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|employees = 300 (mid-July 2014)<ref name="warrior from Sweden">[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28329329 Ukraine conflict: 'White power' warrior from Sweden], [[BBC News]] (16 July 2014)</ref>
|employees = 300 (mid-July 2014)<ref name="warrior from Sweden"/>
|volunteers = 400<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d98edf62-1951-11e4-8730-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3AVPRP0I7]</ref>
|volunteers = 400<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d98edf62-1951-11e4-8730-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3AVPRP0I7]</ref>
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The '''Azov Battalion''' ({{lang-uk|Батальйон «Азов»}}) is a patriotic group of volunteers, who are fighting against pro-russian terrorists and russian army in East Ukraine. [[Territorial Defense Battalion of Ukraine]] volunteer unit of the National Guard, operated by the [[Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine]]. The battalion is based in [[Mariupol]] in the [[Azov Sea]] coastal region.<ref>{{cite web|title=Separatists fired on a bus with fighters of special purpose police battalion "Azov"|url=http://mvs.gov.ua/mvs/control/main/uk/publish/article/1044923|website=[[Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine]]|accessdate=14 June 2014|language=Ukrainian|date=7 May 2014}}</ref> The battalion's commander is Andriy Biletsky ({{lang-uk|Андрій Білецький}}), The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs special police company is led by Volodymyr Shpara ({{lang-uk|Володимир Шпара}}), the leader of both the [[Vasylkiv]]'s "[[Patriot of Ukraine (organization)|Patriot of Ukraine]]" and the [[Vasylkiv]]'s "[[Right Sector]]" organizations in the [[Kiev Oblast|Kiev region]].<ref>{{ref-uk}} Павєл Шеремет. [http://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/articles/2014/06/17/7029309/ Командир батальйону "Азов": Найстрашніша помилка влади - політичні переговори з сепаратистами], ''Українська правда (Ukranian pravda)'', June 17, 2014.</ref><ref>{{ref-uk}} [http://wikileaks.in.ua/top-novini/489-volodimir-shpara-ocholiv-pravij-sektor-v-misti-vasilkiv-ta-vasilkivskomu-rajoni Володимир Шпара очолив «Правий сектор» в місті Васильків та Васильківському районі]</ref><ref>{{ref-ru}} [http://pro.berdyansk.biz/content.php?id=22187 Командир батальона «Азов» Владимир Шпара: «Мы пришли не за властью, а защищать свою Родину»], June 12, 2014.</ref>
The '''Azov Battalion''' ({{lang-uk|Батальйон «Азов»}}) is a neo-nazi oriented<ref>http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/08/30/preparing_for_war_with_ukraine_s_fascist_defenders_of_freedom</ref> [[paramilitary]], [[Territorial Defense Battalion of Ukraine]]<ref name=pancevski>{{cite news|last1=Pancevski|first1=Bojan|title=Kiev lets loose Men in Black; Shadowy bands of paramilitaries are taking over in eastern Ukraine as the regular army falters. Bojan Pancevski meets the leaders in Mariupol|accessdate=22 July 2014|agency=The Sunday Times (London)|date=11 May 2014|url=http://news.sky.com/story/1268465/ukraine-militia-ready-to-take-on-separatists}}</ref><ref>Katie Stallard. [http://news.sky.com/story/1268465/ukraine-militia-ready-to-take-on-separatists Ukraine Militia 'Ready To Take On Separatists'], ''Sky News'', 25 May 2014.</ref> volunteer unit of the National Guard, operated by the [[Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine]]. The battalion is based in [[Mariupol]] in the [[Azov Sea]] coastal region.