In 2014, the regiment gained notoriety after allegations emerged of torture and war crimes as well as neo-Nazi sympathies and usage of associated symbols by the regiment itself, as seen in their logo featuring the Wolfsangel, one of the original symbols used by the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich. Representatives of the Azov Battalion say that the symbol is an abbreviation for the slogan Ідея Нації (Ukrainian for "National Idea") and deny connection with Nazism.[11] In 2014, a spokesman for the regiment said around 10–20% of the unit were neo-Nazis.[12] In 2018, a provision in an appropriations bill passed by the U.S. Congress blocked military aid to Azov on the grounds of its white supremacist ideology; however, in 2015, a similar ban on aid to the group was overturned by the Congress.[6][7] Members of the regiment come from 22 countries and are of various backgrounds.[13][14] More than half of the regiment's members speak Russian and come from eastern Ukraine,[15] including cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.[16] The unit's first commander was far-right nationalist Andriy Biletsky, who led the neo-Nazi Social-National Assembly and Patriot of Ukraine.[17][18] In its early days, Azov was a special police company of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, led by Volodymyr Shpara, the leader of the Vasylkiv, Kyiv, branch of Patriot of Ukraine and Right Sector.[19][20][21] In 2016, members of the non-governmental organization "Azov Civil Corps" and Azov Battalion veterans created the political party National Corps.[22]
It’s been reported by groups like amnesty since 2014 mate….unless of course they made it up. As I stated…..it obviously doesn’t fit your “good guy/bad guy” narrative so it must be a conspiracy theory, eh ?
I must admit I had not heard of them or the apparent atrocities until you brought them up I knew 14000 had died in the separatist regions but have no idea of the numbers killed by each side I also now know you can buy Azov battalion t shirts and hoodies
The thing is mate, I read this stuff…I find it quite interesting. There are so many conflicts going on in the world that we just don’t see, hear or read about……very rarely, in my opinion anyhow, are there good guys/bad guys.
I don't doubt there are some undesirables in the Eastern Ukraine camp. There are extremists on both sides in the Donblas dispute. It's the scale I'm questioning. Why wouldn't a left leaning media outlet like the BBC pick up on it to excuse Putin? The BBC would not be supporting a fascist, or even largely fascist, regime. Neither would the Guardian. Neither would Keir Starmer. In fact the only dissenting voice I've heard is Jeremy Corbyn and his small band of MP supporters.
Oh come on Goldie, get a grip mate. If you think it’s all a load of bollox and made up that’s fine…..just go ahead and say it. Just ‘cos the Beeb doesn’t report it, doesn’t make it untrue.
What's the EUs position on all this Lots of non eu countries doing something at least Several European nations have closed their airspace to Russian flights, as Moscow faces rising pressure over the invasion of Ukraine. Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia and Romania said on Saturday they were banning some flights from Russia. Russia earlier said it would close its airspace to flights from Bulgaria, Poland and the Czech Republic after they issued a ban on Russian jets. Meanwhile, Russian-owned planes can no longer enter UK airspace. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas urged other European Union countries to issue similar restrictions on Twitter, adding: "There is no place for planes of the aggressor state in democratic skies." Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa quoted Kallas's tweet saying that "Slovenia will do the same". And Latvian Transport Minister Talis Linkaits also said on Twitter that "Latvia will close its airspace to Russian-registered airlines for commercial flights," adding that the decision would be formally approved at the next cabinet meeting. The restriction on Russian flights over large swathes of eastern Europe will require Russian airlines to take circuitous routes. One Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Budapest on Saturday logged a flight time about 75 minutes longer than usual, according to the Flightradar24 tracking website, with a route avoiding Poland. BBC graphic showing nations which have closed airspace Commercial airlines are also avoiding airspace around Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus following Russia's invasion. In the United States, Delta Air Lines said it would suspend a code-sharing agreement with Russia's Aeroflot. The UK's ban on Russian flights, including Aeroflot planes and private jets, led Moscow to retaliate with a similar curb on British planes. Virgin Atlantic said avoiding Russia would add between 15 minutes and an hour to its flights between the UK and India and Pakistan.
But NOBODY has. Apart from you and Jezza. Could it be that the 10-20% neo Nazis in Donblas are bad, but the Russian backed separatists who shoot down Malaysian airline planes killing all on board are worse?
Germany have just announced they are sending defensive weapons to Ukraine including 500 Stingers. Not before time.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/10/azov-far-right-fighters-ukraine-neo-nazis I know it’s the Guardian and probably not on the approved reading list but hey ho
