Does Daredevil Die in Defenders Born Again

© AP / Efrem Lukatsky
A symbol of Azov volunteer battalion is tattooed on a battalion officeholder's neck equally he talks to his soldiers in Kiev, Ukraine. The battalion'south symbol is reminiscent of the Nazi Wolfsangel.

The Nazi influence on modern-day Ukrainian politics is clear, tangible, and willfully ignored by its Western supporters

A brief wait at the documents regarding the foundation of the Ukrainian state would make information technology appear quite European and democratic, which is exactly the reason why many might have dismissed Vladimir Putin's talk about neo-Nazis in Ukraine as rhetoric and propaganda. The truth, however, is much more complicated and cannot be summarized by saying "Ukrainian president is Jewish, and thus all allegations are untrue".

Tell me who your heroes are, and I volition tell you who you are

I historical figure who has emerged every bit a hero in postal service-Maidan Ukraine is Stepan Bandera, a leader and ideologist of the militant wing of the far-right Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Today, there are streets named afterwards him, people sing songs in his laurels and deport his portrait.

© Reuters / Valentyn Ogirenko
Ukrainian neonazi terrorist Stephan Bandera is honored in a torchlight parade

Born in Galicia (at the fourth dimension part of Republic of austria-Republic of hungary) on January 1, 1909, Stepan Bandera was tried on terrorism charges in Poland on multiple occasions. In 1934, he was sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He served his judgement until 1939, when he was released following the German invasion of Poland.

Bandera spent his younger years building a career in nationalist organizations. In 1928, he joined the Ukrainian Military Organization, and in 1929, he became a member of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists where he quickly gained influence. He was instrumental in the split of the organisation into two factions in Feb 1940. Bandera became the leader of the more radical OUN-B, while more moderate members supported Andriy Melnyk's OUN-M.

Both factions supported Hitler'due south 3rd Reich and collaborated with the Germans during WWII. Bandera personally negotiated the cosmos of the "Ukrainian Legion" under German control that was finally organized as two units. Ane, commanded by Roman Shukhevych became known every bit Nachtigall Battalion, and the other, commanded by Richard Yary, was the Roland Battalion. Both were the subunits nether command of the Abwehr (the German military-intelligence service) special operation unit of measurement Brandenburgers.

The 1st Galician Division of the SS was besides drafted predominantly from volunteers of Ukrainian ethnic background with ties to the OUN. 1 of the Segmentation'south battalions was commanded by an OUN member, Major Yevgeny Pobigushchy. Present-day Ukrainian propaganda depicts this Division every bit the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, but it was even so some other OUN-established nationalist paramilitary organization that collaborated with the Nazis and was steered by the OUN leaders Dmytro Klyachkivsky and Roman Shukhevych. In reality, the 1st Galician Sectionalization of the SS started off as the SS-Freiwilligen Segmentation "Galizien" but was re-named after 1944 equally the 14th Waffen Grenadier Sectionalisation der SS and was supposed to exist made up of Galicians only, who were considered past Nazis to be "more Aryan-similar" than Ukrainians. Still, OUN-B successfully infiltrated the division and took over some leading positions in it.

The Nazi essence of Bandera is highlighted by the decisions of the organization, paragraph 16 of the instruction 'Struggle and Activities of the OUN in Wartime' of 1941 states:

"National minorities are divided into those:

a) friendly to usa, that is, members of all enslaved peoples;

b) hostile to us - Muscovites, Poles, Jews.

a) with same rights every bit Ukrainians, who can render to their homeland;

b) who are destroyed in the struggle, except for those who defend the authorities: resettlement in their lands, the destruction, first of all, of the intelligentsia, which should not be allowed in whatever regime institutions, and mostly make information technology impossible for the intelligentsia to announced, that is, access to schools, etc. For example, the then-called Polish villagers need to be assimilated, informing them, especially in this hot, fanatical time, that they are Ukrainians, only of the Latin rite, forcibly alloyed. Destroy the leaders. Isolate the Yids, remove them from authorities institutions in order to avoid sabotage, especially Muscovites and Poles. If at that place is an insurmountable need to exit a Yid in the economic apparatus, put our policeman over him and liquidate him for the slightest offense.