<ref>{{cite web|title=Separatists fired on a bus with fighters of special purpose police battalion "Azov"|url=http://mvs.gov.ua/mvs/control/main/uk/publish/article/1044923|website=[[Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine]]|accessdate=14 June 2014|language=Ukrainian|date=7 May 2014}}</ref> The battalion's commander is Andriy Biletsky ({{lang-uk|Андрій Білецький}}), the head of the national socialist<ref name=ishchenko>{{cite journal|last=Ishchenko|first=Volodymyr|title=Fighting Fences vs Fighting Monuments: Politics of Memory and Protest Mobilization in Ukraine|journal=Debatte: Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe|date=21 Oct 2011|volume=19|issue=1-2|doi=10.1080/0965156X.2011.611680|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0965156X.2011.611680|publisher=Routledge|quote=Framing them as “just” Ukrainian patriots, forced to violate the law for a just cause, concealed their authoritarian and xenophobic ideas reflecting the tendency to ignore the problems of the rise of xenophobia (O‘l‡mqqm 197–214) and a splash of racist attacks in 2007–2008 (Kht‘veb 12). After the notorious death of Maksym Chaika in a fight with antifascists in Odessa in April 2009, Yushchenko unambiguously supported the far right interpretation of the accident claiming the victim to be “an activist of a patriotic civic association” consciously murdered by “pro-Russia militants” ignoring Chaika’s connections with rightist football hooligans and his membership in the “SICH” (“Glory and Honor”) organization, a participant in the Social-Nationalist Assembly (http://sna.in.ua/) together with the neo-Nazi group “Patriot of Ukraine.”}}</ref><ref name=helsinki2>{{cite web|title=12. Protection against discrimination, racism and xenophobia|url=http://helsinki.org.ua/index.php?id=1298444209|work=ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS • HUMAN RIGHTS IN UKRAINE 2009-2010|publisher=Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union|accessdate=12 May 2014|author=Volodymyr Batchayev|coauthors=Oleg Martynenko, Association of Ukrainian monitors on observance of human rights, Ukrainian Law Enforcement, Yevhen Zakharov, Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group|quote=On the public request, the authorities stopped the musical festival «Traditions of Spirit» near Kyiv, scheduled for June 26–27, 2010, under the aegis of the radical «Social Nationalist Assembly» with the goal to promulgate among the youth the ideas of neo-Nazi and chauvinism. During the festival, the performances of ultra-right musical bands were planned («Sokyra Peruna», «Seitar», «Nachtigall», «White Lions»), who in the lyrics of their songs openly approve and show in romantic light the skinhead movement, promote Hitlerist aesthetics, and encourage to harass national minorities.}}</ref> political groups [[Social-National Assembly]] and [[Patriots of Ukraine]].<ref name="warrior from Sweden">[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28329329 Ukraine conflict: 'White power' warrior from Sweden], [[BBC News]] (16 July 2014)</ref> The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs special police company is led by Volodymyr Shpara ({{lang-uk|Володимир Шпара}}), the leader of both the [[Vasylkiv]]'s "[[Patriot of Ukraine (organization)|Patriot of Ukraine]]" and the [[Vasylkiv]]'s "[[Right Sector]]" organizations in the [[Kiev Oblast|Kiev region]].<ref>{{ref-uk}} Павєл Шеремет. [http://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/articles/2014/06/17/7029309/ Командир батальйону "Азов": Найстрашніша помилка влади - політичні переговори з сепаратистами], ''Українська правда (Ukranian pravda)'', June 17, 2014.</ref><ref>{{ref-uk}} [http://wikileaks.in.ua/top-novini/489-volodimir-shpara-ocholiv-pravij-sektor-v-misti-vasilkiv-ta-vasilkivskomu-rajoni Володимир Шпара очолив «Правий сектор» в місті Васильків та Васильківському районі]</ref><ref>{{ref-ru}} [http://pro.berdyansk.biz/content.php?id=22187 Командир батальона «Азов» Владимир Шпара: «Мы пришли не за властью, а защищать свою Родину»], June 12, 2014.</ref>


