Podcast Summary: Redacted News

Episode: "What I saw in Ukraine SHOOK me to my core" — Ukraine is not a democracy, it never was

Host: Clayton Morris
Guest: Benoit Par, Former French Ministry of Defense, OSCE Observer, Author
Date: November 26, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode challenges the mainstream Western narrative about Ukraine's status as a democracy before and during the current war, drawing on the eyewitness experiences of Benoit Par, who served as an observer for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) from 2015–2022. The conversation shines a light on human rights abuses, judicial corruption, media censorship, and state-sponsored violence in Ukraine, and raises questions about Western support for the country’s government.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The "Democracy" Narrative and the 2014 Coup

• Western justification for supporting Ukraine hinges on the claim it is a democracy fighting Russian aggression (02:00)
• Benoit Par contests this, pointing to longstanding US State Department and media characterizations of Ukraine as highly corrupt, even before the 2014 Maidan events.
• He cites scholarly research (Ivan Katchanovski, Univ. of Ottawa) indicating that the Maidan protests involved a false-flag attack, with opposition forces killing demonstrators to blame the government—undermining claims to democratic legitimacy (05:50).
  • Quote:
    “This was a coup based on a false flag attack on demonstrators. Now all the evidence is out there for people to look at, except that people don’t want to look at it.”
    — Benoit Par (05:50)
• Media Complicity: Major Western journalists, even those with the influence of a New York Times equivalent, refused to investigate these findings because "it would change too many things." (07:05)

2. OSCE Observations: Human Rights Violations and Kidnappings

• Par’s Role: He was in a small, sensitive “Human Dimension” unit of the OSCE with access to reports of kidnappings, torture, and extrajudicial arrests, mostly in Eastern Ukraine (10:45).

• Pattern of Abuses:

  • Civilians were routinely kidnapped by armed men (often from “volunteer battalions” such as Azov, Aidar, Donbas, Dnipro-1/2) and subjected to torture and sexual humiliation.
  • Journalists were a primary target to suppress dissenting narratives (24:19).
  • Quote:
    “They asked him to hold a gun in his hand ... ‘Now we have your fingerprints. If you don’t do as you’re told, we will accuse you of terrorism.’”
    — Benoit Par, recounting a journalist’s story (27:08)
  • SBU (Ukraine’s security service) often prosecuted journalists, threatening them with long sentences if they continued reporting (28:23).

• Systematic Judicial Abuse:

  • Civilian courts in Donbas (and later Odessa) saw 100% conviction rates, especially for “terrorism”—often just for talking to family across the line about troop positions, or posting online in favour of separatists.
  • Quote:
    “Anyone could be arrested … In both oblasts, prosecutors told me, ‘We have only one or two people who escaped conviction, but don’t worry, they’ll be convicted on appeal.’”
    — Benoit Par (31:33)
  • Torture was routine and confessions extracted under duress were accepted as evidence (38:24).

3. Press and Political Suppression:

• Courts and SBU: Judges admitted they merely followed prosecutors’ requests, and the SBU surveilled and intimidated both defendants’ families and trial attendees (42:58).

• Political Censorship: Opposition Bloc, the main Russian-leaning party, was subject to harassment, denial of resources, and bans on public rallies from 2015 onward. By the time of the current war, 11 opposition parties had been banned, and party leaders arrested. (73:33)

• Quote:
  “From the moment I decided to run for mayor, my credit card was blocked … and I was told, if you want to be able to use it again, you have to step down as candidate. So I did.”
  — Benoit Par, relating a Donbas politician’s experience (74:19)

4. Media Blackout and State Cover-up

• Suppression of OSCE Reporting:

  • Detailed civilian casualty reports showing that Ukrainian government shelling caused the majority of deaths in separatist-held areas were suppressed at the behest of Ukrainian authorities (55:26, 57:18).
  • Quote:
    “Our head of mission decided that from then on we would no longer publish statistics that would show on which side we would actually confirm the biggest amount of victims.”
    — Benoit Par (56:59)

• Western Government Silence:

  • Par attempted to raise these realities with both OSCE management and the French government, but was met with silence or indifference (67:26).

