« Ukraine is a magnet for Islamic State militants seeking asylum after losing territory in Syria and Iraq. The country is a good place to hide and wait until they have the opportunity to return safely to the European Union or to fight in the Donbass », reveals Sonja Van den Ende, a freelance Dutch journalist who has taken refuge in Russia because of death threats from the CIA and the SBU, the Ukrainian secret service. Interview.
Mohsen Abdelmoumen: You have been in the Donbass since 2022, covering the Russian special operation as a freelance journalist. Can you describe the situation you saw there?
Sonja Van den Ende: I went to the Donbass already in March 2022, one week after the start of the Special Military Operation. There had been a civil war going on since 2014, so there were already many destroyed houses. Many people forget that in the West the conflict has been raging since 2014. People were angry and at the same time very happy that finally the Russians came to help them in the fight against the Kiev regime. My first experience with the violence and battlefield nearby was in April 2022 in Mariupol. There were fights at the port and the Azov steel factory. Things were also rough in Donetsk city, every day there are, until now, still attacks by the Ukrainian army who fire (US) HIMARS on residential areas, schools and hospitals, in other words Ukrainians who attack civilians, according to them their own citizens, after all they speak of occupied territory. There are many deaths, just like in the proxy war that the West has waged in Syria or other countries!
Why, in your opinion, do the Western media continue to spread false information about Russia’s special operation in Ukraine? Don’t you think that Russia’s fight in Ukraine is also aimed at establishing a fairer multipolar world free of US hegemony?
The West, and I mean the US and its colonies in Europe, have an agenda, the agenda of world dominance and hegemony. The goal is to destroy Russia, the largest country on earth with the most natural resources. This goal has existed for decades, when we think of Napoleon or the Second World War and more recently after the fall of communism. The West’s script is to distort the facts and blame Russia for starting a war against Ukraine. But anyone who investigates the facts knows that it is the US and its vassals that have started a war against Russia through their proxies in Ukraine. The Western press has fallen into a lie and propaganda press, freedom of the press does not exist in the West. One must follow the political agenda, this is something that has become painfully clear in this conflict and many people in the West now see this, their support on social media, for example, is declining and they try to compensate for this by saying that people are radical, which is total nonsense, we are seeing the birth of a totalitarian state in Europe and the US.
Russia, President Putin, has made it clear since 2007, in the famous Munich speech, that Russia will not submit to the US and its colonial system. He was already talking about a multi-polar world. At the same time as the « birth » of the totalitarian West, we are now seeing the « birth » of a multi-polar world in Africa, the Middle East, India and many countries in Latin America. If, despite war and violence, anything good has come out of the proxy war in Ukraine, it is the liberation of Africa and parts of the Middle East, which are breaking off the chains of centuries of colonialism and the modern colonialism of the US.
In one of your recent very interesting articles, you mention the role of the Khorasan jihadists in Ukraine and their very close links with the Ukrainian intelligence service SBU. Can you tell us more?
Many jihadists fled Syria and Iraq after Russia decided in 2015, at the request of the Syrian government, to help eliminate these terrorist groups, called Daesh, which were supported by the West. Terrorists from the Caucasus also fought in Syria and Iraq. What I wrote is that many of these, including Abu Omar Al-Shishani, declared dead by the US, found shelter in Ukraine, including the notorious Muslim Cheberloyevsky, a brutal killer from the Chechen wars. One of the allied militias in Ukraine or rather NATO/US proxies are participating in their war against Russia, are the Chechens, they are called the Sheikh Mansur Battalion. The Chechen Sheikh Mansour Battalion has been fighting Russia in Ukraine since 2014. For instance, a brutal Iraqi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Maysara bin Ali, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Maria al-Qahtani approved of the joining of HTS members to fight Jihad as they call it “against the Russians”. Furthermore, he stated that if a Muslim in Ukraine fights and defeats the Russians he would be rewarded, and if he gets killed, he would be a martyr. He did so on social media X (Twitter). The SBU knew about these groups such as the Sheikh Mansur Brigade but according to them it was impossible to arrest them and now this group is being used in the fight against Russia, as the US is trying to contain the jihadists in the prisons (such as Abu Ghraib) in Iraq for the fight against Russia.
