Ukraine

National Endowment for Democracy Deletes Records of Funding Projects in Ukraine

March 7, 2022

A picture containing text, flag

Description automatically generated — [Source: ned.org]

Deletion needed to preserve big lie of an unprovoked Russian invasion

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED)—a CIA offshoot founded in the early 1980s to advance “democracy promotion” initiatives around the world—has deleted all records of funding projects in Ukraine from their searchable “Awarded Grants Search” database.

The archived webpage captured February 25, 2022 from 14:53 shows that NED granted $22,394,281 in the form of 334 awards to Ukraine between 2014 to the present. The capture at 23:10 the same day shows “No results found” for Ukraine. As of right now, there are still “No results found” for Ukraine.

Searching using “Ukraine” as a keyword (as opposed to a “Project Country” in the original captures) yields “No results found.” Searching for the titles of the funded projects listed in the last “intact” web capture yields no results.

Additionally, the current database search criteria have been restricted, previously funding from 2014 to present could be searched, currently only 2017 to present is searchable per the drop-down menus. There are multiple news reports before February 25 corroborating this $22,394,281 amount.

Validating the Big Lie

The erasure of the NED’s records is necessary to validate the Biden administration’s big lie—echoed in the media—that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was “unprovoked.”

In a recent statement of solidarity with Ukraine, the NED acknowledged that it had been a “proud partner of Ukraine’s civil society groups, media outlets, and human rights defenders since 1989—before the Ukrainian people declared independence in 1991—as they have confronted enormous challenges in building an independent and free country.”

NED President Duane Wilson admitted at an NED forum on Ukraine on March 4 that Ukraine was the NED’s fourth largest grant-making program around the world. Wilson said that “the endowment is proud that we have had Ukraine as a major partner since 1989, before independence, supporting Ukrainian civil society organizations.”

A person in a suit and tie

Description automatically generated with medium confidence — Duane Wilson [Source: ned.org]

Exposing Russian but Not Ukrainian War Crimes

The NED’s anti-Russian agenda was detailed by one of the speakers at the March 4th forum, Olha Aivagurski, who said that a lot of her work with an NED funded NGO focused on documenting Russian war crimes.

Neglected was Ukrainian army war crimes, whose scale is detailed in a new RT News documentary “Donbass, yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.”

It includes footage of excavation of mass grave sites in Donbass where neo-Nazi militias attached to the Ukrainian army massacred and then buried hundreds of civilians.^{^[1]}

A picture containing outdoor, wooden, wood, old

Description automatically generated — Mass grave site in Luhansk featured in RT news documentary but not mainstream U.S. media. [Source: aljazeera.com]

The NED, however, is committed to advancing the cartoonish narrative depicting Ukraine as a valiant David fighting the evil Russian bear.

Color Revolutions

The NED played a pivotal role in helping to trigger the conflict with Russia by supporting two color revolutions directed against Ukraine’s pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych—a potential successor to Volodymyr Zelensky if Russia wins.

The 2004 color revolution replaced Yanukovych with Viktor Yushchenko, who favored admitting Ukraine to NATO and adopted an International Monetary Fund (IMF) structural adjustment program that benefitted U.S. investors while cutting social programs.

Image -- The Orange Revolution: demonstration. — Ukraine’s 2004 orange revolution. [Source: encyclopediaofukraine.com]

NED activists employed a broad public relations strategy that included: a) busing paid out-of-town protesters into Kyiv; b) creating an online TV protest station and agitation paraphernalia; and c) providing offshore training to the anti-Yanukovych student leadership. The strategy was based on the writings of Gene Sharp and a template that the NED had successfully employed in Serbia with a youth group called “Otpor,” which helped secure the defeat of socialist Slobodan Milosovic in September 2000 elections.

Gene Sharp: Author of the nonviolent revolution rulebook - BBC News — Coup maestro Gene Sharp. [Source: bbc.com]

A parallel approach was used during the February 2014 Maidan Square uprising which resulted in Yanukovych’s ouster—he had been reelected in 2010—and the advent of a pro-Western regime in Kyiv.

