UKRAINE — A Jewish oligarch reportedly paid people to paint swastikas around Ukraine, during the months preceding the Russian invasion.
According to a report in Rolling Stone Magazine, a Russian-linked Jewish businessman paid locals to spray-paint swastikas in Kharkiv, in order to depict Ukrainians as Nazis. Nazi symbols were reportedly painted in Kyiv as well.
The report quoted an anonymous US official who confirmed the allegations, saying they were well-known inside US intel agencies.
If true, the news is especially significant because Russia has repeatedly claimed its invasion is a “special military operation” to “demilitarize and de-Nazify” the country.
Here’s Kharkiv, a major target. That last piece of graffiti is all over the city. Nazis paint swastikas on walls, and locals turn them into windows. pic.twitter.com/4ayUMQsUjr
— Carl Beijer (@CarlBeijer) February 24, 2022
The story identifies the Oligarch as Pavel Fuks, who amassed most of his wealth from companies in Russia.
Fuks was allegedly “persuaded” by Russian agents to pay thugs to spray Nazi graffiti in Kharkiv, from December through February, when the invasion took place.
The story’s main source says that the Fuks defended himself by saying “he had no choice” and was told that if he did not comply, he would need to cease doing business in Russia.
In addition to his Jewish heritage, Fuks has a history of donating to Jewish causes in Ukraine, including the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial in Kyiv.
This is not the first time the Russians have used Nazi symbols to create unrest.
Former KGB general Oleg Kalugin wrote that Soviet spies vandalized shuls and Jewish cemeteries in New York and Washington during the Cold War.
In February 2020, Russian lawmakers lifted a ban on Nazi symbols, as long as they promote a “negative attitude to Nazi ideology and extremism.”
As reported by Vos Iz Neias