What are the consequences for Europe and the world of the deadly alliance between Ukrainian neo-Nazis and jihadist terrorists? Why is the mainstream media turning a blind eye to the strategic alliance between the neo-Nazis ruling Ukraine and the jihadists?
The consequences of using Islamic fighters, or rather terrorists who actually have nothing to do with Islam, in Syria and Iraq are already being seen in Europe itself, the flow of refugees and terrorist attacks in recent years. On top of that, the US and its vassals have introduced a new group, the neo-Nazis, they use the same script as in the Syria/Iraq war. It is known that there are many neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine, such as Pravdy Sektor, Azov, Aidar, which are deployed by the Ukrainian government in the Donbass. Mariupol was Azov’s stronghold. The Baltic States are also a Nazi stronghold, you can compare it with Turkey’s role in the Syrian war, where jihadists from Europe were given free passage to fight in Syria.
What I indicated, the Mainstream media (MSM) is not media but the mouthpiece and propaganda channels of Western pseudo governments. Free independent journalism is no longer in the West, which is why they will never report on the role of neo-Nazis. They tried until 2019, many articles have since been removed that reported, for example, the torchlight processions of neo-Nazis in Kiev and the attacks by Pravdy Sektor on Russian-speaking Ukrainians since 2014. According to the MSM, a connection between Jihadists and Neo-Nazis does not exist, it is due to stupidity of this media and the hidden agenda of the West.
In your opinion, doesn’t the West need Islamic terrorists around the world just as much as it needs neo-Nazis in Ukraine?
The US in particular needs these fighters for their proxy wars, so they need both groups. Actually, you can say that they need radicalized groups for their wars in the Middle East and now against war. They are also throwing sand in the eyes of their own population, after all, the blame lies with the « jihadists » and now they are trying to prove that there are many neo-Nazis in Russia, they do not talk about Ukraine, they are all « good » fighters who only defend their country against the « evil » Russians.
A group claiming to be an independent Russian opposition group called: “the Russian Legion”, but of course they are backed and financed by the Ukraine political and military leadership, also back- up by the West. Last June, they tried to launch a kind of ISIS (Daesh) style attack on the border region with Russia, amid loud applause from the Western media. It failed, but these are the tactics of the West.
You mentioned Ukraine’s role in the Syrian tragedy. Don’t you think that Ukraine is a hub for jihadism? What exactly is the role of the terrorist Abu Omar al-Shishani in Ukraine, given that the announcement of his death was fake news?
Ukraine is now a stronghold for Jihadists who fought in the first and second Chechen wars, these jihadists as I said were radical fighters from the Caucasus and Omar al-Shishani is an example of them. Omar Al-Shishani was declared dead by the US, like many, if we are to believe the lying press and politicians of the West. There are testimonies from the Syrian population that the US evacuated notorious Daesh members at night and took them to safe places, including this Shishani. As they declared Bin-Laden or Abu-Bakr-al-Baghdadi dead, they were usually already dead or the big mystery of Abu-Bakr-al-Baghdadi, which remain to this day, whether he was a Mossad agent. The Chechens were among the first volunteers to join the war against the Syrian people and their government. Considering that HTS, the region’s de facto rulers of Idlib, are driving the Chechens out, they are looking for a new « jihad » and that is Ukraine, the Russians have long been their enemy in the first and second Chechen wars and in Syria. Ukraine’s welcoming attitude toward foreign fighters has made relocation very easy. They are losing on the battlefield so they are very welcome. We can only guess what Omar-Al-Shishani’s role is in Ukraine. He probably fought with the Mansur brigade or started his own brigade. The Mansur brigade played an important role in the defence of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut for the West).
