of "The Truth & Liberty Show," when he baselessly claimed that our nation's form of government was "modeled after the ecclesiology of the Presbyterian Church."

"Truth is on our side," McFarland declared. "We're a Judeo-Christian representative constitutional republic. We're a republic."

"I don't know if you know this, America has a Presbyterian form of government," he continued. 

Just like there's pastors, teachers, and elders; well, there is an executive branch, a legislative branch, and a judicial branch. Our three-tiered form of government with checks and balances and accountability, we were really modeled after the ecclesiology of the Presbyterian Church.

"You know who said that?" McFarland added. "Our first president, George Washington."

Washington, of course, never said anything of the sort.

Continue @ RWW.

'Truth Is On Our Side' 🪶Alex McFarland Spreads False Christian Nationalist History

Lynx By Ten To The Power Of Two Thousand And Twenty Three

 

Pastords @ 51

 

A Morning Thought @ 3196

Anthony McIntyre ☠ Bosnia and Herzegovina’s national team have been eliminated from the World Cup. 

While they definitely lost to the USA in the round of thirty two knock out stage, they are not losers. That is a crown touched by Midas and which sits plum on the malodorous head of the Football Association of Ireland.

Since they first arrived on the other side of the Atlantic for the tournament the fans of Bosnia and Herzegovina took to the streets of Toronto in their thousands to bang drums and chant Palestina. When they arrived in Seattle for the match against Qatar, they crowded into the stadium waving their Palestinian flags and chanting Free Palestine. They did likewise for their clash with the USA in Santa Clara. As New Arab reported:

Despite their early departure, Bosnian fans’ consistent displays of solidarity with Palestine will be remembered as one of the highlights of the World Cup.

Lejla Turcilo, a professor at the University of Sarajevo’s Department of Communication said:

We very well know how important it is for a nation that is suffering to have someone who will keep mentioning it worldwide.

And what does the FAI mention worldwide? That Israel despite its genocide in Gaza is a worthy opponent rather than a leprous state that should be forced to ring a bell to warn of its approach towards civilisation rather than tolling a bell for the Palestinians it is murdering in Gaza and the West Bank on a daily basis.

The words of the professor should shame the FAI:

Bosnians (and Bosniaks especially) know very well how it feels to be exposed to genocide and how it feels to fight not only aggressors, but also to fight for justice and the right to be heard and supported globally. In that context, we stand for Palestine maybe even more than others. We have been in the same shoes, and it is our obligation to let Palestinian people know that we feel them and understand them.

Given the history of Ireland's trauma at the hands of the British you would imagine that the FAI would get this and and back her call for the Palestinian cause to be heard and supported globally. But the FAI choose to ignore it and instead promote on a global stage the legitimacy of the genocidal regime and the most war-like state on the planet.

Saleem Al-Ashqar played soccer. He was goalkeeper of the Khadamat Khan Younis club in the South of Gaza. Last Wednesday the Israelis murdered him. What made him a target? He was cycling to refill a gas cylinder for his family when an Israeli panzer rained heavy artillery down on him. Married just five months ago, his widow is expecting their first child.

Since Israel launched its genocidal project in 2003, it has butchered 1,009 sportspeople, 567 of whom are footballers.

This seems not to count in the minds of the FAI who believe getting six points is more important that showing solidarity with 567 murdered soccer players.

Last week, the US Presbyterian Church voted to recognize Israeli actions in Gaza as genocide. Its spokesperson said:

The General Assembly, which reflects this diversity, spoke in a unified voice against genocide and for measures that will hopefully contribute to the liberation of Palestine.

The Church voted unanimously to disinvest from Palantir and GE Aerospace. The first helps the IDF target Palestinians while the second profits from making engines for fighter jets and helicopters for use by the Israeli military.

The combined action of the US Presbyterians and the Bosnia and Herzegovina supporters puts the FAI to shame.

Next Wednesday an extraordinary general meeting of the FAI will take place. The Board disgracefully is asking the members to endorse the decision to play the games at so called neutral venues. But as Raymond Deane pointed out in a recent letter to the Irish Times, Serbia's foreign minister described Israel as one of its closest friends and key strategic partners, and that under the recently ousted Viktor Orban, Hungary was the most unconditional pro-EU member. The FAI might as well play the matches in Israel.

This is a farce. The FAI really need to stop playing games with its membership and the wider public. It can either stop the game or continue with its rebranding as the Farce Association of Ireland.

⏩Follow on Bluesky.

Farce Association Of Ireland

Geordie Morrow 🖌 with a painting from his collection of art work. 


⏩Geordie Morrow is a Belfast artist.

Waiting And Hoping And Wishing And Praying

Jonathan Traynor🔖 answers thirteen questions in Booker's Dozen.

 Reading Aloud And Allowed


TPQ: What are you currently reading?