The battalion is also referred to as the "Men in Black," and is one of a series of paramilitary forces that operate in Ukraine.<ref name=pancevski>{{cite news|last1=Pancevski|first1=Bojan|title=Kiev lets loose Men in Black; Shadowy bands of paramilitaries are taking over in eastern Ukraine as the regular army falters. Bojan Pancevski meets the leaders in Mariupol|accessdate=22 July 2014|agency=The Sunday Times (London)|date=11 May 2014|url=http://news.sky.com/story/1268465/ukraine-militia-ready-to-take-on-separatists}}</ref> More than half of the battalion’s members are Russian-speaking eastern Ukrainians,<ref>http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/24/ukraine-azov-battalion.html</ref>, despite Russian media attempts to show that East Ukraine does not support the revolution. Many of the volunteers are from Donetsk and Luhansk, the center of pro-russian terrorists.
The battalion is also referred to as the "Men in Black," and is one of a series of paramilitary forces that operate in Ukraine.<ref name=pancevski /> More than half of the battalion’s members are Russian-speaking eastern Ukrainians,<ref>http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/24/ukraine-azov-battalion.html</ref> and its professional English language social media pages, and far-right ideology, have attracted extremist fighters from other locations in Europe.<ref name=parfitt />


== History==
== History==
[[Arsen Avakov (politician)|Arsen Avakov]], the new Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine after the overthrow of the Yanukovich government, issued on April 13, 2014 a decree authorizing creating the new paramilitary force from civilians up to 12,000.<ref>{{ref-ru}} [http://arena.in.ua/politka/186488-Dlya-uregulirovaniya-situaciya-na-YUgo-Vostoke-MVD-sozdaet-specpodrazdeleniya-po-ohrane-obshestvennogo-poryadka.html Для урегулирования ситуация на Юго-Востоке МВД создает спецподразделения по охране общественного порядка], ''Arena.in.ua'', 15 April 2014.</ref> Anton Heraschenko (Антон Геращенко), MVS, Avakov's deputy, was tasked with overseeing the process of establishing of the new security force.<ref name="War and Murder in Eastern Ukraine">Anna Nemtsova. [http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/27/war-and-murder-in-eastern-ukraine.html# War and Murder in Eastern Ukraine], ''The Daily Beast'', 27 May 2014.</ref>
[[Arsen Avakov (politician)|Arsen Avakov]], the new Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine after the overthrow of the Yanukovich government, issued on April 13, 2014 a decree authorizing creating the new paramilitary force from civilians up to 12,000.<ref>{{ref-ru}} [http://arena.in.ua/politka/186488-Dlya-uregulirovaniya-situaciya-na-YUgo-Vostoke-MVD-sozdaet-specpodrazdeleniya-po-ohrane-obshestvennogo-poryadka.html Для урегулирования ситуация на Юго-Востоке МВД создает спецподразделения по охране общественного порядка], ''Arena.in.ua'', 15 April 2014.</ref> Anton Heraschenko (Антон Геращенко), MVS, Avakov's deputy, was tasked with overseeing the process of establishing of the new security force.<ref name="War and Murder in Eastern Ukraine">Anna Nemtsova. [http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/27/war-and-murder-in-eastern-ukraine.html# War and Murder in Eastern Ukraine], ''The Daily Beast'', 27 May 2014.</ref>


The Azov Battalion was formed on May 5, 2014 during the [[2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine]]. The battalion started in [[Mariupol]] where it was involved in combat,<ref name=pancevski /> and was soon afterwards relocated to [[Berdyansk]].<ref>[http://tsn.ua/video/video-novini/batalyon-azov-ogolosiv-nabor-novih-voyak.html Azov Battalion announced signing of new warriors], ''TSN'', May 20, 2014.</ref>
The Azov Battalion was formed on May 5, 2014 during the [[2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine]]. Among the patrons of the battalion are a member of the [[Verkhovna Rada]] [[Oleh Lyashko]], and an ultra-nationalist [[Dmytro Korchynsky]].<ref name="War and Murder in Eastern Ukraine"/> The battalion started in [[Mariupol]] where it was involved in combat,<ref name=pancevski /> and was soon afterwards relocated to [[Berdyansk]].<ref>[http://tsn.ua/video/video-novini/batalyon-azov-ogolosiv-nabor-novih-voyak.html Azov Battalion announced signing of new warriors], ''TSN'', May 20, 2014.</ref>


On June 10, the battalion dismissed deputy commander Yaroslav Honchar and distanced themselves from him after he made criticizing statements of the ATO [Anti-terrorist operation].<ref>[http://www.5.ua/ukrajina/suspilstvo/item/386051-azov-vidkhrestyvsia-vid-krytyka-ato-yaroslava-honchara "azov-vidkhrestyvsia-vid-krytyka-ato-yaroslava-honchara"], ''5.ua''</ref>
On June 10, the battalion dismissed deputy commander Yaroslav Honchar and distanced themselves from him after he made criticizing statements of the ATO [Anti-terrorist operation].<ref>[http://www.5.ua/ukrajina/suspilstvo/item/386051-azov-vidkhrestyvsia-vid-krytyka-ato-yaroslava-honchara "azov-vidkhrestyvsia-vid-krytyka-ato-yaroslava-honchara"], ''5.ua''</ref>
Line 133: Line 133:


A 16 July 2014 report placed the Azov Battalian's strength at 300.<ref name="warrior from Sweden" /> An earlier report stated that on June 23 almost 600 volunteers, including women, took oaths to joined the "Donbass" and "Azov" battalions.<ref>Will Stewart and Sara Malm. [http://www.uknewsday.com/news/46167-ukraine-s-women-sign-up-to-fight-as-top-politician-claims-number-of-children-killed-is-ten-times-higher-than-official-toll.html Ukraine's women sign up to fight as top politician claims number of children killed is 'ten times higher than official toll'], ''UK Newsday'', 23 June 2014.</ref> Recruits receive a salary of $360.<ref>[http://euromaidanpress.com/2014/06/24/reinforcements-for-azov/ "reinforcements-for-azov"], ''euromaidanpress.com'', 2014/06/24.</ref>
A 16 July 2014 report placed the Azov Battalian's strength at 300.<ref name="warrior from Sweden" /> An earlier report stated that on June 23 almost 600 volunteers, including women, took oaths to joined the "Donbass" and "Azov" battalions.<ref>Will Stewart and Sara Malm. [http://www.uknewsday.com/news/46167-ukraine-s-women-sign-up-to-fight-as-top-politician-claims-number-of-children-killed-is-ten-times-higher-than-official-toll.html Ukraine's women sign up to fight as top politician claims number of children killed is 'ten times higher than official toll'], ''UK Newsday'', 23 June 2014.</ref> Recruits receive a salary of $360.<ref>[http://euromaidanpress.com/2014/06/24/reinforcements-for-azov/ "reinforcements-for-azov"], ''euromaidanpress.com'', 2014/06/24.</ref>

The political party led by the battalion's leader Biletsky calls for the expansion of Ukraine, the "struggle for the liberation of the entire White Race," and seeks to "punish severely sexual perversions and any interracial contacts."<ref name="warrior from Sweden" /> Volunteer Mikael Skillt told the BBC that while the Battalion did include others sharing his views - those calling themselves national socialists or adorned with swastikas - not all agreed, and one member was even "a liberal."<ref name="warrior from Sweden" />

Interviewed while engaged in military operations in eastern Ukraine, one member stated that the unit was on edge because they were "behind enemy lines" and opposed by "the police, the army and the people," whom he said they did not trust.<ref name=pancevski /> According to London's ''Sunday Times'', the Azov Battalion was deployed against militants by the Ukrainian government because it feared its regular forces were infiltrated by Russian sympathizers.<ref name=pancevski />

=== [[National Socialism|National socialist]] ideology ===
The Azov men use the symbol that resembles [[Wolfsangel]] (Wolf’s Hook) symbol on their banner and members of the battalion are openly white supremacists, or anti-Semites.<ref name=parfitt/> The battalion commander Biletsky wrote that the historic mission of Ukrainian nation "is to lead the White Races of the world in a final crusade for their survival against the Semite-led Untermenschen.” Former member of the battalion also claims that only men with national-socialist views can join Azov.<ref>http://reporter.vesti.ua/57448-azov-mariupol-zachistka#.U_tFzsV_sYx</ref>

