By New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined other anti-fascist activists protesting opposite the residence of devoted Zelensky fan Sir Keir Starmer in Whitehall calling for an end to British military, financial and “advisory” support for the Banderite regime in Kiev. While some of those passing by were clearly unhappy to see our protest, many people gave thumbs up signs and vehicles beeped to
show their support.

The protest was organised by International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity (IUAFS), which has campaigned since 2017 in solidarity with Ukrainian anti-fascists and democrats, both
inside Ukraine and the millions living in exile.

With events in Venezuela, Cuba, and of course the horrific American–Israeli aggression against Iran and Lebanon, the ongoing struggle against Azov-Right Sector repression in Ukraine has been overshadowed, but members of IUAFS are determined to continue their campaign until the Ukrainian people are liberated from the Nazi plague.

Demonstrations were held across Western Europe in support of the Kononovich brothers who
led the communist youth movement in Ukraine before their arrest in 2022.

The brothers say their electronic ankle tags, which were attached when they were released
from prison to allow the authorities to control their movements, have now been removed at a police station without a court order.

While this sounds at first like a benefit, the unofficial removal of their monitors also puts the
brothers at increased risk. They are not assigned to any government agency, which means no
agency can be held responsible should a ‘tragic accident’ occur.

“We think we’ll disappear somewhere in the recruitment office, or be murdered at a training ground,” the brothers said. “Dear comrades, please be vigilant during these tense days! We have information that the Zelensky regime is preparing another charge under Article 111 (treason, life imprisonment) against us; they could put us in prison. Anything could happen; the Zelensky regime will resort to anything, even murder.”

The two brothers were last arrested in 2025 for “conscientious objection” to participation in NATO’s proxy war against Russia.

In March 2022, they were arrested and charged with “acts aimed at seizing state power”
as well as the dissemination of “materials calling for the violent overthrow of the government”. They were later transferred from prison to house arrest.

Mikhail Kononovich was the general secretary of the Ukrainian Komsomol, The Communist Party of Ukraine’s youth movement.

The fascist regime banned both the Communist Party of Ukraine and the Komsomol in
2015, and all their assets were seized in 2022 following the Russian intervention to defend
the people of the Donbas.