Why is Trump's pick for national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard, on Ukraine's unofficial 'enemies' database? [View all]

1:42 pm, November 14, 2024
Source: Meduza

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he’s chosen Tulsi Gabbard, a former U.S. Representative from Hawaii, as his nominee for the country’s next director of national intelligence. Gabbard, who’s been an outspoken critic of U.S. military support for Ukraine for years, would be the first Hindu and the first person of color to serve in the role if confirmed by Congress. She would also be the first presidential cabinet member whose name appears on Myrotvorets, an unofficial Ukrainian online database of people accused of colluding with Russia or participating in pro-Russian separatist movements. Meduza explains the controversy surrounding this site and what likely landed Gabbard on the list.

What is Myrotvorets?
According to The Times, The Myrotvorets database was created in 2014 by Ukrainian politician Heorhiy Tuka and a former State Security Service (SBU) officer using the pseudonym Roman Zaitsev, the latter of whom still runs the site today. With a name that translates to “Peacemaker,” the project purports to track “enemies of the Ukrainian state.” However, it’s faced frequent criticism — and even criminal investigations — for “doxxing” journalists and activists over alleged anti-Ukrainian statements, posting their names and personal information on the site alongside those of occupation officials, mercenaries, and war criminals.

Myrotvorets is not officially affiliated with the Ukrainian government. Despite Zaitsev’s past SBU experience, he has maintained that the website is not controlled by the agency and does not receive state funding. In January 2022, he told The Times that Myrotvorets was created to solve the problem of “ex-police, ex-military and some political figures, whose beliefs remain pro-Russian”:

As time goes on the mission has changed and in the last three years the number of people getting placed on Myrotvorets for political reasons has increased. Now it lists those who protect the narrative of Russia.
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2024/11/14/why-is-trump-s-pick-for-national-intelligence-director-tulsi-gabbard-on-ukraine-s-unofficial-enemies-database?utm_source=email&utm_medium=briefly&utm_campaign=2024-11-15

Gabbard is a bizarre individual.