Ukraine 4 Rojava. Ukraine-Kurdistan Solidarity Chronology
With this article, we would like to reach out to the Kurdish liberation movement and its allies around the world to establish friendship and cement our bond in the global anti-imperialist war. The war for our survival. A war for a better, just, free and peaceful future. We have the same path, so let’s be each other’s support!
Original article was published on February 15, 2023. We translated, edited and complemented it with the new events.
We would like to tell our Kurdish friends and colleagues about the actions of solidarity with them in Ukraine to concretize the parallels and commonalities we see in our struggle.
This article is available and can be read on the website of the magazine "Nyzovyna" as well.
For Ukrainian leftists, support for the Kurdish movement mostly began after the events of the Arab Spring and the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2012. However, in Ukrainian history, we can find examples of interest, awareness, and sympathy for the fate of the Kurds, which is so similar to our own. For example, Vasyl Symonenko’s wonderful poem "To a Kurdish Brother" (March 8, 1963):
The mountains scream, drenched in blood,
The stars are falling down:
Into fragrant valleys, wounded and torn,
The hungry chauvinism invades.
Oh Kurd, take care of your ammo,
But do not spare the lives of the murderers!
On the bastards of lawlessness and robbery
Fall down like a bloody tornado!
Talk to them with bullets,
They have come not only for good:
They have come to take your name and language,
To make your son a bastard.
You cannot live in harmony with the oppressor:
He is to "rule", you are to pull the cart!
It feeds on the blood of the tormented peoples.
Our worst enemy is chauvinism.
The Opressor has betrothed treachery with shame,
He will do everything to make you submit…
Oh Kurd, take care of your ammo,
Without it, you cannot save your people.
Do not lull the power of hatred.
Then hospitality will be your motto,
When he falls into the open grave
The last chauvinist on the planet.
Our academic and intellectual circles also discussed the events in the Middle East, but in general, it should be said that level of awareness here was very low. It’s also worth mentioning that our own historical processes have begun that time: The Maidan and the Revolution of Dignity in 2013-2014, the annexation of Crimea, the occupation of Donbas, and the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Even before these events, the Ukrainian liberation forces were already in decline due to internal problems and contradictions. There was a significant rise of the far-right. We failed to become an influential force on the Maidan, and with the outbreak of war, most people were unable to develop an adequate position and mobilize to counter threats. Therefore, we began a long process of rebuilding our own activist Milieu, which was also influenced by the experience of you, our Kurdish comrades.
One more important point needs to be made here to understand the Ukrainian context: the Ukrainian national idea emerged in the 19th century, partly because of the oppression of Russian imperialism, which lasted more than 500 years. Ethnic Ukrainians and other nationalities suffered oppression similar to that of the Kurds under the Turkish rule: our language was banned and eradicated, our identity was deformed and denied, our cultural achievements were appropriated, people were assimilated, exterminated by deportations, hard labor and famine, and those who resisted were tortured, imprisoned and sent to concentration camps, shot and buried in mass graves. All of this also applies to the 20th century, when Ukraine was part of the USSR.
During the 70 years of the "red empire", our demographic situation has changed dramatically. Today’s Ukraine is a multi-ethnic country where more than 100 nationalities coexist. For a long time, ethnic Russians were the second largest group here. Before the war broke out in 2014, many people (mostly from the east of the country) went for work to Moscow, the new metropolis. And until the full-scale invasion of Russia, most Ukrainians spoke Russian. As far as we know, this is similar to the situation of Kurds living in Turkey who are forced to speak Turkish and be called Turks.
Unfortunately, we have not been able to sever or profitably restructure political, economic and cultural ties with the Russian Federation. And thanks to the actions of pro-Russian agents in the government, this connection has only deepened, and we have fallen under the influence of Russia, which has been developing its own authoritarian and technocratic social model for several decades. In 2014, our people tried to put an end to this, but 10 years have passed, and there is no end in sight to our long struggle…
It continues for the aforementioned Ukrainian national idea. This idea has several political orientations: a far-right and radical nationalist project, a moderate nationalist project, a neoliberal project, and others. We are developing a left-wing project, and to do so, we turn to the experience of various movements, including the Kurdish movement, which we deeply respect.
