Ukraine's Military Units are Chock Full of Neo Nazis

[Bricktop]

I posted a video compilation of Azov units with nazi symbols on their uniforms or gear in another thread.



These are the type of people who gun down their own people and destroy buildings then blame it on their enemies.

As the egg caked purple Oliver has stated...so what? It is none of Russia's business.



Civilians are dying in a country that posed no imminent threat to Russia.

That part of the equation isn't but the part where the Ukraine would invite in NATO missile batteries is....

Agreed.



But that is WHEN NATO moved first strike weapons on Russia's eastern border, not IF.



There is no imminent threat to Russia's security, and Ukraine joining NATO was a long way off, if ever.



I agree that to this point, America has failed to act with respect to Russia's security. As they always have.



Invading Ukraine is not going to change their attitude. America needs to get out of Europe and let them handle their affairs.

[Frood]

I posted a video compilation of Azov units with nazi symbols on their uniforms or gear in another thread.



These are the type of people who gun down their own people and destroy buildings then blame it on their enemies.

As the egg caked purple Oliver has stated...so what? It is none of Russia's business.



Civilians are dying in a country that posed no imminent threat to Russia.

That part of the equation isn't but the part where the Ukraine would invite in NATO missile batteries is....

Agreed.



But that is WHEN NATO moved first strike weapons on Russia's eastern border, not IF.



There is no imminent threat to Russia's security, and Ukraine joining NATO was a long way off, if ever.



I agree that to this point, America has failed to act with respect to Russia's security. As they always have.



Invading Ukraine is not going to change their attitude. America needs to get out of Europe and let them handle their affairs.

They've already been pushing for purely "defensive" missile capabilities on their Russian borders... by defensive, they mean can be swapped out for offensive in under 10 minutes and there's no way to know by others if it's happened.



Once launched, they can hit Moscow in under 6 minutes....

[Anonymous]

Ukraine is the most openly racist country in Europe. The people fighting off Russians don't want the large scale immigration that Russia has had under Putin. They also are responsible for many war crimes.



Profile: Who are Ukraine's far-right Azov regiment?

The far-right neo-Nazi group has expanded to become part of Ukraine's armed forces, a street militia and a political party.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1 ... v-regiment">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment



Azov is a far-right all-volunteer infantry military unit whose members – estimated at 900 – are ultra-nationalists and accused of harbouring neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideology.



The unit was initially formed as a volunteer group in May 2014 out of the ultra-nationalist Patriot of Ukraine gang, and the neo-Nazi Social National Assembly (SNA) group. Both groups engaged in xenophobic and neo-Nazi ideals and physically assaulted migrants, the Roma community and people opposing their views.



As a battalion, the group fought on the front lines against pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, the eastern region of Ukraine. Just before launching the invasion, Putin recognised the independence of two rebel-held regions from Donbas.



A few months after recapturing the strategic port city of Mariupol from the Russian-backed separatists, the unit was officially integrated into the National Guard of Ukraine on November 12, 2014, and exacted high praise from then-President Petro Poroshenko.



"These are our best warriors," he said at an awards ceremony in 2014. "Our best volunteers."



Who founded Azov?

The unit was led by Andriy Biletsky, who served as the the leader of both the Patriot of Ukraine (founded in 2005) and the SNA (founded in 2008).  The SNA is known to have carried out attacks on minority groups in Ukraine.



In 2010, Biletsky said Ukraine's national purpose was to "lead the white races of the world in a final crusade ... against Semite-led Untermenschen [inferior races]".



Biletsky was elected to parliament in 2014. He left Azov as elected officials cannot be in the military or police force. He remained an MP until 2019.



The 42-year-old is nicknamed Bely Vozd – or White Ruler – by his supporters. He established the far-right National Corps party in October 2016, whose core base is veterans of Azov.



Before becoming part of Ukraine's armed forces, who funded Azov?

