Chapter 126: Our Tasks

467     "for over ten years Jewish Bolshevist rulers . . .” Associated Press, “Text of Reichsfuehrer Hitler’s Proclamation That Revealed Germany’s War Against Soviet Union,” New York Times, June 23, 1941, nyti.ms/44JrstN,6.

467     “The purpose of this operation is to protect . . .”  “Address by the President of the Russian Federation,” President of Russia, Kremlin, February 24, 2022, en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67843.

467     “to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine”  “Address by the President of the Russian Federation,” President of Russia, February 24, 2022, en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67843.

467     wanted to destroy . . . of a national and cultural identity  See Kate Tsurkan, “Putin Has Forced Ukrainians to View Russian Culture as a Weapon of War,” Atlantic Council, August 8, 2022, www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-has-forced-ukrainians-to-view-russian-culture-as-a-weapon-of-war/; Charlie Smart, “How the Russian Media Spread False Claims About Ukrainian Nazis,” New York Times, July 2, 2022, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/07/02/world/europe/ukraine-nazis-russia-media.html; and Yevhenii Monastyrskyi and John Vsetecka, “Russia is destroying monuments as part of war on Ukrainian identity,” Atlantic Council, August 6, 2024, www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/russia-is-destroying-monuments-as-part-of-war-on-ukrainian-identity/.

467     “Denazification will inevitably include de-Ukrainization . . .”  Timofey Sergeytsev, “What should Russia do with Ukraine?” in Mariia Kravchenko, “What Should Russia Do with Ukraine? [Translation of a propaganda article by a Russian publication],” Medium, April 4, 2022, medium.com/@kravchenko_mm/what-should-russia-do-with-ukraine-translation-of-a-propaganda-article-by-a-russian-journalist-a3e92e3cb64.

467     sent high-ranking Russian officials . . . Our Tasks  Mansur Mirovalev, “Are Putin’s Views Fascist?” Al Jazeera, October 26, 2022, www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/26/how-fascist-are-putins-views.

467     contained . . . on a post-communist Russia  Mirovalev, “Are Putin’s Views Fascist?” www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/26/how-fascist-are-putins-views.

467     exiled Ilyin . . . on Lenin’s orders  Lesley Chamberlain, Lenin’s Private War: The Voyage of the Philosophy Steamer, and the Exile of the Intelligentsia (New York: Picador, 2006), 1–7. Find the library book at search.worldcat.org/title/123912624.

467–468 visited . . . studied Mussolini’s fascism, and grieved . . . Mirovalev, “Are Putin’s Views Fascist?” www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/26/how-fascist-are-putins-views; and Timothy Snyder, The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America (New York: Crown, 2018), 19. Find the library book at search.worldcat.org/title/1029484935.

468     “concentration of state-protective forces”  Ivan Alexandrovich Ilyin, “On Fascism,” 1948, Orthodox Electronic Library of the Odintsovo Deanery, www.odinblago.ru/nashi_zadachi_1/37, via Google Translate.

468     “. . . will always concentrate in a protective-dictatorial direction . . .”  Ilyin, “On Fascism,” www.odinblago.ru/nashi_zadachi_1/37,

468     “fascism was right since it proceeded from . . . ”  Ilyin, “On Fascism,” www.odinblago.ru/nashi_zadachi_1/37,

468     greeted Hitler’s ascension  Mirovalev, “Are Putin’s Views Fascist?” www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/26/how-fascist-are-putins-views; and Snyder, The Road to Unfreedom, 19–20. Find the library book at search.worldcat.org/title/1029484935.

468     did not stop believing fascism . . .  Mirovalev, “Are Putin’s Views Fascist?” www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/26/how-fascist-are-putins-views; and Snyder, The Road to Unfreedom, 33. Find the library book at search.worldcat.org/title/1029484935.

468     has repeatedly quoted Ilyin in his speeches, including . . . Putin closed “with the words of a true patriot Ivan Ilyin: ‘If I consider Russia my Motherland, that means that I love as a Russian, contemplate and think, sing and speak as a Russian; that I believe in the spiritual strength of the Russian people. Its spirit is my spirit; its destiny is my destiny; its suffering is my grief; and its prosperity is my joy.’” Mirovalev, “Are Putin’s Views Fascist?” www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/26/how-fascist-are-putins-views; and “Signing of Treaties on Accession of Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions to Russia,” President of Russia, Kremlin, September 30, 2022, en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/69465.

