Bandera's Russian lawyer in the ranks of the Armed Forces: "Mordor must be destroyed and covered with salt, like Carthage"

novynarnia.com

May 24, 2023

Perhaps, if there are "good Russians", then they look like this.
Stepan Bandera's lawyer, ethnic Russian and professional military man Roman Orekhov as a lawyer defends Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces

author: Maryna Tkachuk
photos provided by Roman Orekhov and from open sources

The story of Roman Orekhov really looks like "the hellish dream of a Muscovite", and 13 years ago it became quite a surprise. A citizen of the Russian Federation, a professional lawyer, he moved to Ukraine, learned the Ukrainian language (and began to use it to communicate everywhere!) and began to defend the interests of... Stepan Bandera in court. The times were stormy, anti-Ukrainian - Yanukovych was in power, and battles were fought in the courts: from the leader of the OUN Stepan Bandera and the chief commander of the UPA, Roman Shukhevych, they tried to take away the title of Heroes of Ukraine, which was posthumously awarded by President Yushchenko. At that time, Roman Orekhov officially represented the interests of the grandson of the leader of the OUN, Canadian citizen Stepan Bandera Jr., in court.

In parallel with these high-profile cases, Roman acted as a third party in the legal process to defend the participants of the liberation struggles of the 20th century. In the courtroom there was an "enchanting" picture: on the one hand - the plaintiff Nataliya Vitrenko, an odious Ukrainophobe with Ukrainian citizenship, who calls the Opivites "caratellists" and "enemies of the people" and dreams of turning this court into "the second Nuremberg trial", and on the other hand – Roman Orekhov, a lawyer with a Russian passport and a trident on his jacket lapel, who represents Ukrainian independence fighters.

Since then, a lot of water has surfaced. On April 2, 2010, the Donetsk District Administrative Court did take away the title of Heroes of Ukraine from Bandera and Shukhevych (motivating it by the fact that they were not citizens of Ukraine, and therefore, the president could not award them); appeal and cassation confirmed the cancellation of the award decree. But Vitrenko Orekhov and his team did win, which legally proved that the Ukrainian heroes of the 20th century - starting with the Sich Riflemen and ending with the People's Movement - were fighters for Ukraine's independence.

Now, of course, no one would even think of contesting such statements, and back then, during Yanukovych's time, obvious facts had to be defended in court. And Roman Orekhov has been doing it for years.

After the Revolution of Dignity, the annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in Ukraine, lawyer Bandera Orekhov renounced his historical homeland - Russia - and Russian citizenship. And in the first days of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in 2022, Roman volunteered for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Currently, he is an officer of the legal service of the 1st separate special brigade named after Ivan Bohun of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

During this time, Roman Orekhov had two days off: one he was able to spend with his wife, who was actively volunteering in the east of Ukraine, and on the second he escaped to Lviv, to the funeral of Yury Shukhevych , with whom he had friendly relations.

Orekhov told about his war for Ukraine in an interview with " Novinarna ".

"The gates to Russia closed forever for me in 2014"

Roman Orekhov comes from Novorossiysk. He has no direct relation to Ukraine, relatives or anything. He came to Ukraine for the first time in 2006. At that time, the main activity of the law office where Roman worked was the support of legal entities - banks, leasing companies. At first it was just a business trip, but it dragged on for years.

At first Roman Orekhov, as he later admitted, did not understand the Ukrainian language. But soon he mastered it at a very high level, passed the official exam. Since then, he communicates in Ukrainian even with his wife, who is also Russian.

They traveled a lot in Ukraine and eventually settled in Zhytomyr.

According to him, Orekhov was forced to join the defenders of the OUN and the UPA in the courts due to his personal indignation at injustice: the cases were "stitched with white threads" and political involvement could be read in them. Roman offered his legal assistance to Stepan Bandera, Jr., the grandson of the leader of the OUN (b), and he chose Roman from among other lawyers.

"Unlike other "cowboys", Roman impressed me with his calmness and professionalism. He listened to me, not just talked, - said Stepan Bandera, Jr., who lived in Ukraine all the time in the "zero" years. - Orekhov immediately announced that he was born in Russia. Well, what is this? I was born in Canada. It's just a passport. Truth and the rule of law know no borders. I am convinced that one day the truth about grandfather Bandera will be known in Russia as well."

