MOSCOW, May 9. /TASS/. The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN, outlawed in Russia) received support and funding of the United States and Britain after the end of World War II, according to the 1948 declassified document on the situation in western regions of Soviet Ukraine obtained by TASS.
"After the war, the leaders of the OUN underground changed their orientation after losing their old masters, German fascists, and found new masters represented by war instigators - American and British reactionaries and their intelligence agencies," the declassified archives say.
As the document notes, "while staying on the territory occupied by the American and British forces after the end of the war, OUN members switched to their maintenance and implemented their instructions on carrying out subversive activity on the territory of western regions of Ukraine."
In particular, Ukrainian nationalists carried out terrorist acts in small groups of 3-5 members and sometimes engaged in individual terrorism, the document revealed.
"During the entire period, the OUN underground in western regions committed terrorist acts aimed against Soviet and party officials, the staff of the State Security and Interior Ministries, troops of the State Security Ministry’s district, and also against civilians in one form or another," the document reads.
As their methods, Ukrainian nationalists carried out ambush attacks, shot dead or hanged civilians in their homes and fired guns at people through windows, the declassified archives reveal.
The Banderites maintained communication through special liaisons, prioritizing girls and teenagers; "moreover, liaisons knew only a very limited circle of people," the document says.
"In 1946-1947, crushing blows were dealt on liaisons and the existing smooth system of the OUN underground’s communication was destroyed. The documents seized showed that some OUN organizations had no communication with above and also lower structures for a long period," it says.
From the second half of 1947, the Banderites directed their activity against collective farms, the declassified archives revealed.
"From the second half of 1947, amid the growth of collectivization, OUN members stepped up their criminal activity with the assistance of kulak elements, directing it against state farm property, setting fire to collective farm warehouses of bread and destroying livestock," the document reads.
In all, as of February 1948, the State Security Ministry’s branches in western Ukraine had on their records 188 criminal gangs with a total of almost 6,500 Ukrainian nationalists. The efforts to eliminate the Banderite criminal underground continued until 1952. However, some manifestations of banditry were registered until 1960s.