Ukraine is attracting Islamic State militants seeking asylum after losing territories in Syria and Iraq. The country is a good place to hide and wait until you have the opportunity to return safely to your home in the European Union or fight in the Donbass” according to Abu Omar al-Shishani”
Western governments keep claiming that they are fighting terrorism when in fact they are supporting, funding and harbouring every jihadist on the planet. How do you explain this hypocrisy?
This is exactly the script or agenda I am talking about; it throws sand in the eyes of their own people to justify their wars, they say it is for the security of the US and Europe, just like Israel does with the Palestinians. The US and Europe support these terrorists (jihadists) with money and weapons in order to eliminate their enemies. It is as President Putin recently said “everyone who behaves independently, acts in accordance with their national interest turns into obstacle that must be eliminated for Western elites ».
The West sees its influence ebbing away, its world dominance slowly crumbling. It accelerated in 2011 with the start of the US’s ‘Arab Spring’. There, for example, it tried to influence Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood came to power for a while, the same scenario for Syria and Iraq, where the Muslim Brotherhood first became Al-Qaeda and then all brigades and groups turned into ISIS, which is called Daesh in the Arab world. This is the hypocrisy of the West, I would rather call it the lies, the belligerence of the West, which has been ingrained in their genes for generations. The process of a multi-polar world has now been set in motion and the West will fight this with everything they have. Even if this means a totalitarian state for their own people.
Zelensky has Israeli nationality, as do a number of Ukrainian leaders. What exactly is the role of the Zionist entity of Israel in what is happening in Ukraine, given that there has been talk of a project for a New Israel in Ukraine?
This is a difficult question but actually simple. Zelensky and all other « Jewish » politicians in Ukraine support fascism. As I often explain, being Jewish is a religion, like Islam or Christianity, fascism is an ideology that some call a political movement. During the Second World War, Jews also collaborated with the Nazis, a good example is George Soros. Which can now be seen as the driving force behind the politics of the West.
I have heard of this theory that the Zionists want to create a new « Israel » or a colony of the current Israel. Considering that Ukraine was densely populated with Jews before the Second World War. Zelensky recently said that he wants Ukraine to become a “big Israel after the Russian invasion end”. According to the Jerusalem Post Jews behind Russia-Ukraine war want to form new Jewish state in Ukraine. According to the Atlantic Council, Europe’s so-called Think Tank, Zelensky has already developed a « road map », a plan for how Ukraine can be colonized by Israel. But given that Ukraine is losing on the battlefield and Europe and the US are running out of money for arms supplies, these dreams are likely to shatter. Rather, one should think of Poles who want to annex the West to Poland, which according to them rightfully belonged to Poland. Most of the territory of today’s Western Ukraine belonged to the Second Polish Republic until 1941. The Donbass is now Russia (Novorussia) and no longer Ukraine. The country of Ukraine will probably cease to exist.
The Zionist entity of Israel continues to kill Palestinians with impunity. Why has no Israeli leader been tried for crimes against humanity and war crimes?
The simple fact is that the State of Israel was established in 1948 with the approval of Western countries, after the Holocaust in Europe. It enjoyed special status because of this fact and became an unofficial state of the US. They West will never defend the Palestinian people or help them to achieve a real peace! Now, seventy-five years later and the total oppression and murder of the Palestinian people, Israel itself has become a totalitarian state. The myth of the oppressed people is gone and the lesson from the past of the Holocaust is also gone. They are now the oppressor and I hope that with the growth of the multipolar world this will change. In any case, the 1992 Oslo Accords must be renegotiated, not with the US or Europe, but perhaps in a different form with Russia and its Arab neighbours.