The unit received backing from Ukraine's interior minister in 2014, as the government had recognised its own military was too weak to fight off the pro-Russian separatists and relied on paramilitary volunteer forces.



These forces were privately funded by oligarchs – the most known being Igor Kolomoisky, an energy magnate billionaire and then-governor of the Dnipropetrovska region.



In addition to Azov, Kolomoisky funded other volunteer battalions such as the Dnipro 1 and Dnipro 2, Aidar and Donbas units.



Azov received early funding and assistance from another oligarch: Serhiy Taruta, the billionaire governor of Donetsk region.



Neo-Nazi ideology

In 2015, Andriy Diachenko, the spokesperson for the regiment at the time said that 10 to 20 percent of Azov's recruits were Nazis.



In January 2018, Azov rolled out its street patrol unit called National Druzhyna to "restore" order in the capital, Kyiv. Instead, the unit carried out pogroms against the Roma community and attacked members of the LGBTQ community.



"Ukraine is the world's only nation to have a neo-Nazi formation in its armed forces," a correspondent for the US-based magazine, the Nation, wrote in 2019.



Human rights violations and war crimes

A 2016 report by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHA) has accused the Azov regiment of violating international humanitarian law.



The report detailed incidents over a period from November 2015-February 2016 where Azov had embedded their weapons and forces in used civilian buildings, and displaced residents after looting civilian properties. The report also accused the battalion of raping and torturing detainees in the Donbas region.

From what I have read about Ukraine, every leader they have had since the dissolution of the USSR would make Putin appear transparent by comparison.

[Anonymous]

There is no imminent threat to Russia's security, and Ukraine joining NATO was a long way off, if ever.

Not according to the Biden administration. They wanted US troop buildups in NATO countries like Poland and fast tracking Ukraine into NATO. Putin's demands that the US reverse course were not only ignored, VP Harris escalated the tensions. Russia had no choice.



The US lead NATO instigates yet another war in Europe. The Warsaw Pact is gone, NATO should be history too.

[Anonymous]

Ukraine is the most openly racist country in Europe. The people fighting off Russians don't want the large scale immigration that Russia has had under Putin. They also are responsible for many war crimes.



Profile: Who are Ukraine's far-right Azov regiment?

The far-right neo-Nazi group has expanded to become part of Ukraine's armed forces, a street militia and a political party.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1 ... v-regiment">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment



Azov is a far-right all-volunteer infantry military unit whose members – estimated at 900 – are ultra-nationalists and accused of harbouring neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideology.



The unit was initially formed as a volunteer group in May 2014 out of the ultra-nationalist Patriot of Ukraine gang, and the neo-Nazi Social National Assembly (SNA) group. Both groups engaged in xenophobic and neo-Nazi ideals and physically assaulted migrants, the Roma community and people opposing their views.



As a battalion, the group fought on the front lines against pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, the eastern region of Ukraine. Just before launching the invasion, Putin recognised the independence of two rebel-held regions from Donbas.



A few months after recapturing the strategic port city of Mariupol from the Russian-backed separatists, the unit was officially integrated into the National Guard of Ukraine on November 12, 2014, and exacted high praise from then-President Petro Poroshenko.



"These are our best warriors," he said at an awards ceremony in 2014. "Our best volunteers."



Who founded Azov?

The unit was led by Andriy Biletsky, who served as the the leader of both the Patriot of Ukraine (founded in 2005) and the SNA (founded in 2008).  The SNA is known to have carried out attacks on minority groups in Ukraine.



In 2010, Biletsky said Ukraine's national purpose was to "lead the white races of the world in a final crusade ... against Semite-led Untermenschen [inferior races]".



Biletsky was elected to parliament in 2014. He left Azov as elected officials cannot be in the military or police force. He remained an MP until 2019.



The 42-year-old is nicknamed Bely Vozd – or White Ruler – by his supporters. He established the far-right National Corps party in October 2016, whose core base is veterans of Azov.



Before becoming part of Ukraine's armed forces, who funded Azov?