Romanov and his wife liked living in Ukraine. "But the year 2014 finally decided everything for us: the gate to Russia closed for me then forever," says the lawyer. "And even in my mind, I was no longer going to return to the Russian Federation."

Roman and his wife renounced Russian citizenship. For three years we had to go to court for refugee status, after another three years we submitted documents for obtaining Ukrainian citizenship and are still waiting for it.

"I realized that the war had started and went to sleep. And later to the Military Commissariat"

The Great War caught Roman in Zhytomyr. "It was obvious that there would be a full-scale invasion. But as of the evening of February 23, I was sure that no one would attack right now. I thought exclusively as a professional military man (Orekhov graduated from the Saratov and St. Petersburg Institutes of Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation - Author ). At that time, the forces and means of the enemy, concentrated on the border of Ukraine, were almost certainly known. You don't need to be a great gerographer to calculate the width of the potential front, take into account weather conditions, roadlessness, some elementary tactics (no one is advancing with columns of tanks - it just doesn't work!) to understand that large-scale offensive actions look hopeless. And here everything went against the grain - a political decision prevailed over military logic.

I usually work at night, and here I hear in the background: Zelensky with an urgent appeal. I think to myself: and what is he? Next, the UN Security Council is meeting live, Putin's speech. And rockets fly in parallel. So, I understand that no one needs my work now - and I go ... to sleep. Well, what's the point of panicking and running around the house? Everything has already happened," Orekhov recalls.

Roman Orekhov

He did not consider the options of leaving Ukraine: "I am 43 years old, I am an adult. This is my home, it was attacked - how can I run away? For me, the very thought of this is humiliating."

However, he admits that it took him several days to make a decision and go to the Military Commissariat.

"My wife won't let me lie: I wasn't afraid to go to the Armed Forces, to the war, and I wasn't even afraid that they might kill me. I am still a personnel officer, although I have been one for a long time, - says Roman. - But I perfectly knew and understood that the system in the army has not changed, unfortunately. Despite the reforms and the stories about them, the army system remains the same, even pre-Soviet. And this was more frightening than anything else. So it took time to weigh all the pros and cons before mobilizing."

Roman Orekhov with his comrades in the ranks of the Armed Forces

It was not an easy task: "It is not so easy to mobilize with such a background as mine," admits Roman, apparently referring to his Russian citizenship "in history." - I came with a refugee card, it says "Russian Federation" - everyone was so excited when they read it! Orekhov laughs. "But persistence, self-confidence and experience as a lawyer showed - I was mobilized."

"There was chaos in the Military Commissariat in those days. I went there every day and insisted on my mobilization, - recalls Orekhov. - Meanwhile, a new brigade was being created in the Armed Forces - the 1st separate special purpose brigade named after Bohun. They tell me: if the combrig takes you, then go, just unhook. My confidence was strengthened by the fact that I saw who was going to serve. Yes, they were motivated volunteers, but for the most part they are not specialists in military affairs at all. And I have two diplomas with honors from higher military educational institutions. And sitting at home, realizing that I can be effective, is abnormal, wrong."

" During the war, the legal service also relies on combat documentation "

Roman admits: in more than a year of service, none of his comrades made any remarks about his Russian origin. Even in private conversations.

Roman Orekhov

"I passed a special inspection of the SBU, military counter-intelligence - there were no questions," explains Roman. - It so happened that during the formation of the brigade (and everything happened from wheels), I directly participated in the recruitment of personnel. And I did not hide from anyone that I was Russian. It must be understood that a large percentage of the Armed Forces are made up of people who either studied, served, or received military education in Russia. Even among the top command, there are senior officers who graduated from military universities in Russia, just like me. Therefore, I am convinced: the main evaluation criterion is professionalism. If you are in your place, your motivation is obvious, and you can cope with the tasks - it is difficult for you to throw something away."

Today, Roman Orekhov is an officer of the legal service of the 1st municipal district.

"Legal officers are official advisers to the commander, and in addition to the standard approval of all his decisions, which are made in military units in peacetime, during the war, the legal service is also entrusted with combat documentation on the subject of compliance with both international humanitarian law and governing documents ", says Orekhov.

Roman Orekhov (behind) with his siblings

"Military service requires minute-by-minute decision-making - what on the battlefield, what in the office over the map. Any official military person anywhere must make decisions and bear responsibility for them. And it is necessary to quickly determine which decision is legitimate and legal.