It must be made clear to Israel that they are the oppressor and that the Palestinians have a right to their land just like the Israelis. This must be the starting point. Without a solution there will never be peace in the Middle East. Currently, no Western leader or Israeli leader will be convicted of crimes against the Palestinians because the International Institutions such as the International Criminal Court have become Western institutions. Where the Western-oriented judges will only conduct cases or administer justice against members of the Western colonies. Or against opponents such as Russia. But Israel is part of the West and not a member of the ICC like the US, so justice can be administered by a worthless institution.
In the name of human rights, democracy and freedom of speech, Western governments have dismantled countries such as Iraq, Libya and Sudan. Why do you think the arrogant Western oligarchic minority insists on giving lessons in democracy to the entire planet?
The answer is in the question. The West is arrogant and is in fact ruled by large corporations, by a wealthy elite who are at the head of these corporations or institutions, such as the Rockefellers, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, George Soros, Klaus Schwab etc. Unfortunately, Europe is dominated by the US, a country de facto without culture and is a « new » state compared to Europe, Africa or the Middle East, where Europeans sought their fortune or where criminals were sent, just like in Australia. They first exterminated the original inhabitants, the Indians. After the Second World War, America developed its « American dream », which collapsed long ago. They also took the example of « old » Europe and recolonized many countries, started with Europe and then the Middle East and Africa with American bases.
The West doesn’t even know what democracy is, for the elites and oligarchs it is just a word just like anti-Semitism. Democracy means the will of the people and Semitism refers to all Semitic peoples, including Arabs, who are related by language. The West is stupid and getting stupider given the state of education and politics. Americans (not all) are hopelessly stupid when it comes to other cultures and basically as I see it, the new barbarians of the modern age. For them, everything is a kind of « Hollywood » show with deadly consequences.
My country, Algeria, has always been and continues to be the target of plots aimed at it because Algeria does not recognize the Zionist entity of Israel and is against normalization with Israel, and also because it has always supported the just causes of the Palestinian and Sahrawi people, etc. Why do the Zionist-led Western ruling classes want to destabilize Algeria?
Algeria, like other countries that want to remain sovereign, receive immediate « punishment » from the West, the US. This is how the new « colonialism » works. What I said before, the world is seeing a new kind of colonialism since 1945. America has about eighty-five military bases in the world. Supposedly to bring democracy, security and medical facilities to the population. We have already discussed the first two democracy and security; in fact, they push towards war or start a conflict in every country. In terms of medical safety or aid, Russia has proven since the SMO that the biological laboratories in Ukraine only aim to produce biological weapons. They conduct research into all kinds of viruses such as Covid-19, Ebola, etc. At least more than half of those eighty-five bases have biological laboratories. The US and its colonies are bent on world domination, but see their world domination slowly but surely disappearing into thin air. Of course, if a country like Algeria wants to harm their ally Israel or, in the case of Algeria, support the Palestinians and the Sahrawi people, they are immediately considered an enemy of America and the entire West. So, the country must suffer if it wants to remain sovereign. The more the West lose its domination, the more it will behave fanatically, which we see now in Ukraine and before in many countries in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
In your opinion, why have all the Arab countries with large armies been targeted by the empire and the Zionists?
Of course, these Arab countries that become too rich and too powerful, as happened with Libya, must be destroyed. They are a threat to the West. These big powerful Arab countries pose a threat to Israel. Israel itself has aspirations for a « greater » Israel, as described in the Yinon plan. Israel has been a military totalitarian state since its founding in 1948. Israel is together with three other countries – but Israel pretends to be democratic – which have not ratified their nuclear program with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Especially Libya because it was one of the richest countries in Africa and was dangerous for the elites in the West. They see their wealth (mostly stolen) in danger, just as is happening now in Niger. Egypt was a threat to Israel, but after signing the so-called Camp David accords it became no threat anymore, although the US first target of the Arab Spring was Egypt, they tried to get the Muslim Brotherhood into power, which worked for a while. But fortunately, they were ousted out of power. But, when they would have stayed in power, it would allow the US to expand its position of power in Egypt, because then, just like in Syria and Iraq, some kind of Islamic State would emerge, the US and the West could continue its proxy war.