=== Foreign membership ===

In mid-July 2014, the BBC reported that the battalion had recruited the former [[Swedish Army]] and [[Swedish Home Guard]] sniper Mikael Skillt.<ref name="warrior from Sweden"/> Skillt, a Swedish white supremacist, joined the Azov Battalion for ideological reasons.<ref name="warrior from Sweden" /> Anton Gerashenko denied this but did claim "foreign journalists, from [[Sweden]], [[Spain]] and [[Italy]], who have come to report on the heroic achievements of the fighters in their struggle against terrorism" were accompanying the unit.<ref name="warrior from Sweden"/> Gerashenko insisted he had never heard of Mikael Skillt.<ref name="warrior from Sweden"/> Asked about Skillt in a late-July interview with Swedish Radio, Gerashenko pointed out that it's forbidden by law for foreign citizens to fight and asked for understanding that he'd "stay tight-lipped" about the topic.<ref name="thelocal sweden">[http://www.thelocal.se//20140730/swedish-neo-nazis-threaten-ukraine-democracy Swedish neo-Nazis join fight in Ukraine], ''The Local Sweden'', 30 July 2014.</ref> Ukrainian political scientist Anton Shekhotsov told the Swedes that at this time four Swedish neo-Nazis were fighting with Azov, while the Swedish national police confirmed "several".<ref name="thelocal sweden" />

According to ''The Telegraph'', the Azov Battalion's extremist politics and professional English social media pages have attracted foreign fighters.<ref name=parfitt>{{cite news|last1=Parfitt|first1=Tom|title=Ukraine crisis: the neo-Nazi brigade fighting pro-Russian separatists|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/11025137/Ukraine-crisis-the-neo-Nazi-brigade-fighting-pro-Russian-separatists.html|accessdate=14 August 2014|agency=The Telegraph|date=11 August 2014}}</ref> Azov's leader, Biletsky, states that he has received recruits from Ireland, Italy, Greece and Scandinavia.<ref name=parfitt />

According to French volunteers fighting for the insurgent side, Azov Battalion has a French instructor named Gaston Besson who tried to recruit them over the internet.<ref>[http://www.kp.ru/daily/26273/3151643/ Французский шарм ополчения Донбасса], ''Komsomolskaya Pravda'', August 26, 2014 (Russian) - {{YouTube|2qCAsyKOE9Y|Video of the Interview, with English subtitles}}</ref>

The Russian and Ukrainian security expert at New York University, Mark Galeotti, has described groups like the Azov Battalion as magnets attracting violent, fringe elements from around and outside Ukraine, warning that they will continue to play an outsized role in Ukrainian affairs after the war.<ref name=parfitt />


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 01:12, 3 September 2014

Azov Battalion
Батальйон «Азов»
File:Azov logo 01.jpg
Recent emblem with Wolfsangel and Black Sun
Recent emblem with Wolfsangel and Black Sun
Flag of the Social National Assembly
Flag of the Social National Assembly
Agency overview
Formed2014
Employees300 (mid-July 2014)[1]
Volunteers400[2]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionUkraine
Governing bodyMinistry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine)
Operational structure
HeadquartersMariupol
Agency executive
  • Andriy Biletsky, Commander
Parent agencySocial-National Assembly
Battalion of patrol special policesAZOV
Deputy CommandersIhor Mosiychuk

The Azov Battalion (Ukrainian: Батальйон «Азов») is a neo-nazi oriented[3] paramilitary, Territorial Defense Battalion of Ukraine[4][5] volunteer unit of the National Guard, operated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. The battalion is based in Mariupol in the Azov Sea coastal region.[6] The battalion's commander is Andriy Biletsky (Ukrainian: Андрій Білецький), the head of the national socialist[7][8] political groups Social-National Assembly and Patriots of Ukraine.[1] The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs special police company is led by Volodymyr Shpara (Ukrainian: Володимир Шпара), the leader of both the Vasylkiv's "Patriot of Ukraine" and the Vasylkiv's "Right Sector" organizations in the Kiev region.[9][10][11]

The battalion is also referred to as the "Men in Black," and is one of a series of paramilitary forces that operate in Ukraine.[4] More than half of the battalion’s members are Russian-speaking eastern Ukrainians,[12] and its professional English language social media pages, and far-right ideology, have attracted extremist fighters from other locations in Europe.[13]

History

Arsen Avakov, the new Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine after the overthrow of the Yanukovich government, issued on April 13, 2014 a decree authorizing creating the new paramilitary force from civilians up to 12,000.[14] Anton Heraschenko (Антон Геращенко), MVS, Avakov's deputy, was tasked with overseeing the process of establishing of the new security force.[15]

