The released Army and CIA records have many thousands of pages on Nazi collaborators during and after World War II. The records are especially rich concerning Allied relationships with Ukrainian nationalist organizations after 1945.
This section focuses on the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists under Stephen Bandera and the exile representation of the Ukrainian underground government (ZP/UHVR), which was dominated by Bandera’s followers, including Mykola Lebed. The level of detail in the records allows a fuller and more accurate picture of their relationships with Allied intelligence over several decades.
CIA Nazifying Ukraine
The CIA declassification of project AERODYNAMIC revealed -that the United States for decades had sponsored and participated in numerous covert operations, to destabilize the deferent governments of Ukraine.
The documents also revealed -the CIA was working actively to ‘Nazifying’ Ukraine, with followers of the Second World War – Ukrainian Nationalists and Nazi collaborators; Mykola Lebed (OUN-M), Stepan Bandera (OUN-B) -among others.
Declassified CIA -Project and Operation files
- Development and Plans (Vol. 1-8)
- Operations (Vol. 9-41)
- Contact Reports (Vol. 42-47)
Project AERODYNAMIC (1949-70)
Associated with project: Ivan Hrinioch, Lyubomir Ortinskiy, Mykola Lebed, Roman Tymewycz, Stepan Bandera, Yaroslav Fedyk, Yury Lopatinsky -and others
The CIA support for the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council (ZP/UHVR) started in 1949, with Project AERODYNAMIC, formerly known as CARTEL, ANDROGEN and AECARTHAGE.
The project AERODYNAMIC was intended by the CIA to destabilize Ukraine, though anti-Russian and anti-Communist propaganda. The objective of AERODYNAMIC was to exploit the anti-Soviet Ukrainian resistance groups in Western Europe for CIA intelligence purposes.
CIA provided funding and airdrops of equipment to the Ukrainian Anti-Soviet resistance groups, as the OUN-B, OUN-M, OJHVR, UFA and the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council (ZP/UHVR) -among others.
The CIA recruited exiled Ukrainian agents in Western Europe, trained them and then infiltrated (dispatched) them into the Ukrainian Soviet Republic for the CIA’s anti-Communist agenda, with the purpose of procure operational and positive intelligence, and to establish a solid UHVR/CIA working relationship in and outside the target area. The agents established from inside Soviet Ukraine, contact with the Ukrainian Resistance Movement, particularly SB (intelligence service) agents of the OUN, who were already operating inside Ukraine.
The ‘Prolog Research and Publishing Inc.’ -was established in New York City in 1953 with the help of CIA -as a working propaganda platform for ZP/UHVR’s Anti-Russian research and publishing operations. In 1968, ‘Prolog Research and Publishing Inc.’ was restructured and changed name to ‘Prolog Research Corporation’.
“The publishing and research arm of ZP/UHVR is Prolog Corporation of New York, All publications, however, originate in Munich, Germany, under the auspices of an affiliate, Ukrainian Society for Studies Abroad. [...] The New York office does the bulk of the production and editing of this material, under the direction of Vice President Dr. Myroslav Prokop. Anatol Kaminsky is Vice President in charge of operation), and personally contacts his sources in Western Europe three or four times annually. These sources in turn travel into the Soviet Union or meet with persons who make such trips. They acquire information and underground "self-published" manuscripts, called "samvydav" in Ukrainian, or "samizdat" in Russian.
The President of Prolog is Mykola Lebed, who also holds the position of Secretary General of the ZP/UHVR. Lebed, an old revolutionary and a leader of the insurrection in the Ukraine after World War II, is as widely known and respected among Ukrainian dissidents as he is despised by the KGB.
Project QRPLUMB (1970-91)
Associated with project: Ivan Hrinioch, Mykola Lebed, Yury Lopatinsky, Lyubomir Ortinskiy. -and others
In 1970, project AERODYNAMIC was superceded and redesignated ‘QRPLUMB/ QRDYNAMIC’ -formerly known as ‘AEBEEHIVE’.
Project QRPLUMB and the CIA continued to support the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council (ZP/UHVR).
Fall of the Berlin Wall ‘terminated’ QRPLUMB
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1991 -the project QRPLUMB was ‘terminated’. The CIA funded a transition of the terminated project QRPLUMB, to a privately funded company. The CIA funding enabled Prolog (ZP/UHVR) to privatize their Anti-Russian operations.
In 1992, Prolog’s monthly Ukrainian journal ‘Suchasnist magazine’ (Contemporary Times) was successfully transitioned to a publishing company in Kiev, Ukraine and thereafter was published as a collaborative effort between Prolog Research Corporation (QRTENURE, AETENURE) and a Ukrainian group in Kiev. All issues of the Suchasnist magazine from 1961 until 1991 are available at the online archive “Diasporiana“.
He provides a symbol for those intellectual dissidents who know that ZP/UHVR and its affiliates have the interest and welfare of the dissidents in mind, and not that of some emigre political party. Operational guidance is provided by the Headquarters-based case officer, who visits the principals periodically in New York. The interim management of routine, less sensitive details is handled by frequent telephone and secure mail contact.”