The leaders of sure areas of life can only be Ukrainians, and not foreigners-enemies. Assimilation of Yids is out of the question."

Bandera, as the head of this organization, was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine by ex-President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko on Jan 20, 2010. On February 17, 2010, MEPs called on newly elected President Viktor Yanukovych to reconsider Yushchenko's actions, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center expressed "deep disgust" over the "shameful" veneration of Bandera.

After the coup of 2014, the new Ukrainian regime took a more systematic arroyo to glorifying Hitler'due south collaborators. In Apr of 2015, the constabulary 'On the Legal Status and Perpetuation of the Memory of Fighters for the Independence of Ukraine in the 20th Century' was adopted, in which the OUN and UPA are glorified. This perpetuation of retentiveness refers to the building of memorial complexes, renaming pregnant places later on the collaborators, propaganda in art, etc. In 2019, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a resolution on celebrating memorable dates and anniversaries. The list includes the birthday of Stepan Bandera. On January 1, torchlight processions honoring Bandera are held annually in Ukrainian cities, and a Stepan Bandera Artery has appeared in Kiev.

Nothing in the law prevents marches to be held and monuments to exist erected in laurels of the Galicia SS division. In accord with Ukrainian legislation, no monuments tin be created without the permission of the municipal authorities.

Historical myths in school and the Hitler Youth

Educating children in the spirit of Ukrainian Nazism begins in school. In particular, a history textbook written past Mykola Galichants directly refers to the 'Aryan origin' of the Ukrainian nation, whose beingness he traces directly back to the Paleolithic era. This textbook was published in 2005.

All references to the 'Second World War' have completely disappeared from Ukrainian textbooks. In the exam topics for 2020, merely a sure 'Soviet-German War' is mentioned and any reference to Hitler, Bandera, the Holocaust, etc. is diligently avoided. However, there are some exceptions. One version of a fifth-form textbook notes that on April ane, 1939, Hitler allegedly stated: "The soul hurts when we see the suffering of the noble Ukrainian people... The time has come to create a mutual Ukrainian state." Some textbooks express pride that Ukrainian youths defended German cities from bombing attacks, while others declare that the regimes of Hitler and Stalin were equally hostile to Ukrainians.

These discrepancies are unsurprising considering there is no unmarried history textbook for schools in Ukraine. While the authors attempt to comply with a constabulary entitled 'On the Condemnation of the Communist and National Socialist Regimes and the Prohibition of Propaganda of Their Symbols', when referring to the cooperation of the OUN and Ukraine'south Greek Catholic Church with the Nazis, it would announced that they are not always successful.

For instance, a tenth-grade textbook authored by V. Vlasov and Southward. Kulchitsky talks nigh how Metropolitan Archbishop Andrei Sheptytsky saved Jews, for which people are ordinarily bestowed with the title 'Righteous Amid the Nations of the World'. Withal, the Israeli Earth Holocaust Remembrance Heart, Yad Vashem, denied Sheptytsky this honor, and it is quite clear why. At the kickoff of Globe State of war 2, Sheptytsky sent a letter to Hitler expressing support for the 'liberation' of Kiev. The textbook also names Bandera equally the initiator of the 'Deed of Restoration of Ukrainian Statehood'. While educators are in no hurry to inform schoolchildren of its contents, you tin can see festive posters on the streets of Ukraine honoring this certificate. Information technology should exist noted that the tertiary page of this Deed reads as follows:

"In one case restored, the Ukrainian State volition closely cooperate with National Socialist Germany, which is creating a new arrangement in Europe and the world under the leadership of Adolf Hitler and helping the Ukrainian people to free themselves from Moscow's occupation. The Ukrainian National Revolutionary Army, which is being formed on Ukrainian soil, will fight together with the allied German Army against Moscow for a sovereign, united Ukrainian country and a new system throughout the globe."