The Azov Battalion was formed on May 5, 2014 during the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine. Among the patrons of the battalion are a member of the Verkhovna Rada Oleh Lyashko, and an ultra-nationalist Dmytro Korchynsky.[15] The battalion started in Mariupol where it was involved in combat,[4] and was soon afterwards relocated to Berdyansk.[16]

On June 10, the battalion dismissed deputy commander Yaroslav Honchar and distanced themselves from him after he made criticizing statements of the ATO [Anti-terrorist operation].[17]

On 11 August, Azov battalion, backed by paratroopers, captured Marinka from pro-Russian rebels and entered the suburbs of Donetsk clashing with DPR fighters.[18]

Organization

Key figures in the battalion include the commander and deputy, Andriy Biletsky and Ihor Mosiychuk.[1]

A 16 July 2014 report placed the Azov Battalian's strength at 300.[1] An earlier report stated that on June 23 almost 600 volunteers, including women, took oaths to joined the "Donbass" and "Azov" battalions.[19] Recruits receive a salary of $360.[20]

The political party led by the battalion's leader Biletsky calls for the expansion of Ukraine, the "struggle for the liberation of the entire White Race," and seeks to "punish severely sexual perversions and any interracial contacts."[1] Volunteer Mikael Skillt told the BBC that while the Battalion did include others sharing his views - those calling themselves national socialists or adorned with swastikas - not all agreed, and one member was even "a liberal."[1]

Interviewed while engaged in military operations in eastern Ukraine, one member stated that the unit was on edge because they were "behind enemy lines" and opposed by "the police, the army and the people," whom he said they did not trust.[4] According to London's Sunday Times, the Azov Battalion was deployed against militants by the Ukrainian government because it feared its regular forces were infiltrated by Russian sympathizers.[4]

National socialist ideology

The Azov men use the symbol that resembles Wolfsangel (Wolf’s Hook) symbol on their banner and members of the battalion are openly white supremacists, or anti-Semites.[13] The battalion commander Biletsky wrote that the historic mission of Ukrainian nation "is to lead the White Races of the world in a final crusade for their survival against the Semite-led Untermenschen.” Former member of the battalion also claims that only men with national-socialist views can join Azov.[21]

Foreign membership

In mid-July 2014, the BBC reported that the battalion had recruited the former Swedish Army and Swedish Home Guard sniper Mikael Skillt.[1] Skillt, a Swedish white supremacist, joined the Azov Battalion for ideological reasons.[1] Anton Gerashenko denied this but did claim "foreign journalists, from Sweden, Spain and Italy, who have come to report on the heroic achievements of the fighters in their struggle against terrorism" were accompanying the unit.[1] Gerashenko insisted he had never heard of Mikael Skillt.[1] Asked about Skillt in a late-July interview with Swedish Radio, Gerashenko pointed out that it's forbidden by law for foreign citizens to fight and asked for understanding that he'd "stay tight-lipped" about the topic.[22] Ukrainian political scientist Anton Shekhotsov told the Swedes that at this time four Swedish neo-Nazis were fighting with Azov, while the Swedish national police confirmed "several".[22]

According to The Telegraph, the Azov Battalion's extremist politics and professional English social media pages have attracted foreign fighters.[13] Azov's leader, Biletsky, states that he has received recruits from Ireland, Italy, Greece and Scandinavia.[13]

According to French volunteers fighting for the insurgent side, Azov Battalion has a French instructor named Gaston Besson who tried to recruit them over the internet.[23]

