re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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No, they’re nothing but Nazis in the Azov Regiment. Yall are cheering on literal Nazis.

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Well yeah, but that was 80 years ago at this point.

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So is the photo a deep fake? Who cares who reports it so long as the photo is real.

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As innumerable critics with limited understanding of Ukrainian politics never tire of pointing out, the founder of Azov, Andriy Biletsky, is indeed a figure who holds racist and white supremacist views. Early Azov was home to all sorts of freakish characters, and Biletsky certainly sought and maintained relationships with neo-Nazi groups throughout Russia and Europe. 

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The influence of Biletsky dissipated as soon as he left Azov in October 2014; his later attempts to create a parallel movement, the “National Corps,” were the result of his de jure exclusion from the military and his declining influence. The confederation of right-wing political parties that he corralled into a common platform during the 2019 elections failed to win more than 2% of the national vote, while the Jewish presidential candidate, Volodymyr Zelensky, won with 73%. The original, post-Maidan composition of Azov was quickly diluted, and the ghost of Biletsky was replaced with regular officers of the Interior Ministry. By 2017, the battalion as a whole remained distinguished—but for its martial prowess, not for some distinct political ideology. 

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A Swedish sniper who had served in the battalion once told me that his experience in the unit, which included service alongside ethnic Greek, Turkish, Georgian, and Azerbaijani soldiers, transformed him from a white racist into a conservative nationalist—progress! A Donbas-born Jewish political consultant with whom I regularly drink in Kyiv remains a proud Azov reserve officer.

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If Azov began in 2014-15 by drawing in volunteers attracted to its ideology or reputation for fierce fighting ability, it now depends for recruits on allocations by the Interior Ministry, which tightly oversees its promotions and officer commissions.

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