Right now, historians are currently combing through thousands upon thousands of pages from the newly released files on John F. Kennedy. While there’s sure to be a ton of new information released regarding the assassination, one document has already caught people’s attention.
This is correspondence from one Sergyj Czornonoh, who claimed that he provided vital information about Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, to the American Vice Consul months before the incident took place. The letters included in the document are all dated after the assassination but the contents are interesting nonetheless.
What do the letters say?
There are three letters from Czornonoh which can be read here. The first one is addressed to the British Ambassador and in it he states that he was interrogated by police in London. He claims he told the officers interrogating him that he had heard an American (Oswald) had defected to Russia and later returned to the States intending to kill Kennedy.
The second letter is getting the most attention online and it comes from around 1978. In it, Czornonoh claims that a Mr. Wasilev, the Consul who worked for the embassy in Bulgaria, gave him information about Oswald on August 14th, 1963. He passed this information on to the American Vice Consul, who he refers to as “Mr. Blackshire,” it’s presumed he is talking about Tom Blackshear in this case.
He also supposedly went to D.C. to share this information with a Mr. Kippingan where he also revealed that Martin Luther King Jr. was going to be killed. While there he claims F.B.I agents used anesthesia gas on him to give him amnesia.
The third letter contains more mention of harassment from authorities although much worse than the incident in D.C. Czornonoh claimed that he was being drugged and brainwashed to kill Sargent Shriver, who unsuccessfully ran for Democratic presidential nomination in 1976.
The final piece of correspondence contained in these documents comes from the Legal Center for the Disabled and is addressed to Czornonoh. The letter confirms that the firm will provide legal representation should the police or F.B.I. take legal action to have him institutionalized.
Can we trust these letters?
There is some truth in Czornonoh’s letters, Lee Harvey Oswald did in fact defect to Russia, and there have been unverified claims that he was acting under Soviet orders, but whether his plans were known to anyone else before the assassination is up for debate. There doesn’t appear to be any evidence of Czornonoh’s communications from 1963, only the letters from 15 years later – anyone could claim they knew something was going to happen after it’s already happened.
On X some people believed the content of the letters, while other, more skeptical folk dismissed it entirely.
Bulls**t — This is cry for attention from 1978. Is it corroborated by anyone?! Nope. It’s “I’m a psychic/I predicted it” nonsense, ex post facto.
— Patrick🌻🇺🇦 (@CheeseWhiz) March 19, 2025
Admittedly, the lack of any evidence coming from before November 1963 leaves a pretty big hole in the story, we only have his word that he met with these people and tried to warn them. Czornonoh’s other claims – the ones about being force-fed drugs and brainwashed, while being very sad, do suggest that perhaps he isn’t the most reliable source.
Published: Mar 19, 2025 08:06 am