You lived in Syria many years. My country, Algeria, has historic ties with Syria, and these two countries have lived through a conspiracy that targeted them and almost dismantled these nation-states. Why were these two countries targeted and what role did Israel play in the tragedy that befell our two brother peoples?
Syria and Algeria play an important role in the opposition to Israel. Syria is officially still at war with Israel since 1948, only a ceasefire was agreed at the time. The Golan Heights are occupied by Israel. Many members of Hamas, the PLO and Fatah have lived or found shelter in Syria over the years. Algeria saw the first office of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in Algiers, a thorn in the side of the Zionists and the West. That is why Algeria and Syria are high on the target list as « undesirable » countries in the US, the Zionists and the West. Algeria also has one of the largest economies in Africa now that Libya is in ruins. Syria was important after Saudi Arabia and Iraq for oil, one more reason for the Western oligarchs to keep the countries under their power. Both countries also suffered greatly under the French occupation, exploited and treated as if they were slaves in their own countries. Furthermore, the similarities with the jihadists, Algeria has suffered from the FIS, Muslim brotherhood that we would now call Al- Qaeda or Daesh. Algeria and Syria have suffered the same fate. Hopefully now that the world is changing and the hegemony of the West is crumbling, the countries can finally find peace and prosperity.
On 5 October, we saw a deadly terrorist attack on a military academy in Homs, Syria, this time using a drone. By using drones, haven’t the Al Qaeda and Daesh terrorist groups shown that they are highly adaptable? Doesn’t the use of drones represent a qualitative leap in terrorist harm, which is very important to study, bearing in mind that if terrorists have been able to strike in Syria, they can do so anywhere in the world? When we know that Ukraine, whose government is reputed to be the most corrupt on the planet, has become the country with the largest military arsenal in the world, thanks to the ‘good care’ of the West, and that massive arms trafficking is taking place there beyond any control, isn’t there a real danger to global security?
The tragedy in Homs, Syria, where about 100 people died, young people, cadets who were just finished their education is a great tragedy in a country torn by war, murder and violence. Modern warfare is now turning to drones, unfortunately, a new killing weapon for humanity. But one has to wonder where those drones come from? Al-Qaeda or other groups called Daesh do not have the resources to produce drones. So, the drones come from the West, perhaps in this case Turkey. Terrorism has taken a new dimension. The world is becoming even more dangerous now that « enemies » are going to fight each other with drones, perhaps killing thousands of innocent people. It had started with Afghanistan. The largest US drone base is located at the US/NATO headquarters in Ramstein, Germany. The West has now found an easier way to eliminate their unwanted « enemies ». We all see the bloody proxy war in Ukraine, where the West is actually at war with Russia. A drama, the greatest drama of our time. The West is completely blinded by its hatred of Russia, a difficult opponent that cannot be eliminated. Pumped full of Western weapons that the stupid and dangerous politicians in the West call « weapons for peace ». They are so blinded by power and money (most of them bought by the elite) that diplomacy is no longer possible. They are afraid of the changing world, that is why they are building new physical walls in the Baltic states and Poland. But also new digital walls, the censorship is unprecedented. Europe has fallen into a totalitarian digital dictatorship, eliminating every domestic and foreign enemy!
You are living in Moscow, you don’t dare return to your country, the Netherlands, for fear of reprisals, and you are on the Myrotvorets list, the famous ‘kill-list’ of all those Ukraine wants to eliminate, drawn up by the Ukrainian secret service SBU in association with the CIA. How do you live with this death threat on a daily basis? Are European countries still living in democracy or have they become fascist countries?
Fortunately, I have found safe shelter in Russia. As I already indicated, the West has become completely insane. Every form of truth is suppressed, freedom of the press and freedom of expression have completely disappeared. In my country of birth, the Netherlands, freedom of expression was always a great asset, but now people live under the yoke of the elite of the European Union (EU) and the oligarchs whose goal is for the population to buy from their corporations and dominate them, like the big tech companies. It has all gotten out of hand, add to that the refugees who arrive every day, a deadly cocktail. Europe is ripe for civil war.