During the fall of 2013, the NED named as a Dante Fascell fellow Sergii Leschenko, a journalist who exposed how Yanukovych had paid Republican party strategist Paul Manafort $1.2 million as a political consultant.^{^[2]}

A person in a suit and tie

Description automatically generated with low confidence — [Source: cima.ned.org]

As a sign of the NED’s influence, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (2014-2020)—a main beneficiary of the Maidan coup currently awaiting trial on treason charges—bestowed the Order of Princess Olga, one of Ukraine’s highest honors, on Dr. Nadia Diuk,^[42] a former vice president and senior adviser to the NED for Europe and Eurasia.

Ukraine's Democratic Choice – Nadia Diuk - YouTube — The late Nadia Diuk, right, pontificates at NED forum. [Source: youtube.com]

Preserving Fiction of an Unprovoked Russian Invasion

In 2020, the NED provided $4.6 million to Ukraine for purposes that included raising awareness of alleged human rights abuses by Russia in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, and fomenting opposition and resistance to Russia.

The large scope of the NED’s program makes clear the organization’s importance. However, with the Biden administration intent on preserving the fiction that the Russian invasion/counter-offensive was unprovoked, censorship and the deletion of records is necessary.

[Camilla Thompson contributed to the reporting.]

A U.S. journalist quoted in the film, George Eliason, stated that he repeatedly sent reports of war crimes to American media outlets which ignored him. ↑
Leschenko subsequently became a member of parliament where he lobbied for Ukraine’s closer integration with Europe. At the time, Leschenko joined the party of Ukraine’s fifth president Petro Poroshenko, but then supported neoliberal Volodymr Zelensky. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Leschenko compared Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler. ↑

CovertAction Magazine is made possible by subscriptions, orders and donations from readers like you.

Blow the Whistle on U.S. Imperialism

Click the whistle and donate

When you donate to CovertAction Magazine, you are supporting investigative journalism. Your contributions go directly to supporting the development, production, editing, and dissemination of the Magazine.

CovertAction Magazine does not receive corporate or government sponsorship. Yet, we hold a steadfast commitment to providing compensation for writers, editorial and technical support. Your support helps facilitate this compensation as well as increase the caliber of this work.

Please make a donation by clicking on the donate logo above and enter the amount and your credit or debit card information.

CovertAction Institute, Inc. (CAI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and your gift is tax-deductible for federal income purposes. CAI’s tax-exempt ID number is 87-2461683.

We sincerely thank you for your support.

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of the author(s). CovertAction Institute, Inc. (CAI), including its Board of Directors (BD), Editorial Board (EB), Advisory Board (AB), staff, volunteers and its projects (including CovertAction Magazine) are not responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. This article also does not necessarily represent the views the BD, the EB, the AB, staff, volunteers, or any members of its projects.

Differing viewpoints: CAM publishes articles with differing viewpoints in an effort to nurture vibrant debate and thoughtful critical analysis. Feel free to comment on the articles in the comment section and/or send your letters to the Editors, which we will publish in the Letters column.

Copyrighted Material: This web site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. As a not-for-profit charitable organization incorporated in the State of New York, we are making such material available in an effort to advance the understanding of humanity’s problems and hopefully to help find solutions for those problems. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. You can read more about ‘fair use’ and US Copyright Law at the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School.

Republishing: CovertAction Magazine (CAM) grants permission to cross-post CAM articles on not-for-profit community internet sites as long as the source is acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original CovertAction Magazine article. Also, kindly let us know at info@CovertActionMagazine.com. For publication of CAM articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: info@CovertActionMagazine.com.

By using this site, you agree to these terms above.

About the Author

Jeremy Kuzmarov

Jeremy Kuzmarov holds a Ph.D. in American history from Brandeis University and has taught at numerous colleges across the United States. He is regularly sought out as an expert on U.S. history and politics for radio and TV programs and co-hosts a radio show on New York Public Radio and on Progressive Radio News Network called “Left on Left.” He is Managing Editor of CovertAction Magazine and is the author of five books on U.S. foreign policy, including Obama’s Unending Wars (Clarity Press, 2019), The Russians Are Coming, Again, with John Marciano (Monthly Review Press, 2018), and Warmonger. How Clinton’s Malign Foreign Policy Launched the U.S. Trajectory From Bush II to Biden (Clarity Press, 2023). Besides these books, Kuzmarov has published hundreds of articles and contributed to numerous edited volumes, including one in the prestigious Oxford History of Counterinsurgency . He can be reached at jkuzmarov2@gmail.com and found on substack here.