Merely what the schools don't teach is made up for past Ukrainian neo-Nazi organizations that are active all over the country. The about common are the Azovets war machine camps organized by the Azov Battalion, where children from the historic period of 7 are taught to engage in war and sabotage. The unabridged preparation system is littered with Nazi symbols and slogans. In item, the Ukrainian chant 'Ukraine above all' is directly derived from 'Deutschland über alles'.

While Ukrainian nationalists played an of import role in the modify of power during the Euromaidan in 2013-2014, the education of young people in the Nazi spirit began way before 2014. For example, in 2006, terrorist and demolition training were conducted in Estonia under the guidance of curators from NATO countries. In 2013, the UNA-UNSO likewise reported that they had conducted these exercises. The latter system is one of the oldest, and its members took part in the wars against the Russian army in Georgia and Chechnya. The training of militants and the Patriot of Ukraine organization are widely known, and these processes are supported at the highest state level. For instance, a neo-Nazi camp organized by the Stepan Bandera All-Ukrainian Tryzub organization was honored past the presence of Valentin Nalivaichenko, the caput of the Ukrainian Security Service.

The Nazi side of Maidan and atrocities in the Donbass

While the global media showed Ukraine's Euromaidan with the leaders of pro-Western political parties well-known away, a grouping of far-right organizations was forming backside the scenes - the Correct Sector. Tryzub, Bely Molot ("White Hammer"), Patriot of Ukraine, the Social-National Assembly, radical football fans and others came under its umbrella.

Each of these organizations has its ideological roots in the Arrangement of Ukrainian Nationalists from the Earth War ii era. Tryzub was founded by Yaroslava Stetsko, the wife of the writer of the Ukrainian Statehood Renewal Act and a member of the Ukrainian Parliament. Yuri Shukhevich, the son of Roman Shukhevich, the notorious Ukrainian Insurgent Army commander and deputy commander of the Nachtigall Battalion, headed upward the Ukrainian National Assembly - Ukrainian People's Self-Defense. He was too an MP. The "respectable" nationalists from the Svoboda political party chose the name Social-National Party (sound familiar?) when information technology was founded in 1991. The radical Patriot of Ukraine group came from this party, and, in the beginning, its head was Andriy Parubiy, ex-Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.

Andriy Parubiy, co-founder of the Neo-Nazi Social-National Party of Ukraine

Statements made by the leaders give an idea as to what these "patriots" believe in. Azov's deputy commander Oleg Odnorozhenko, who also holds leadership positions within the Social-National Assembly and was 1 of the ideologists behind Patriot of Ukraine, thinks that it is necessary to restore white dominance in countries with "not-while population." And Andriy Biletsky, co-founder of the Social-National Assembly, who used to be an MP and now serves as leader of the National Corps, (the Azov Battalion's political wing), is convinced that the historic mission of the Ukrainian nation is to "spearhead the white cause against sub-humans led by Semites." Oleg Tyagnibok, the "respectable" founder of Patriot of Ukraine, also made his views on the "Jewish issue" very clear dorsum in 2004.

Anti-Semitism is besides spreading in Ukraine, along with the Nazi ideology. According to the 2020 report published by the United Jewish Community of Ukraine, 56% of Jews living in Ukraine feel like anti-Semitism is growing in the state. The certificate as well contains numerous photos that demonstrate anti-Semitic tendencies amid Ukrainians.

These were the people who formed a highly motivated core group of the so-called anti-terrorist operation in the Donbass after the civil war in Ukraine broke out. Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov gave the order to found these paramilitary battalions. Get-go Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Vitaly Yarema said, "We will invite Maidan'south activists and squads that help maintain national order to the National Guard. These servicemen might be deployed to the eastward and southward."