We need reliable allies, because only together we can build a peaceful, free, just, ecological, decentralized, rational, and sustainable society in Europe, the Middle East, and around the world.
We hope the Ukraine 4 Rojava Committee and our activities will contribute to our unity!
For deeper understanding of our context right before the full-scale Russian invasion, we recommend you to read this amazing collectively made article published on the CrimethInc.
The connection between Ukraine and Kurdistan is impossible to imagine without Dmytry Petrov and his research project "HEVALE: Revolution in Kurdistan". It began in 2015 and has become the main source of not only information about Rojava and the events there, but also a means of conveying the most important ideas and practical conclusions. Dima tried to separate the wheat from the chaff and give his comrades the most valuable things — the pearls of experience of the Kurdish liberation project. It was he who introduced Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian comrades to the history of your struggle.
Dmitry Petrov was an anarcho-communist, revolutionary, anti-fascist street fighter, trade union activist, eco-saboteur, partisan, and pagan, who stood at the dawn of insurgent anarchism in the late 00s in Russia; he was a fierce opponent of the Putin regime and any imperialism. Especially Russian imperialism. He had a PhD in history from Moscow State University, and was the author, translator, and editor of a number of books on the Rojava and Kurdish revolutionary struggles. Dima was also a co-founder of the Combat Organization of Anarchist-Communists (BOAK).
Dima was a participant in the failed protests on Bolotnaya Square in 2012. Then he came to the Maidan in Kyiv, where he learned from the experience and tried to steer the events in a more anarchic direction. After that, he went on his first trip to Kurdistan. He visited the Makhmour camp in Iraq, but was unable to get to Rojava. He was so inspired by what he saw there that he created the HEVALE project and began outreach work: writing and translating articles, holding educational events, and telling people about Rojava.
In 2017, he traveled to Kurdistan for the second time, where, as we realize now, he met many wonderful friends from all over the world. They also came to Ukraine after January 24, 2022, responding to our call for international solidarity. Toward the end of his stay in Rojava, he got news about repressions that the Russian government had launched against activists. They came to Dima too. So he decided not to return home but to go to Ukraine.
"This is where the revolutionary epicenter is located and where the end of Putin’s Russia will begin," he explained his choice.
Unfortunately, on April 19, 2023, Dmitry was killed by mortar fire while performing a combat mission near Bakhmut. Two other comrades died with him: Finbar 'Cia' Cafferkey from Ireland and Cooper Andrews from USA. Dima left us his revolutionary message and a great legacy that shows us the Way.
Below is a brief chronology of events that took place in Ukraine and are related to Rojava/AANES.
The information field in Ukraine broke through with the emergence of ISIS and the siege of Kobane on September 13, 2014. We closely followed those events, learned how to help and what could be done, and shared information among our communities.
In Ukraine, the state persecution of Kurds began in 2016, which is connected to the growing ties between official Kyiv and Ankara.
February 2017 — Kurdish publicist Riza Can was detained and deported at the Odesa airport on the request of Turkey. The Turkish side suspected him of supporting PKK.
February 27, 2017 — another Turkish citizen is detained in Odesa, wanted for links to the Kurdish resistance.
April 3, 2017 — a Kurdish activist is detained in Odesa on suspicion of having links to the KCK. He was arrested right in the office of the State Migration Service, where he had applied for refugee status. He managed to stay in Ukraine, but his fate is unknown.
January 23, 2018 — the Association of Kurdish NGOs "Midia" held a press conference "The Situation of the Kurds in the Middle East and the Fight Against Terrorism" over the Turkish military operation "Olive Branch", which began on January 20 and ended with the occupation of Afrin. The Association called for a diplomatic settlement of the conflict in northern Syria. The recording of the press conference is available here.
Also on this day, the first Ukrainian solidarity rally with Rojava was held near the Turkish Embassy. The participants of the action opposed the occupation of Afrin.
October 9, 2019 — police disrupted a solidarity rally with Rojava in Odesa. Three people were detained but later released. Administrative reports were drawn up against them.
October 11, 2019 — a rally in front of the Turkish Embassy in Kyiv against Turkey’s latest military operation called “Source of Peace.”