The unit received backing from Ukraine's interior minister in 2014, as the government had recognised its own military was too weak to fight off the pro-Russian separatists and relied on paramilitary volunteer forces.



These forces were privately funded by oligarchs – the most known being Igor Kolomoisky, an energy magnate billionaire and then-governor of the Dnipropetrovska region.



In addition to Azov, Kolomoisky funded other volunteer battalions such as the Dnipro 1 and Dnipro 2, Aidar and Donbas units.



Azov received early funding and assistance from another oligarch: Serhiy Taruta, the billionaire governor of Donetsk region.



Neo-Nazi ideology

In 2015, Andriy Diachenko, the spokesperson for the regiment at the time said that 10 to 20 percent of Azov's recruits were Nazis.



In January 2018, Azov rolled out its street patrol unit called National Druzhyna to "restore" order in the capital, Kyiv. Instead, the unit carried out pogroms against the Roma community and attacked members of the LGBTQ community.



"Ukraine is the world's only nation to have a neo-Nazi formation in its armed forces," a correspondent for the US-based magazine, the Nation, wrote in 2019.



Human rights violations and war crimes

A 2016 report by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHA) has accused the Azov regiment of violating international humanitarian law.



The report detailed incidents over a period from November 2015-February 2016 where Azov had embedded their weapons and forces in used civilian buildings, and displaced residents after looting civilian properties. The report also accused the battalion of raping and torturing detainees in the Donbas region.

Wowzers. Ukraine is a mess.

[Bricktop]

The irony out of all this is that Putin will achieve exactly the opposite of what he would have hoped.



NATO will strengthen their forces, Russia will never be trusted again and will remain encircled by increasingly menacing NATO first strike capabilities.



Russia will have gained nothing.

[Odinson]

Ukraine a racist country?



What you are gonna see here is a talking rat trying to jump the ship after 9 years.

[Anonymous]

The irony out of all this is that Putin will achieve exactly the opposite of what he would have hoped.



NATO will strengthen their forces, Russia will never be trusted again and will remain encircled by increasingly menacing NATO first strike capabilities.



Russia will have gained nothing.

Someone posted that the German chancellor has said that NATO membership is off the table for Ukraine despite the American viec president saying before all of this that it should be fast tracked.

 ac_dunno

[Anonymous]

U.S. and Western officials are grappling with the embarrassing fact that they oversold their backing for Kyiv and now face the reality that Putin has called their bluff with an invasion,



The West giving assistance to guerrrilla fighters in Ukraine is a really bad idea. Western governments don't seem all that selective about their potential partners in a Ukrainian resistance force. British military personnel already appear to be working with the National Guard to facilitate future cooperation.



Washington's experience in trying to vet factions in other countries to warrant similar U.S. support is not an encouraging one. U.S. backing for the Afghan Mujahedin in the 1980s ended up strengthening and disproportionately benefitting the most radical Islamic factions who were battling the Soviet army of occupation. Of course we now know one of the Arab volunteers the United States worked with was a young man named Osama Bin Laden. Washington's assistance to the Afghan resistance ultimately did not benefit either Afghanistan or the United States.



Other U.S. Cold War ventures did not fare much better. The United States embarrassed itself and thoroughly compromised American values by supporting unworthy, even odious, foreign clients in proxy wars against regimes that U.S. policymakers designated as adversaries. Backing the likes of the Nicaraguan Contras and Jonas Savimbi's authoritarian UNITA organization in Angola was not a source of pride for the United States.



Such follies did not end with the passing of the Cold War. Barack Obama's administration supported a motley collection of insurgents in Syria who were seeking to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad. Most of those factions proved to be radical Islamists, not advocates of Western democratic values. Moreover, even when Washington tried to confine its support to relatively moderate elements, much of the money and weaponry ended up in the hands of the Nusra Front and other extremist, even outright terrorist, operatives. We don't need a repetition of such embarrassing associations by supporting an armed resistance in Ukraine that would inevitably include fascistic elements.