Bringing followers of Stepan Bandera'southward credo to the DPR and LPR led to numerous crimes against civilians, which international organizations could not ignore. In September 2015, a report was published by the Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial executions, stating that "at that place remain a minor number of potentially trigger-happy militia groups, such as the Right Sector, that deed seemingly on their own potency, cheers to a high level of official tolerance, and with consummate impunity" in the Donbass and the residual of Ukraine.

Amnesty International also published a written report on the crimes committed past the Aidar Volunteer Battalion, as well as report on how the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) kept people in unacknowledged detention for long periods of time (sometimes up to 15 months) without proper criminal process being followed and denying them access to lawyers and relatives. The latter document provides gruesome details near the torture of a resident of Mariupol, Artem, (whose real name was withheld) by the Azov Battalion (that grew out of the Patriot of Ukraine neo-Nazi organization). He was tortured with electric shocks, slumber impecuniousness and waterboarding.

The UN Office of the Loftier Commissioner on Human Rights cites multiple cases of the members of the Azov Battalion and soldiers of the Ukrainian army looting and violating civilians. In a most outrageous human action of violence, a man with a mental disability was field of study to roughshod treatment and rape at the hands of members of the Azov and Donbas Battalions. The victim's health subsequently deteriorated, and he was placed in a psychiatric hospital.

In Mariupol, the Azov Battalion was reported to accept had a secret detention facility where multiple people were tortured. Ukraine's SBU was said to provide the cover for the functioning, which means that this activity was supported past the official regime of Ukraine. What more proof practice we need, if former deputy commander of the Azov Battalion, Vadym Troyan, went on to be appointed Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and the Azov Battalion itself is now a unit of measurement of the National Guard of Ukraine that serves the Ministry of Internal Affairs? Troyan was in charge of police reforms that involved a complete change of staff. On his orders, the officers who worked with the previous regime of Viktor Yanukovych were let go and replaced. Many of the new recruits were eager to show off their Nazi salutes in forepart of the Ministry's entrance carrying the coat-of-artillery of Ukraine.

The fact is the authorities in Kiev don't even hibernate their affection for symbols of the Third Reich. For example, the insignia of the Azov Battalion include the Wolfsangel (Wolf Trap) symbol that was very popular with various German Wehrmacht and SS units. It was carried past the second SS Panzer Division Das Reich, among others. Azov members have also been pictured wearing the Schwarze Sonne (Black Sun) another well-known neo-Nazi symbol. The aforementioned goes for the insignia of the Donbass Battalion, which features the Nazi Eagle in a olfactory organ-dive attack.

The Nazi symbols used past Ukraine's Azov Battalion

Furthermore, the Ukrainian parliament adopted a resolution "On departure from some obligations enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights" equally early as May 2015. This resolution provided a legal foundation for the state of war crimes committed past the government confronting the population living in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Zone, the ATO being what Ukraine officially called its war against Donbass.

The Nazi International

From the very first days of Kiev's war against Donbass, Ukrainian troops were joined past international mercenaries, more often than not of a neo-Nazi, ultra-right and racist variety. The Azov Battalion, joined by the extreme correct Misanthropic Partitioning, played a key part in organizing this international neo-Nazi guerilla network.

International mercenaries began training for the Misanthropic Segmentation as early as in 2015 in Portugal, and citizens of France, Italian republic, Belarus, Canada, Sweden, Slovenia and the Us had all participated in the war on Donbass before that. For example, there were reports of Mikael Skillt, a Swedish neo-Nazi sniper joining the Azov Battalion. Portugal's Publico daily reported that Francesco Saverio Fontana, an Italian neo-fascist linked to CasaPound Italian republic fought in Donbass and recruited international fighters for Ukraine's ATO operation from the United kingdom, French republic and Brazil. Michael Colborne, a Canadian journalist working with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) reported that in 2014 and 2015 the Azov Battalion was joined by at least 30 mercenaries from Croatia. According to the data provided by the High german authorities upon the request of the Left Political party faction, the total number of foreigners who joined the war confronting Donbass exceeded one thousand, including about 150 German language fighters.