JT: Alan Moore’s The Great When. It may be two years since it was published but only getting around to it now. The prose and premise are both brilliant.

TPQ: Best and worst books you have ever read?

JT: Stephen King’s The Stand is his masterpiece and set the bar so high in terms of speculative fiction few have been able to reach it.

Worst? Any of the Famous Five books forced upon generations of children. Even as a child I hated them. I didn’t know the word at the time but they are so fucking twee and a world removed from my experiences as a kid growing up in north Belfast during the Troubles.

TPQ: Book most cherished as a child?

JT: A set of encyclopedias my parents and aunts bought me until I had a complete collection. The facts, science and history sparked an interest in the world, and the first flames of imagination towards possibilities. That and my annual Christmas present, the Guinness Book of Records. It was there I discovered Deep Purple was the then loudest band in the world. I can attest, with the recurring Tinnitus, that this record will have been surpassed after seeing Motorhead and Manowar.

TPQ: Favourite Childhood author?

JT: Whoever penned and illustrated the early editions of 2000AD.

TPQ: First book to really own you?

JT: There were two, and both followed seeing television adaptations. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I bought the book after the first BBC2 airing. It was much funnier, had a Wodehousian sense of whimsy, while making serious points via humour. I read it in one day and have re-read it and its sequels many times since.

The other was Salem’s Lot (why did my parents let a 12-year-old watch that). I went to the library, where I was refused a copy. My mother went there after I told her and remonstrated until I was loaned a copy. The book was much scarier than the TV series. To paraphrase King: when you stop imagining monsters under the bed you may label yourself as an adult, but the fear still lives inside.

Student browses Books At A Library In San Francisco, California
Photo @ Paul Chinn

TPQ: Favourite male and female author?

JT: What! That is like picking a favourite child. But I shall narrow it down. Female author, Ursula Le Guin. Dealing with real political and societal issues in sci-fi and fantasy, while inspiring generations of writers. Also, you may note from her Earthsea Trilogy there is a young wizard with a scar. Who does that remind you of?

As to male writers, I’ve agonized over answering that. However, I’ve narrowed it down to two. Stephen King. Sneered at initially by critics and the literary circles he has proved his worth at developing characters, showing their vulnerabilities and strength.

The other is Clive Barker. After picking up a copy of Weaveworld on the basis of the cover I was hooked in minutes. Barker’s ability to make fiction darker and more extreme can send shivers down the spine of the most cynical reader. Also, his fantasy books are intense in the worlds he weaves.

Honourable mention to Iain Banks.

TPQ: A preference for fact or fiction?

JT: No preference. A good book is a good book. From Al Murray’s stupendously detailed book Arnhem: Black Tuesday through to the aforementioned Alan Moore it is a matter of confidence in what will be delivered.

TPQ: Biography, autobiography or memoir that most impressed you?

JT: Duff McKagan’s It’s So Easy (and other lies) is a brutally honest account of the toll of drink and drugs and redemption. Having met him he is also a really nice guy. Close behind would be Nikki Sixx’s Heroin Diaries.


TPQ: Any author or book you point blank refuse to read?

JT: Jeffrey Archer and icky romance happy ending authors.

TPQ: A book to share with somebody so that they would more fully understand you?

JT: My forthcoming book Fist Can Be A Verb… or any Stephen King book.

Chinese Sculpture - Strength Of Mind Built By Reading

TPQ: Last book you gave as a present?

JT: Earl Black and the Daemons of the British Empire, by me, to my daughter.

TPQ: Book you would most like to see turned into a movie?

JT: Iain M. Banks’ The Player of Games, but only with a good screenwriter and a sympathetic director. Alternatively my book Race The Undead as I need the money from selling the rights.

TPQ: The just must - select one book you simply have to read before you close the final page on life.

JT: War and Peace because I would be stubborn enough to fight off any illness to finish it.

📖 Jonathan Traynor is a freelance journalist, Liverpool FC fan, metal devotee and author. His books can be purchased via Amazon.

Booker's Dozen 📚 Jonathan Traynor

Lynx By Ten To The Power Of Two Thousand And Twenty Two

 

A Morning Thought @ 3195


Azar Majedi ★ Rumours and news about the deep corruption of FIFA* have been circulating for some time. 

This corruption must be examined from different angles. It is essential to scrutinize and expose the role of major international institutions that play a significant part in political, cultural and ideological spheres.

This year's World Cup has created a lot of noise. While Russia has been excluded from the World Cup due to the war in Ukraine, the United States, which is currently attacking Iran, recently occupied Venezuela, bombed Nigeria, officially threatens Cuba and Zambia, and is directly involved in the Middle East war, has been chosen to host the World Cup. Neither the mainstream media nor international institutions nor governments have challenged this double standard.