5. Organized Crime, Corruption, and Morality in Ukraine

• Corruption:
  • Widespread at every level of government, including police, judiciary, and local politicians.
  • Foreign aid frequently vanished into private hands; local officials advised foreign donors to give only at the local level lest funds disappear (80:12).
• Deep Systemic Rot:
  • Par recounts stories of blackmail, “mafia” ties among prosecutors, and even cases tied to pedophilia and trafficking (82:27, 83:44).
• Children-for-Sale and Surrogacy Industry:
  • Ukraine emerged as a hub for legally dubious surrogacy, with babies routinely sold abroad. Certain clinics locked women in for entire pregnancies, and contracts denied them any access to the children later. (84:08, 86:21)
  • Quote:
    “…We have customers who come and we show them a catalog. In our catalog we have different options—you could basically request the woman stays locked inside the clinic for the whole pregnancy … but it was more expensive.”
    — Benoit Par (85:28)

6. Allegations of Organ Harvesting and Human Trafficking

• Organ Harvesting:
  • Par heard unconfirmed but disturbing reports—especially from Russian sources—of facilities linked to child organ trafficking, particularly after the Russian invasion, but lacks direct evidence (92:19, 93:15).
• Human Trafficking:
  • A highly policed conflict zone may have suppressed visible trafficking locally, but surrogacy and baby-selling were rampant, with minimal safeguards against abuse.

7. War, Propaganda, and the Prospects for Peace

• Western Elites Pushing for Escalation:

  • Par warns that European governments and the media are pushing narratives of inevitable war with Russia. France and the EU lack the constitutional checks of the US, making them more susceptible to elite-driven policy without public consent (95:04, 98:29).

• Quote:
  “We are living through the fabrication of the enemy … They are trying to convince us that Russia basically wants to recreate the Soviet Union, the Soviet Empire, and will not stop there … We are living through everyday situation. It's like a coup is being arranged against the European people, against their will, and there’s nothing we can do.”
  — Benoit Par (96:42, 98:29)

• Suppression of Freedom:

  • The EU is actively legislating for increased digital surveillance, threatening freedom of speech, and criminalizing dissent about the war (100:30).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Media Silence:
  “A major journalist … just paused and said, 'No, it would change too many things.' That was his answer.”
  — Benoit Par (07:05)

• On Justice in Ukraine:
  “The prosecutor asks and we follow. … The SBU was running the show.”
  — Benoit Par (42:58, 44:27)

• On Civilian Suffering:
  “The Ukrainian military was not doing anything, they’re just sitting there waiting to be shot at … But when I look at the figures … 72% of the victims that we verified were actually based on the separatist side.”
  — Benoit Par (57:18)

• On Corruption:
  “If you want to invest money in Ukraine, give it to the local people. If you give it to higher level, it will disappear.”
  — Local mayor, relayed by Benoit Par (80:12)

• On Surrogacy & Human Rights:
  “She worked in one of these clinics where they literally sell babies … There was even one option, to have the surrogate woman locked inside for the whole pregnancy. It was more expensive.”
  — Benoit Par (85:28)

Key Timestamps

• Proxy War & Democracy Narrative: 02:00–05:00
• 2014 Maidan Coup & Media Cover-up: 05:00–09:40
• OSCE Human Rights Findings: 10:45–20:00
• Journalist Kidnappings & Torture: 24:19–28:40
• 100% Conviction Courts, Civilian Arrests: 31:33–39:00
• Justice System & SBU Control: 42:58–48:00
• Odessa Massacre & Judicial Corruption: 47:57–51:00
• Suppression of Critical Reporting: 55:26–57:18
• French & Western Government Inaction: 67:26–71:24
• Political Oppression, Party Bans: 73:33–78:30
• Corruption & Organized Crime: 80:12–83:44
• Surrogacy, Baby Factories: 84:08–91:53
• Organ Harvesting Allegations: 92:17–93:15
• Escalation Toward WW3: 95:04–99:23
• EU Surveillance Laws, Loss of Freedoms: 100:30–102:21

Tone & Takeaway

The conversation is charged, skeptical, and at times plainly alarmed about both the conditions inside Ukraine and the narratives dominating Western policy and media coverage. Par delivers his first-hand testimonies deliberately and with professional sobriety, yet conveys a deep sense of betrayal by Western democratic institutions that, in his view, have sacrificed truth for geopolitical expediency. The episode ends with a call for transparency, courage in exposing official lies, and resistance to escalating war.

Recommended For:
Viewers seeking dissenting views on Western support for Ukraine, first-hand observer testimony about human rights and state abuses, and a broader inquiry into the intersection of war, media, power, and truth in contemporary international affairs.