On the evening of March 24, one month after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 14 Ukrainian activists picketed one of the Spanish properties of pro-Putin propagandist Anatoliy Shariy.
The pro-Russian blogger, who founded a political party in in Ukraine in 2019 named after himself, owns a home and a villa in the Tarragona region on Spain’s north-east coast. According to Ukrainian media, the properties which were reported to have bee seized by a Kyiv court in June 2021, are located at Calle Pescados No. 7, Bloque A, №1, 43883 Roda de Bera, Tarragona, and Calle Besos №2, Piso1, Puerta 4, 43882 Calafell, Tarragona, respectively.
The protestors “visited” the firt property. They carried flags and posters with slogans such as “Down with Shariy – Ukraine’s traitor”, “Shariy stop lying, go to Russia” and “No to Russian propaganda in Spain!”
Participants included Mikola Pashin who, together with Ostap Petruschak, held a week-long hunger strike in Barcelona’s Plaça Catalunya, along with several other well-known activists from the Barcelona Maidan. The protest was filmed by a number of people, among them the journalist Lyubava Malysheva. There were two women and 12 men among the activists.
Through a megaphone, the activists told Shariy’s neighbors that they were holding a peaceful demonstration to alert the residents of the area that a pro-Russian propagandist lived in that villa.
A security guard emerged to say that he supported the demonstrators but was just doing his job.
Activists attacked
Shariy and his wife Olga Bondarenko stormed outside and confronted the protesters. They provoked a fight, insulting and hitting the activists and using obscene language.
Bondarenko tried to tear up the posters. The activists reiterated the motives of their protest, shouting “blood on your hands and on the hands of your children!”
They argued that by promoting Putin’s paradigm, Shariy had been constructing a positive image of Russia and falsely reassuring people that there would be no attack on Ukraine; that he gets paid by the Kemlin for spreading propaganda and manipulatng public opinion.
The police arrived, the picket ended and the activists dispersed in their vehicles. The protest lasted for about 35 minutes.
Special information operations from Spain
While there is carnage in Ukraine following Russia’s attack, Shariy continues his subversive activities from abroad.
He has been on a wanted list since Feb. 16 on suspicion of treason against Ukraine,. Shariy’s YouTube channelhas been blocked by Ukraine and now expresses his views on Twitter.
Cool, isn’t it? He has escaped from Ukraine and is now lying on a comfy sofa telling people what to do.
So why do the Catalan authorities allow a criminal who threatens Europe with his actions to live on their territory?
According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), since 2012 Shariy has been helping the Russian Federation to conduct special information operations against Ukraine. And if there is a legal way to restrict Shariy’s activities, now is the chance because allowing pro-Russian propaganda from the territory of Spain is a form of direct support of the Kremin’s actions against Ukraine and the West.
Journalist recounts aftermath of villa incident
Journalist Lyubava Malysheva recalls what happened in the wake of the protest outside Shariy’s villa:
“As we drove off, Shariy and a security guard tried to stop our car and engage in conversation. We continued on our way. Very soon, we spotted a gray Range Rover following us (1752 LMG) which I had earlier photographed outside Shariy’s house.”
“Our driver picked up speed and entered a roundabout and the gray car pursued us three times around it. The driver of the Range Rover then slowed down and an unidentified man jumped out and ran towards our car yelling threats and insults. Assuming they may be armed, our driver accelerated.”
“We broke away, driving at high speed, then stopped after we encountered another driver, a local man, coming towards us. We asked him and a woman walking her dog to call the police. The police never came. After numerous calls, they said we should go to the police station ourselves. The nearest police station refused to take our report so we went to Barcelona and filed a report there.”
Google Maps: Shariy’s home on Carrer Pescadors has the swimming pool.
A lifestyle of xenophobia, lies and threats to kill activists
On his YouTube channel, Shariy unleashed a hate-filled tirade about the events of the evening. His account was dogged with homophobic, misogynistic and objectifying rhetoric.
He refers to the journalist and the young man who drove the car as a militant group. He refers to the protestors in general as “animals”, “retarded scum”, “faggots”, “stinking morons” and one as “the son of a whore”.
Since there is a video of the protest, it’s not hard to see how he lies.
From a transcript of a video that Shariy posted on his YouTube channel on the night of March 25-26, his rhetoric takes an even darker turn:
“There are three stages [of punishment] depending on what the activists try to do. That is, depending on their progress. At the least, they’ll just get their stupid snouts smacked. A little beyond that, they’ll go to jail. But if they take one step beyond a certain boundary, they will die. Let them take it any way they want. That’s a fact. And I always try to take responsibility for my words. That’s all, my friends. Enjoy watching and I wish you not to be afraid of anyone.”
Previous criminal incidents
On May 1 2011, Shariy fired two rubber bullets at a customer in a McDonald’s restaurant in Kyiv. The man was hit in the leg and abdomen. No punishment was incurred for this.
On February 16 2021, the SBU placed Shariy under suspicion based on two articles of the Ukrainian Criminal Code. These cover high treason and violation of equality of citizens on the basis of their race, nationality, religious beliefs, disability and other protected characteristics.
On August 20 2021, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky coordinated with the National Security and Defense Council to impose sanctions against Anatoliy Shariy, Olha Shariy, Olha Shariy’s mother (Alla Bondarenko) and the website Shariy.net.
On March 7 2022, YouTube blocked Anatoliy Shariy’s channel in Ukraine.
It is time now for Spain to also stop this anti-Ukrainian mercenary of the Russian propaganda machine from continuing his dirty work and to seize hs ill-gained assets.
Translated from Russan by Daria Seres