And you, an officer of the legal service, turn into some kind of shaman, who is aware of certain nuances, the existence of which others simply do not know."

- explains Roman.

And that's why Roman Orekhov's service is constant travel: from front to front, because the brigade is scattered in all regions and all hot spots: "Our battalions took part in battles in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson regions. As a rule, command posts are within the range of enemy artillery and mortars, so shelling is a common occurrence. Today in the office - tomorrow in the trenches. Everything depends on the tasks at hand," says Roman.

"I last spoke to my mother on February 27, 2022, and I only had 3 minutes"

Orekhov is not on social networks, and he cut off all his contacts from his past life. He does not even communicate with his mother, who lives in Russia.

"The last time we spoke was on February 27, 2022, and it only took me 3 minutes of conversation to understand that our further communication is inappropriate. It will have a bad effect on my nervous system, will interfere with making the right decisions and maintaining internal stability," explains Roman.

He also does not keep in touch with his childhood friends and does not regret it. Orekhov compares his current position with how "good Germans" fought against Nazi Germany.

"For some, the aphorism that "blood is thicker than water" and that family ties are always more significant is close to them. But it's not like that for me. I look at the world and draw simple conclusions: there is truth and untruth, there is evil and good. You can't be a little pregnant. There are things that should be clearly defined. And that's why everything is simple for me: an international crime is taking place. Reflecting on the fact that I have a homeland, that I must always remember it - what is the point? How many people who were born in the Kaiser's Germany or the Weimar Republic eventually went on to fight against the Third Reich? Maybe there were not millions of them, but there were enough of them!

There were people who without reflection recognized the fact that their homeland was committing an international crime and opposed it. So I see injustice, and I have a choice: stand aside or participate in the fight against it. And the memories of childhood, youth, spent in Russia... Tell me, does a person who was hit by a bomb, mine or rocket need any memories? Do they already have any value?

Roman Orekhov with his brother

If I don't have a future, then I don't need the past at all! What will I do with him? Will I take you to that world? Maybe I will still think about how to save the future, and not live in memories? In war there is black and white, there are no shades. And if you think like that, you can preserve mental health and the ability to respond constructively to the challenges that reality throws at us," the officer reflects.

"After the Victory, the first thing to do is shave off the beard"

Roman has no illusions about the "democratic rebirth" of Russia: "Nothing will come of it! And it is very naive to hope that this Mordor can be helped - it must be destroyed, wiped off the face of the earth and, like Carthage, covered with salt. For

Putin is not fighting - I know that clearly! There is a collective Putin, the whole nation is infected with this terrible chauvinism.

And until there is atonement (and, in my opinion, it must be much more powerful than what happened after the Second World War in Nazi Germany), we will not be able to live in peace. The borders of 1991 are far from everything. Evil must be uprooted," Orekhova emphasizes.

However, Roman also has concerns about the future of Ukraine: "I feel the same confusion, because I am very afraid that due to internal processes, Ukraine may not achieve a real final and complete victory. And that's why I look with fear at all political news, at the international situation, at the internal situation, always evaluating from the position: does not all this threaten Ukraine? Will it turn out that there will be two hetmans on one throne again? I take care of it.

Roman Orekhov (right) with his brother

Because the armed forces are not a determining factor in war, they are only a tool that still needs to be used effectively. And a lot depends on how the political elite will behave in a state of murky water. And will they succumb to the temptation to catch more "fish" for themselves than to save the state.

It is very important that those who are currently dying, missing, injured, who are risking their lives for the sake of the state, do not become betrayed.

What will happen after the Victory? Will Ukraine be renewed, or will it sink into new terrible corruption systems? This question is open".

Roman connects his future with Ukraine and hopes to obtain Ukrainian citizenship.

"After the victory, the first thing I will do is shave my beard, demobilize from the Armed Forces, put on my housecoat instead of a military uniform, take a cigarette, coffee and go back to the computer - to communicate with the courts online, creeping outside as little as possible. As it was before," Roman paints a picture of his future.

"I felt good doing the work of a lawyer. But now I am doing what is more important. And I am grateful for the opportunity to be a participant in this process, to contribute to the victory of Ukraine. I am sure that I will never regret it," Orekhov sums up.

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