War veteran Zvirobiy targeted with search, potential criminal cases

Maria Zvirobiy, an outspoken Donbas war veteran, was targeted
on Nov. 28 with a search of her residence by Alfa special forces officers
during which she said two rifles were confiscated. Also confiscated was a
notebook and a mobile phone. The State Bureau of Investigations is considering
criminal charges against Bilenka for actions aimed at the violent overthrow of
the constitutional order and threatening a state official, the pravda.com.ua
news site reported.

Recall, European Solidarity MP Sofiya Fedyna was
issued a draft notice of suspicion on Nov. 28 for the crime of threatening the
murder of a president. During an Oct. 26 Internet livestream, both Fedyna and
Zvirobiy vented against President Zelensky’s conduct during his visit to the
Donbas warfront, as well as his plans for peace with Russia, what they and
their allies consider to be capitulation.

“They will blow you up, I promise you. Anyone will
blow you up there. You go visit there more often. I want for you to visit there
more often. The boys simply weren’t morally ready for you,” Zvirobiy said during
the livestream.

Zenon Zawada: A criminal
charge against an MP like Sofiya Fedyna for an indirect threat could be
justified by some stretch of the imagination. Yet pursuing such charges against
a war veteran venting her emotions on the Internet, also with indirect threats,
is an overreaction, even if the two were sitting side-by-side.

This incident is further evidence that the Zelensky
administration is preparing for a peace deal with Russia, with the anticipation
that the opposition will be fierce. And the Zelensky administration has decided
to pull out the very first weeds of this opposition, as a sign to all others
who will challenge its actions.

Yet the pro-Western forces and paramilitaries are not
the least bit intimidated by Zelensky, and merely perceive this as the latest
sign of disrespect against them. It remains to be seen how they will react to
Zelensky’s Donbas peace deal, but a maidan protest will be a likely element of
the resistance.

Zelensky has already said he won’t try to forbid a
maidan protest. His actions so far indicate he will pursue vigorously criminal
charges against all those who step out of line.