Quote from: "Dinky Dazza" post_id=442485 time=1646463251 user_id=1676

Quote from: Bricktop post_id=442483 time=1646462654 user_id=1560

Quote from: "Dinky Dazza" post_id=442453 time=1646449903 user_id=1676
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....

Quote from: Bricktop post_id=442491 time=1646465041 user_id=1560

Quote from: "Dinky Dazza" post_id=442485 time=1646463251 user_id=1676

Quote from: Bricktop post_id=442483 time=1646462654 user_id=1560

Quote from: "Dinky Dazza" post_id=442453 time=1646449903 user_id=1676
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.

Quote from: Herman post_id=442404 time=1646434608 user_id=1689
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.

Quote from: Bricktop post_id=442491 time=1646465041 user_id=1560
There is no imminent threat to Russia's security, and Ukraine joining NATO was a long way off, if ever.

Quote from: Herman post_id=442404 time=1646434608 user_id=1689
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.