Ukraine: Far-right attack against left-wing historian Vladislav Starodubtsev

The brazen attack perpetrated by far-right extremists against Vladislav Starodubtsev, left-wing historian and veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian War, in the center of Lviv, was a new act of political street terrorism aimed at repressing civil liberties.

By Ukrainian Socialist League (LSU)

He 18 October 2026, Aggressive, masked youths violently interrupted an educational conference titled “Lviv on the left: Brief history of a long tradition”, dedicated to the historical origins of the 19th century labor movement in Western Ukraine and Lviv. As a result of the brutal beating, Vladislav was injured and hospitalized. The organizers of the attack, led by former Lviv councilor, Ihor Sholtys (“Schultz”), They immediately launched a cynical disinformation campaign in the media. They try to legitimize their crime under the motto of “save the state”, deliberately distorting Vladislav Starodubtsev's position and manipulating facts through the media they control.

The Ukrainian Socialist League (LSU) expresses its support and solidarity with Vladislav and emphasizes that the paramilitary violence of the extreme right is destroying the country from within, at a time when Ukraine is waging a tough war against an external aggressor: Russia. We strongly demand an end to far-right terrorism in Ukraine. Incidents like this provide abundant material for Russian imperialist propaganda to accuse Ukraine of “neo-nazismo”. The Ukrainian government loudly proclaims its aspirations to join the European Union and its support for European values. Nevertheless, Any collusion on his part in the face of such provocations would clearly demonstrate the veracity of these intentions.. We will keep our colleagues from the International Socialist League informed. (LIS) around the world about the events surrounding this brutal incident and the response of the Ukrainian authorities.