“We demand that Turkey stop the invasion of northern Syria. We demand that Turkey stop the war in which it is allegedly fighting terrorists. We demand to stop the extermination of Kurds, ” the organizers said.
During the rally, embassy staff attacked the protesters, tore up posters and hit one of the protesters, Anna Tsyba, in the face. Police refused to start an investigation or a criminal case, and the attackers were not held accountable.
A few days later, a second rally was held near the embassy, during which people spoke in support of Rojava and demanded that the attackers be punished. For us, these actions were an important events that united various activist groups.
October 16, 2019 — the Kurdish diaspora held its own rally in front of the US Embassy in Kyiv. They also protested against the Turkish military operation in northern Syria.
October 27, 2019 — blowing up a cell tower in Russian-occupied Donetsk.
Hrihory Sinchenko was arrested and tortured on suspicion of involvement in these actions. The communique of the action read:
"This was done to draw attention to the inhuman torture in the basements of the MGB (Russian special services in Donetsk — U4R note). Ill-treatment and tying electric wires to the limbs have become the norm in the ‘people’s’ republics."
After his detention, Hrihory was transferred to Ukraine, but he sneaked to the occupied territories to continue his resistance. He is still in a Russian captivity — you can write letters to support him.
The sabotage was dedicated to the memory of Mikhail Zhlobitsky, a 19-year-old anarcho-communist who in 2017 set off a self-detonation at the FSB building in Arkhangelsk and inspired BOAK activists to wage their own struggle on both sides of the border.
October 29, 2019 — a rally in support of Rojava in Odesa.
November 11-12, 2019 — the first arson attack on a Turkcell cell tower in Kyiv. The group “Cell of Revolutionary Solidarity” claimed responsibility. In their communique, they disclosed the details of the action:
"In October 2019, the Turkish state invaded northern Syria. The target of the aggression was the Democratic Federation of Northern and Eastern Syria (Rojava). Due to the fault of the rulers, blood is once again being shed, civilians are dying and suffering. Turkish President Erdogan’s goal is to destroy the revolutionary autonomy of the Syrian Kurds. The revolutionaries of Kurdistan are building a society of people’s self-government without a state, and Rojava has become an example for the Kurds of Turkey. Therefore, the “Turkish Sultan” started a new war.
On the night of November 10-11, we destroyed two Lifecell cell towers in [Kyiv region]. Lifecell is wholly owned by Turkcell, the largest mobile operator in the Turkish state. As a large corporate taxpayer, Turkcell is an indirect sponsor of the Erdogan regime’s aggression. The operator’s ties to Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, the basis of the current system in the country, are widely known. For this reason, we consider Turkcell’s property to be a legitimate target for sabotage.
We stand in solidarity with the revolutionaries and people of Kurdistan. They are fighting against occupation and oppression for freedom and social justice. We call on all concerned people to take part in the resistance.
Freedom to the peoples — death to the empires!"
The action was covered by several major state-owned media outlets, allowing tens of thousands of people to learn about Rojava and the horrors of the Turkish invasion.
December 10-11, 2019 — anarchists set fire to another Lifecell tower in Kyiv. Communique of the 'Makhnovists' group:
"On the night of December 10, a group of anarchists set fire to the mobile operator’s tower… We attacked Lifecell because this operator belongs to the Turkish company Turkcell. Turkcell is an accomplice to the Erdogan regime’s aggression against the people’s self-government in Kurdistan. The latest episode of this criminal policy is the invasion of the Democratic Federation of Northern and Eastern Syria (Rojava) by Turkish troops in October 2019.
Turkcell builds its towers in the territories of Syria captured by the Turkish government, as it did in Afrin, Shahba and Idlib. Wherever Erdogan’s soldiers enter, a mobile network controlled by the Ankara authorities appears. Kurdish guerrillas are destroying Turkcell towers — we are happy to take the torch of struggle from their hands. Revolutionary resistance and solidarity know no state borders or national frames.
We also attacked Lifecell/Turkcell as a response to the October 11 incident near the Turkish Embassy in Kyiv, where anarchists and representatives of the Kurdish diaspora organized a peaceful protest against the Erdogan regime’s aggression. Embassy staff attacked the demonstrators and hit the face of one of the protesters. Violence must not go unanswered.
