Vitsche Organization Update
On September 23rd, we expelled our member Anton Dorokh from our organization Vitsche e.V.
The unofficial beginning of Vitsche as a Ukrainian movement in Germany dates back to January 30th, when active Ukrainians organized the first protest for sanctions and isolation of russia before the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine became reality. Over the next six months, a large number of people joined the organization to support our common cause – the struggle for the victory of Ukraine.
Over time, a committed, stable team formed, and we registered Vitsche as a non-profit organization to legalize our status.
Participation in Vitsche has always been based on trust, shared values, and the common goals of stopping russian violent aggression and supporting Ukrainians in Ukraine and abroad.
Recently, with third-party assistance, we discovered new details in the biography of someone who had been representing Vitsche for a long time and oversaw several projects of the organization. Not without regret and with full responsibility for our inattention, we must admit that we overlooked the detailed background-checking of community members at the beginning of the organization’s existence.
For those 6+ months, there had been a person in the organization whose past is connected with the propaganda machine of the aggressor state. Anton Dorokh worked for RT (RussiaToday) and its subsidiary Ruptly from 2014 until November 2021 and was a journalist officially accredited by the terrorist organization “DNR”. Such accreditation is granted for reporting in favor of the aggressor state russia and its puppet terrorist organisations.
With regret, we report this situation – and we sincerely welcome your questions and criticism. Involvement in russian propaganda, as well as any manifestation of non-value behavior, is deeply condemned by our organization and is something we will continue to fight against throughout our existence. Deliberate withholding or deceit in regards to such facts puts an end to cooperation with Vitsche in any form.
Reaction of our organization:
- The Vitsche team voted to expel Anton Dorokh from our organization. He is now going through the exclusion process with all the consequences. The exclusion document was signed on September 23rd.
- Vitsche does not renounce responsibility for the projects in which this team member had participated and assures that the projects have in no way violated the interests of the Ukrainian community.
What’s next?
- From now on, Vitsche will always make it clear to new applicants that collaborating with the russian state in the past EXCLUDES them from joining Vitsche, even if their position has changed and they now have pro-Ukrainian views.
- We will communicate the values of Vitsche even more carefully and clearly to new participants.
- The organization will continue to make decisions by majority vote and check all projects and cooperations for agreement with Vitsche values and the main goals of our activity.
- We will ensure that only jointly elected representatives communicate on behalf of Vitsche.
We, Vitsche, sincerely believe in dialogue with all people who were once influenced by russian propaganda, but later realized their mistake and radically changed their views. Nevertheless, any person who helped russian terror must bear responsibility for it and cannot represent the Ukrainian civil movement.