A Ukrainian website that catalogues perceived "enemies of Ukraine" has added several prominent foreign leaders to its database, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, following their controversial attendance at Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.

The Myrotvorets (Peacemaker) website, established in 2014 by former Ukrainian intelligence operatives, publishes personal information about individuals it deems threats to Ukraine's national security. The platform has now targeted the three leaders who participated in commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany on May 9.

According to the website's operators, Lula "denies Ukraine's right to resist Russian aggression", whilst Fico is accused of "promoting Kremlin propaganda narratives". Milorad Dodik, the outspoken leader of Bosnia's Republika Srpska entity, has been listed for allegedly attempting to "undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity".

The move reflects the diplomatic tensions surrounding international engagement with Russia whilst the war in Ukraine continues. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously blasted foreign leaders attending the Moscow celebrations, describing Vladimir Putin's temporary ceasefire proposals made during the event as a "theatrical performance".

Lula da Silva

“I told Putin it was time to end the war; I advised him to meet Zelensky in Istanbul. And I regret that he did not go."

Lula has consistently advocated for an immediate ceasefire and, along with China, launched a UN-sponsored initiative named “Group of Friends of Peace” aimed at proposing talks that would prevent battlefield expansion and conflict escalation.

Brazil's neutral stance has frustrated some Nato allies, who view Lula's approach as an impediment to their strategy of maintaining pressure on Russia through continued military support for Ukraine. The president's inclusion on Myrotvorets represents what critics see as an attempt to delegitimise mediation efforts outside Western diplomatic frameworks.

Brazil's foreign ministry, Itamaraty, has yet to issue an official response to Lula's inclusion on the website.

Robert Fico

Fico staged a remarkable political comeback in autumn 2023, returning to power after years in opposition by pivoting towards anti-Ukrainian rhetoric and national conservative positions. This strategic shift revitalised his populist Smer-SD party, allowing it to capitalise on Slovakia's anti-establishment sentiment, which encompasses both anti-Western and pro-Russian elements amongst the electorate.

After Fico quickly formed a left-right cabinet in 2023 together with Smer’s more moderate split-away party Hlas-SD and the Slovak Nationalist Party (SNS)-led list, which also includes an array of far-right and fundamentalist legislators, both Smer and Hlas were suspended from the Party of European Socialists (PES), the umbrella group for Europe’s Socialist parties.     

Fico’s cabinet pushed ahead with sweeping legislative changes to the country’s judiciary, police and restructuring public media, which sparked country-wide protests and put it at odds with the EU over rule of law backsliding concerns, while forging an alliance with the EU’s most pro-Russian leader, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán.

Fico stepped up his anti-Ukrainian rhetoric at the end of last year, seizing the opportunity of the long-signalled end to Russian gas transit through Ukraine, and he also made unprecedented appearances on Russian state media. However, Fico has so far avoided an open conflict with Brussels over the EU’s Ukrainian policy despite his repeated threats to block the EU’s new sanctions against Russia, possibly fearing an EU reaction, which could include freezing of EU funds, a lifeline for Slovakia’s slowing economy and widening state budget deficit.  

“Fico has very skilfully developed this brand of politics which combines neo-Stalinism with the tradition of Andrej Hlinka [founder of the Slovak People’s Party, which ruled the Nazi-allied World War II puppet state in Slovakia],” Boris Zala, a former founding Smer member, MP and MEP who left the party in 2016 over its corruption scandals and shift rightwards, told bne IntelliNews last November. 

“Smer has not been a left-wing party for some time,”  Zala continued, adding that today, “Smer is a nationalist-conservative party mixing the nostalgia after [the pre-1989 communist] old regime with Slovak People’s Party rhetoric, thanks to which it can attract neo-Stalinists and Hlinka supporters alike”. 

Milorad Dodik

Dodik was also present at the Moscow Victory Day parade and is a frequent traveller to Russia, despite recently being banned from travelling outside of Bosnia. He is an outspoken admirer of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, as well as US President Donald Trump.

In a recent interview with Russian broadcaster RT, Dodik accused the United States, Britain and Germany of escalating the war by provoking Moscow and pursuing geopolitical objectives at Ukraine's expense. He defended the Kremlin's military intervention, citing what he described as Ukraine's persecution of Russian-speaking populations and the Orthodox Church.

A long-term advocate of the secession of Bosnia’s Serb entity, Republika Srpska, Dodik has been behind steps taken by lawmakers in the entity to reject the authority of Bosnia’s state-level institutions — moves analysts warn are pushing the country closer to war than it has been since the 1990s. 

After being sentenced to one year in prison for violating state laws in February, Dodik has since initiated legislative changes and taken other steps towards the legal secession of Republika Srpska. In response, Bosnia’s state-level prosecution issued arrest warrants for Dodik, Republika Srpska’s Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic and parliament speaker Nenad Stevandic. 

Dodik’s political future now hangs in the balance. He has been in power alternately as Republika Srpska’s president and the Bosnian member of the tripartite state-level presidency since 2010. However, rival parties have banded together to oust his SNSD from power at state level, while Bosnia’s high representative recently cut off funding for the party. He is sanctioned by the US and UK for his efforts to undermine Bosnia's constitutional order, while Germany has stepped back from investments in Republika Srpska. 

Myrotvorets has previously listed journalists, artists, and religious leaders, with some subsequently facing persecution or attacks. The most notable case involved Ukrainian journalist Oles Buzina, who was murdered in Kyiv in 2015, days after his details appeared on the platform.

Whilst the website holds no legal authority, Ukrainian officials have used it as a symbolic tool of pressure. The platform's activities have drawn criticism from press freedom organisations and diplomatic circles concerned about the potential risks to those listed.

The Kyiv-based database has targeted high-profile figures with alleged close ties to the Kremlin, including former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters for "anti-Ukrainian propaganda". Other notable entries include former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and former British MP George Galloway.