So perhaps despite the many threats I receive every day, on social media but also from the Dutch government and institutions, which have already closed my bank and deactivated my social service number, which makes life impossible without this number and bank, you cannot live. It is a good thing that I live in Moscow, I can continue my work here and report from the Donbass. I am very grateful to the Russian government and people that I have found a safe refuge here. Indeed, I am on the Myrotvorets so-called peace list, which is actually a death list. Everyone who has been to the Donbass is on it, an honour actually, as I see it.
Governments that keep lists of people they want to eliminate are criminal governments. The US has a criminal government, the list actually comes from the CIA that says the address on the website and the European Union approves of it, so it can also be called criminal. They want their own journalist to be killed. I have been used to threats in recent years, where Al-Qaeda and Daesh have declared all kinds of Fatwas against me, recently I wrote an article about jihadists going to Ukraine to fight against Russia, after which I promptly received a message from an unknown French branch of Daesh with another Fatwa, threats came on X (Twitter). Furthermore, I am on the EU disinformation list and probably on the Dutch domestic security service list, into which I have now started an investigation. But it won’t stop me from writing the truth, that’s my job as a journalist.
You have chosen a courageous path and a noble commitment that involves many sacrifices. What message would you like to pass on to all anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist resistance fighters in Algeria and around the world?
My message to my brothers and sisters anti-Zionists and anti-imperialists is that we are truly entering a time where the world is turning into a multipolar world. Where sovereign states are sovereign and decide their own fate for their people. The West is falling, their world domination is now truly over. It will take some time and we will see the last throes of a declining empire, which, cornered, will become increasingly fanatical. But their stupidity and arrogance is their downfall. Colonialism is over, Africa and the Middle East are now breaking free from their chains after decades of oppression. Leaders and people on both continents are focusing more on Russia, not as a colonial ruler but as a trading partner on an equal footing.
Israel has the most radical government ever, which I wouldn’t even call right-wing but radical and totalitarian. Israelis protest day in and day out and call for change. Today’s Israel cannot continue in this way, they must seek peace with the Palestinians and the decades of oppression must stop.
We must continue our fight against Western imperialism. Their murderousness and wars have gone on for too long. I think Ukraine will give them the « death blow » and throw them back in time. We have had a long wait and now we have to wait for the collapse.
I want to give my support to the people of Palestine who have been oppressed by Israel since 1948. Deprived from their land and goods. The killing of innocent Palestinians has to stop. There should be a new peace plan, through Russia and China. The West has shown it has been incompetent in diplomacy or brokering peace in the conflict since the last century. Israel has to stop its crimes against humanity and now entered a very dangerous phase by proclaiming the extermination of the Palestinian people in Gaza, with an embargo on food and deprived them from basic needs like electricity and water. They should strive towards peace and justice for all people and especially their neighbours, the Palestinians.
Interview realized by Mohsen Abdelmoumen
Who is Sonja Van den Ende
Sonja Van den Ende is an independent journalist and geopolitical commentator from the Netherlands who has written about Syria, the Middle East, and Russia among other topics. She writes for several news outlets and studied Journalism and English (BA), also a study in Global Media, War and Technology (BA). She is based in Moscow, Russia. She has reported from the Donbass and previously from Syria.
She recently wrote an article on Palestine which she published on her website: The Long Road to Independence and Freedom of Israeli Occupation Resulting in the New Modern Resistance of Palestinian Warfare – DEVEND.ONLINE
She contributes to several media outlets including CovertAction Magazine, infobrics, Tehran Times and Radio Sputnik.
She has published two books: The Mad Mothers of Odessa in 2017, and How Syria Won the Western War in 2023 (in Dutch).