Freedom to the peoples — death to the empires!"
February 2020 Anna Tsyba (a woman who was beaten by the Turkish embassy employee) discovered that the SBU (Ukrainian intelligence service) had gained remote access to her Telegram account correspondence and tried to take over her Facebook page.
"A week later, the investigator in my case, Volodymyr Shvydkyi, invited me to talk to him and said that I was “still a victim”. The meeting was strange," Anna recalled in her conversation with human rights activists.
In the spring of the same year, activists got their hands on an internal police document from their own sources — a scheme with criminal investigations of the telecommunications equipment arsons. It showed that law enforcement officers were conducting several criminal cases of intentional damage to property, which they believed to be the work of the BOAK. The police were also checking the participants of the rally for involvement in the arson attacks.
The full story can be read here.
March 8-9, 2020 — arson of the third Turkcell tower. Communique from the action of the group "Children of Mama Anarchy":
"We have set fire to the tower of Turkish operator Lifecell / Turkcell because the company supports Erdogan’s violent policy against the anti-authoritarian movement in Kurdistan.
On the night of March 8 to 9, we sent a fiery hello to all the women fighters in Rojava, Bakur and Bashur. Hello YJA STAR, YPJ, IFB and other volunteer fighters! Erdogan, a Turkish dictator, "devil’s brother and comrade," must die.
Death to all tyrants — from Erdogan to Putin!"
September 11, 2020 — the abduction of Isa Oder (a member of the PKK) in Odesa.
January 4, 2021 — in the article of Yusuf Aladag on the abduction of Isa Oder, he names GUR’s (Defence Intelligence of Ukraine) colonel Oleg Alisherovich Akhmedov (19.02.1975), one of the perpetrators of the Kurdish abduction. He also claims that this man was recruited by MIT back in 2009. For some time, Akhmedov worked for the Turks in Kherson, where he tracked down Kurdish families and their activities in different cities of Ukraine.
July 6, 2021 — in Kyiv, the SBU searched the homes of four people they believed to be involved in the anarchist movement. Two of them were Belarusians whom the SBU wanted to deport. Together, anarchists managed to defend them. Two other people were mentioned in the case of the arson of Turkcell cell towers, but the security services were unable to prove their involvement.
November 10, 2021 — the creation of UANTIFA, an activist media outlet that regularly covers events in Rojava/AANES, expresses solidarity and mobilizes people in support of the Kurdish revolutionary project.
April 25, 2022 — a symbolic action of solidarity in front of the Turkish Embassy in Kyiv against the military operation “Claw-Lock”. The action took place at the time of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
November 28, 2022 — a symbolic action of solidarity with Rojava/AANES from the Russo-Ukrainian front by Dmitry Petrov. Later, Ukraine’s ambassador in Turkey called the photo a fake and Russian provocation, obviously fearing for the future cooperation between the governments of Ukraine and Turkey. Comrades explained the action as follows:
“At the front in Ukraine, there are those who want freedom for Kurdistan. They are not fighting for officials who make unfair and slanderous statements, but for a free Ukrainian society.”
July 19, 2024 — U4R Committee organized and held a celebration of the 12th anniversary of the revolution in Rojava.
December 25, 2025 — U4R Committee posted a solidarity video from the Ukrainian freedom fighters with words of support for the Kurdish liberation movement facing a new stage of aggression from Turkey and its proxies. They said next:
Ukrainian freedom fighters send their revolutionary greetings to our Kurdish comrades. From the trenches of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war for existence and independence of our people to the mountains and sands of your popular war in Kurdistan.Your example is an inspiration for us! Together we will defeat Russian imperialism and Turkish fascism!
Berxwedana jiyane!
Biji Berxwedana Kurdistan!
Biji Berxwedana Ukraina!
Biji Serok APO!
We will continue to add to the chronology of Ukraine’s solidarity with Rojava.
We hope to meet new organizations and initiatives to grow and strengthen each other on the common way to freedom of Kurdistan, Ukraine and other people.
Our contacts:
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Berxwedana jiyane!
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