Simply information technology's not simply mercenaries. The Azov Battalion has as well been strengthening ties with far right and Nazi organizations in the US and Europe. It is in contact not simply with the Croatian neo-Nazis and racists, but likewise ones in Estonia (EKRE), France (Bastion Social), Poland (Szturmowcy), the United states (Ascension Above Movement), Sweden (Nordic Resistance Movement), and Italian republic (CasaPound). Last year, head of the Rise Above Motility Greg Johnson came to Kiev to run across with agreeing people, while the Swedish Nordic Resistance Movement gladly publish interviews with Azov Battalion members.

© Rianar Journeyz
Elena Semenyaka is a representative of the Azov Battalion

German media reported on the Azov Battalion'southward shut ties with the National Democratic Party of Deutschland and Der III. Weg (The Third Path). These ties too extend to Norway, equally the edifice housing the National Democratic Party'south HQ belongs to a Norwegian nationalist. Die Zeit investigated how local nationalists are connected with the Azov Battalion and found out about a number of joint projects. The investigation highlighted the active part played past Azov's Elena Semenyaka, who visited Federal republic of germany viii times. Among other cases, she was invited by the far-right Die Rechte to speak to an Identitarian Movement group (Identitäre Bewegung Deutschland). At a festival organized by the neo-Nazi party Der III. Weg near Erfurt in 2018, she promoted a correct-wing stone festival in Ukraine called Asgardsrei. Asgardsrei is one of the largest nationalistic events of its kind, enabling right-wing extremists from Kingdom of norway, Italy, Germany, the U.S. and elsewhere to run into and commutation ideas. It is sometimes even possible to see the Atomwaffen Segmentation flags in the audience.

Nazi greetings at the Asgardsrei festival in 2016 during the M8l8th gig.

Neo-Nazis have close and extensive international ties, which has led to a growing number of terrorist attacks, as well every bit hate and faith-driven crimes, such equally the New Zealand mosque shooting or California synagogue shooting. When Italy was investigating the murder of journalist Andrea Rocchelli, information technology came to calorie-free that there were v Italians fighting in the Donbass on Ukraine's side - specifically, as part of the Azov Battalion. They found a stash where neo-Nazis kept over 100 guns and fifty-fifty an air-to-air missile. Matteo Salvini, deputy prime number government minister of Italy at the time, said that Ukrainian nationalists were planning an bump-off try on him.

According to the United nations Security Quango Counter-Terrorism Commission, in 2015-2020 the world saw a 320% ascent in terrorist attacks affiliated with far-right ideologies.

To a large extent, nosotros accept Ukraine to 'thank' for that. Hatebook - an investigative report published by the London-based Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) on its website - highlights the use of social media to coordinate neo-Nazi activities internationally. This is what the report says almost the Azov Battalion and Misanthropic Division:

"Both groups have sought to consign their ideology to Western countries, gain followers and incite violence. Azov Battalion, a neo-Nazi paramilitary force, has offered to host and train The states members of the violent Rise Above Movement. Misanthropic Division - closely affiliated with Azov - influenced domestic extremists in the US and the Uk who were charged with terrorist offences."

Despite numerous attempts to designate the Azov Battalion as a terrorist organization, Western countries still haven't managed to practice that. Then, hither's a question - who benefits from supporting Nazism in Ukraine?

Olga Sukharevskaya is a Ukrainian-built-in ex-diplomat, jurist, and author based in Moscow

johnsonjusin1984.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.sott.net/article/465507-Under-the-Wolfsangel-The-uncomfortable-truth-about-radical-ideologies-in-Ukraine

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