468     opposed Ukraine’s right to exist  Mirovalev, “Are Putin’s Views Fascist?” www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/26/how-fascist-are-putins-views; and Snyder, The Road to Unfreedom, ix, 23. Find the library book at search.worldcat.org/title/1029484935.

468     Seventeen minutes after  See the timeline of events in Tim Lister et al., “Here’s What We Know About How Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Unfolded,” CNN, February 24, 2022,https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/24/europe/ukraine-russia-attack-timeline-intl. The times provided in this article are in local Ukrainian time, which is one hour behind Moscow time in February.

468     “we do not intend to impose anything . . .” “Address by the President of the Russian Federation,” President of Russia, February 24, 2022, en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67843.

468     struck near  Lister et al., “Here’s What We Know About How Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Unfolded,” www.cnn.com/2022/02/24/europe/ukraine-russia-attack-timeline-intl/index.html.

468     rained down on Kharkiv  Lister et al., “Here’s What We Know About How Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Unfolded,” www.cnn.com/2022/02/24/europe/ukraine-russia-attack-timeline-intl/index.html.

468     rocked other cities. Russian military vehicles . . .  Lister et al., “Here’s What We Know About How Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Unfolded,” www.cnn.com/2022/02/24/europe/ukraine-russia-attack-timeline-intl/index.html; “Ukraine Conflict: What We Know About the Invasion,” BBC News, February 24, 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60504334; and Emma Graham-Harrison et al., “Airstrikes at Dawn as Russia Begins ‘War of Aggression’ with Ukraine,” The Guardian, February 24, 2022, www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/24/airstrikes-dawn-russia-begins-war-aggression-with-ukraine-vladimir-putin.

468     On the day . . . more than 2,500 articles about Ukraine . . . continuing . . .  Smart, “How the Russian Media Spread False Claims About Ukrainian Nazis,” www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/07/02/world/europe/ukraine-nazis-russia-media.html.

469     ordered . . . on the basis of Israel’s right to defend itself  See Prime Minister of Israel, X, October 7, 2023, 5:09 a.m.,x.com/IsraeliPM/status/1710583005230575705, archived at archive.today, February 10, 2026 capture, archive.ph/wip/6NTJv; Prime Minister of Israel, X, October 7, 2023, 10:14 a.m., x.com/IsraeliPM/status/1710659993874190610, archived at archive.today, February 10, 2026 capture, archive.ph/wip/bItIC;
“Promising Merciless War on Hamas, Netanyahu Says Israel Will ‘Avenge This Black Day,’” Times of Israel, October 8, 2023,www.timesofisrael.com/promising-merciless-war-on-hamas-netanyahu-says-israel-will-avenge-this-black-day/.

469     the deadliest and ghastliest attack . . . Prasanta Kumar Dutta, “Protests Sweep Around the Globe as Israel’s War in Gaza Grinds On,” Reuters, November 13, 2023, www.reuters.com/graphics/ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/MAPS/movajdladpa/2023-11-13/protests-sweep-around-the-globe-as-israels-war-in-gaza-grinds-on/.

469     murdered about 1,200 . . . took 251 people as hostages “What Is Hamas and Why Is It Fighting with Israel in Gaza?” BBC News, January 21, 2025, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67039975; and AFP, “Foreigners Killed, Abducted or Missing After Hamas Attack,” France 24, October 18, 2023, updated October 23, 2023, www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231018-foreigners-killed-abducted-or-missing-after-hamas-attack

469     bringing some back to . . . Adolfo Arranz et al., “Inside the Tunnels of Gaza,” Reuters, December 21, 2023, www.reuters.com/graphics/ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/GAZA-TUNNELS/gkvldmzorvb/; and Matt Gutman, “60 Feet Underground in a 3-Foot-Wide Tomb: Freed Israeli Hostage Details Conditions of Hamas Captivity: Reporter’s Notebook,” ABC News, March 17, 2025, abcnews.go.com/International/freed-israeli-hostage-conditions-hamas-captivity-tunnels-gaza/story?id=119753496.

469     to exercise restraint . . . “limited and targeted operation” . . . while not harming . . .  Ruth Michaelson, “Condemnation and Calls for Restraint After Hamas Attack on Israel,” The Guardian, October 7, 2023, www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/07/condemnation-and-calls-for-restraint-after-hamas-attack-on-israel; United Nations, “‘Even War Has Rules’, Secretary-General Tells Security Council, Demanding All Parties in Middle East Uphold International Humanitarian Law, Unrestricted Aid for Gaza,” press release, October 24, 2023, press.un.org/en/2023/sgsm22003.doc.htm; and Yasmeen Abutaleb, “U.S. Cites Intelligence, Offers Israel Supplies to Limit Rafah Operation,” Washington Post, May 11, 2024, www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/11/us-israel-rafah-invasion-palestinians-evacuation/.