One important event before the World Cup has either been forgotten or is made to be forgotten: the astonishing fact that FIFA President Gianni Infantino was invited by Trump to the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt in October 2025! At the end of the summit, Infantino declared:

It was a historic day, really. A historic day for the Middle East...for the world and . . .  for the peace... For me and for FIFA is very import to be here, to help, to assist, to put ourselves at the disposal of what we can do to make sure that this peace process comes to fruition and best possible end.

One must ask what FIFA and its president have to do with the peace process, the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the future of Gaza and the region. The answer lies in the money. They have certainly negotiated about FIFA’s investment in the “Palestinian Riviera” project behind closed doors. Another astonishing event is the creation of the “Peace Prize” by FIFA. Infantino presented the first Peace Prize to Donald Trump on December 6, 2025. First, Trump invites Infantino to the Middle East Peace Summit; less than two months later, the newly created FIFA Peace Prize is presented to Trump, and the United States is selected in the draw to host the World Cup.

FIFA's role and contribution in promoting and help establishing the Western imperialist ideology is undeniable. This corruption has been demonstrated more clearly in this year's World Cup. The racist discrimination of the US government in its treatment of some teams and their fans from Africa, the Middle East or Latin America has provoked many protests. FIFA stayed nonchalant vis a vis these major and obvious discriminations. It ignores them as minor issues. The lack of response from FIFA and Western governments has exposed the blatant racism of Western imperialism. Any mask of superior Western civilization, democracy, human rights, equal and progressive laws has been completely torn off. The racist and supremacist culture and bullying policies of America have been laid bare before the eyes of the world.

Football is one of the most popular sports in the world. In many countries, football is a national sport. Many people from all over the world, with different cultures and languages, love this sport. That is why football has become one of the most profitable sports, generating billions of dollars of profit for its owners and managers. For example, it is predicted that FIFA will earn more than $13 billion from this World Cup. Ticket prices have increased dramatically. A ticket for the final match costs $10,000. In addition to money and profit, football is an important tool in the hands of the ruling class to impose political-ideological narratives. The World Cup is one of the most watched sports in the world.

If at least a few years ago the World Cup and FIFA were considered respected institutions that consolidated the supremacy of Western culture and politics worldwide, this image has been challenged for a few years now. FIFA’s corruption and theft are being discussed more and more. Perhaps, the first time FIFA and the World Cup faced serious attacks, criticism and revelations was during the previous World Cup. The choice of Qatar to host the World Cup created a huge scandal; because it was proven that the draw was rigged and that FIFA had taken bribes from Qatar.

But even more importantly was the scandal of using slaves to build a stadium in Qatar. The brutal exploitation of migrant workers, which led to the murder of more than 6,500 people, sparked outrage. But despite global protests, the World Cup went ahead without a hitch and no one was prosecuted for these crimes.

Now all the attention is focused on the naked racism of the United States. Examples: The United States denied entry to the Somali referee, Omar Abdulkadir, who had officially travelled to the United States as a World Cup referee and on a diplomatic passport, his phone and tablet were confiscated and then he was put on a plane to Turkey. The Senegalese team was stopped as soon as they got off the plane and each of them was security searched. The Uzbek players were also searched for a long time. The Iraqi team's vice-captain was questioned for 7 hours at the airport; during this time, the Iraqi team and all its staff were detained at the airport, and in the end, the team photographer was expelled.

A number of key management and administrative staff of the Iranian team were not granted visas. The entire team managed to obtain visas only ten days before the first match. The Iranian team is allowed to enter the United States only to play in the match but they have to return to Mexico immediately after each match.

The racist discrimination and in line with the imperialist policy of the United States in the World Cup have caused a complete scandal for the United States, Western governments, and FIFA. Every mask has been torn off and the depth of their political-racial supremacist ideology has been exposed. The shaky edifice of Western civilization has collapsed.

*FIFA is a private organization that is not bound by national or international laws. FIFA sets its own rules and regulations. FIFA’s headquarter is based in Switzerland and is tax-exempt. FIFA's revenue from the 2026 World Cup alone is expected to exceed $13 billion. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has said that 15,000 children are trafficked from West Africa to Europe every year through FIFA pipelines. Traffickers lure parents with the dream of their son becoming a football star, and most of them end up in slavery, with about 25 percent of them left homeless on the streets, where they fall prey to drug trafficking, mafia or sexual exploitation. FIFA has so far taken no action in this regard.

⏩ Asar Majed is the Chairperson of Organisation for Women’s Liberation.

FIFA And The World Cup Scandal ⚽From Slavery To Naked Racism

Irish Republicans who fought fascism in the Spanish Civil War will be commemorated this weekend.

Date: 11-July-2006

Time: 1pm.

Assembly Point: Brian Boru Park, Harts Corner.

Destination: Frank Ryan Memorial, Glasnevin Cemetery. 

 


Remembering Irish Republicans Who Fought Fascism

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