The Russian and Ukrainian security expert at New York University, Mark Galeotti, has described groups like the Azov Battalion as magnets attracting violent, fringe elements from around and outside Ukraine, warning that they will continue to play an outsized role in Ukrainian affairs after the war.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ukraine conflict: 'White power' warrior from Sweden, BBC News (16 July 2014)
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/08/30/preparing_for_war_with_ukraine_s_fascist_defenders_of_freedom
  4. ^ a b c d e Pancevski, Bojan (11 May 2014). "Kiev lets loose Men in Black; Shadowy bands of paramilitaries are taking over in eastern Ukraine as the regular army falters. Bojan Pancevski meets the leaders in Mariupol". The Sunday Times (London). Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  5. ^ Katie Stallard. Ukraine Militia 'Ready To Take On Separatists', Sky News, 25 May 2014.
  6. ^ "Separatists fired on a bus with fighters of special purpose police battalion "Azov"". Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 7 May 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  7. ^ Ishchenko, Volodymyr (21 Oct 2011). "Fighting Fences vs Fighting Monuments: Politics of Memory and Protest Mobilization in Ukraine". Debatte: Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe. 19 (1–2). Routledge. doi:10.1080/0965156X.2011.611680. Framing them as "just" Ukrainian patriots, forced to violate the law for a just cause, concealed their authoritarian and xenophobic ideas reflecting the tendency to ignore the problems of the rise of xenophobia (O'l‡mqqm 197–214) and a splash of racist attacks in 2007–2008 (Kht'veb 12). After the notorious death of Maksym Chaika in a fight with antifascists in Odessa in April 2009, Yushchenko unambiguously supported the far right interpretation of the accident claiming the victim to be "an activist of a patriotic civic association" consciously murdered by "pro-Russia militants" ignoring Chaika's connections with rightist football hooligans and his membership in the "SICH" ("Glory and Honor") organization, a participant in the Social-Nationalist Assembly (http://sna.in.ua/) together with the neo-Nazi group "Patriot of Ukraine." {{cite journal}}: External link in |quote= (help)
  8. ^ Volodymyr Batchayev. "12. Protection against discrimination, racism and xenophobia". ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS • HUMAN RIGHTS IN UKRAINE 2009-2010. Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union. Retrieved 12 May 2014. On the public request, the authorities stopped the musical festival «Traditions of Spirit» near Kyiv, scheduled for June 26–27, 2010, under the aegis of the radical «Social Nationalist Assembly» with the goal to promulgate among the youth the ideas of neo-Nazi and chauvinism. During the festival, the performances of ultra-right musical bands were planned («Sokyra Peruna», «Seitar», «Nachtigall», «White Lions»), who in the lyrics of their songs openly approve and show in romantic light the skinhead movement, promote Hitlerist aesthetics, and encourage to harass national minorities. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Template:Ref-uk Павєл Шеремет. Командир батальйону "Азов": Найстрашніша помилка влади - політичні переговори з сепаратистами, Українська правда (Ukranian pravda), June 17, 2014.
  10. ^ Template:Ref-uk Володимир Шпара очолив «Правий сектор» в місті Васильків та Васильківському районі
  11. ^ Template:Ref-ru Командир батальона «Азов» Владимир Шпара: «Мы пришли не за властью, а защищать свою Родину», June 12, 2014.
  12. ^ http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/24/ukraine-azov-battalion.html
  13. ^ a b c d e Parfitt, Tom (11 August 2014). "Ukraine crisis: the neo-Nazi brigade fighting pro-Russian separatists". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  14. ^ Template:Ref-ru Для урегулирования ситуация на Юго-Востоке МВД создает спецподразделения по охране общественного порядка, Arena.in.ua, 15 April 2014.
  15. ^ a b Anna Nemtsova. War and Murder in Eastern Ukraine, The Daily Beast, 27 May 2014.
  16. ^ Azov Battalion announced signing of new warriors, TSN, May 20, 2014.
  17. ^ "azov-vidkhrestyvsia-vid-krytyka-ato-yaroslava-honchara", 5.ua
  18. ^ [2]
  19. ^ Will Stewart and Sara Malm. Ukraine's women sign up to fight as top politician claims number of children killed is 'ten times higher than official toll', UK Newsday, 23 June 2014.
  20. ^ "reinforcements-for-azov", euromaidanpress.com, 2014/06/24.
  21. ^ http://reporter.vesti.ua/57448-azov-mariupol-zachistka#.U_tFzsV_sYx
  22. ^ a b Swedish neo-Nazis join fight in Ukraine, The Local Sweden, 30 July 2014.
  23. ^ Французский шарм ополчения Донбасса, Komsomolskaya Pravda, August 26, 2014 (Russian) - Video of the Interview, with English subtitles on YouTube
External images
image icon Member of the Verkhovna Rada and presidential candidate Oleh Lyashko poses with the militants from "Azov" and "Ukraine" battalions
image icon Special police force company "Azov" commander Vladimir Shpara
image icon "Azov" fighters line-up (2) (LB.ua)
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