469     accused Hamas of hiding behind civilians . . . bombed it all  Human Rights Watch, “‘Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged’: Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians in Gaza,” November 14, 2024, www.hrw.org/report/2024/11/14/hopeless-starving-and-besieged/israels-forced-displacement-palestinians-gaza; “Israel Accuses Hamas of Hiding Weapons Depots Near Civilian Buildings,” Reuters, July 27, 2022, www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-accuses-hamas-hiding-weapons-depots-near-civilian-buildings-2022-07-27/; “How Gaza’s Refugee Camps Became Targets in Israel’s War with Hamas,” CBC News, November 4, 2023, www.cbc.ca/news/world/gaza-refugee-camps-israel-hamas-war-1.7018274; “Israel Ramps Up attacks in Gaza, Striking Schools, Hospitals and Mosques,” Al Jazeera, November 4, 2023, www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/4/israeli-strikes-target-schools-hospitals-mosques-on-gaza; Mohamad El Chamaa, “Gazans Mourn Loss of Their Libraries: Cultural Beacons and Communal Spaces,” Washington Post, December 1, 2023, www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/30/gaza-library-palestinian-culture/; and Reha Kansara and Ahmed Nour, “Israel–Gaza war: Counting the Destruction of Religious Sites,” BBC News, January 29, 2024, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67983018.

469     at least 67,869 Palestinians, about half of whom were women and children 20,179 children were among the dead as of October 7, 2025. “As the ceasefire begins, a look at the Gaza war by the numbers,” NPR, October 13, 2025, www.npr.org/2025/10/13/g-s1-92205/ceasefire-gaza-war-key-figures; and Wafaa Shurafa et al., “Palestinian death toll in Gaza passes 64,000, officials say, after ceasefire talks break down,” PBS, September 4, 2025, www.pbs.org/newshour/world/palestinian-death-toll-in-gaza-passes-64000-officials-say-after-ceasefire-talks-break-down.

469     displaced nearly all of the strip’s 2.2 million people  Estimates published in January 2025 indicate that 1.9 million of the Gaza Strip’s 2.2 million inhabitants (86%) have been displaced. “Gaza Strip in Maps: How 15 Months of War Have Drastically Changed Life in the Territory,” BBC News, January 16, 2025, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-20415675. Sources vary on the pre-war population of Gaza, but the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics states “about 2.2 million.” Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, “Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) Presents the Conditions of the Palestinian Population on the Occasion of the World Population Day, 11/07/2024,” July 11, 2024, www.pcbs.gov.ps/post.aspx?lang=en&ItemID=5791.

469     “up to 186,000 or even more” . . .  Rasha Khatib et al., “Counting the Dead in Gaza: Difficult but Essential,” The Lancet 404, no, 10449 (July 2024), www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext.

469     as many as 8 percent of the entire population . . .  Khatib et al., “Counting the Dead in Gaza: Difficult but Essential,” www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext.

469     according to genocide scholars On August 31, 2025, the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) passed a resolution which stated, "since the horrific Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023, which itself constitutes international crimes, the government of Israel has engaged in systematic and widespread crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide." IAGS, "IAGS Resolution on the Situation in Gaza," August 31, 2025, genocidescholars.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IAGS-Resolution-on-Gaza-FINAL.pdf, 3.

469     largely portrayed . . . not supplying . . . not sanctioning Russia Jean-Pierre Filiu, “Why Israel Still Refuses to Give Military Aid to Ukraine,” Le Monde, May 15, 2023, www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/05/15/why-israel-still-refuses-to-give-military-aid-to-ukraine_6026664_4.html; and Steven Erlanger and Adam Sella, “Israel Faces Tough Balancing Act on Russia and the West,” New York Times, March 19, 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/world/europe/israel-russia-us-ukraine.html.

469     outspoken in his condemnation  Erlanger and Sella, “Israel Faces Tough Balancing Act on Russia and the West,” www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/world/europe/israel-russia-us-ukraine.html.

469–470 “constituencies across the Middle East and even beyond . . .”  Hanna Notte quoted in Andrew Osborn, “Russia’s Putin Tries to Use Gaza War to His Geopolitical Advantage,” Reuters, November 17, 2023, www.reuters.com/world/russias-putin-sees-political-economic-upside-israels-war-with-hamas-2023-11-17/.