Hunting for “Voron”

The story of russians’ participation in World War II “on the other side” is in stark contrast to the kremlin propaganda. Any attempts to rethink those events are seen by moscow as an information war against russia and debunk the myth of the russians’ decisive role in the victory over Nazism. The topic of hundreds of thousands of russians who are considered traitors, collaborators and agents who collaborated with the Nazis remains a taboo in russia. The kremlin is especially sensitive to any mention of General Vlasov.

The archives of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine contain documents that reveal the operations of the nkgb of the Ukrainian ssr against stalin’s “personal enemy” – the search for and destruction of Vlasov through the creation of an agent network for infiltration into the “russian liberation army” (ROA). The agents were to be used to sabotage and liquidate Vlasov, who was given the codename “Voron” (“Raven”– Transl.). An important condition was the work under deep cover and choosing a legend for each action agent.

Those operations were part of a large-scale campaign aimed at destroying Vlasov. They emphasize the importance which the kremlin attached to the assassination of the “traitor” who, according to soviet leaders, was damaging the reputation of the red army and russians in general. The ROA, which numbered between 100,000 and 120,000 people, seriously undermined the official soviet narrative of the victory over Nazism.

Read more about hunting for “Voron” on the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine’s social media pages.