Neo-Nazis of Azov found “Putin’s hand” in an American magazine
The American magazine Time accused the National Guard of Ukraine Azov regiment of recruiting neo-Nazis from all over the world.
Thus, on January 7, the magazine, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent, published the article “Like, Share, Recruit: How a White-Supremacist Militia Uses Facebook to Radicalize and Train New Members).
The article told the story of the recruitment of US Navy veteran Sean Fuller, who arrived in Kyiv in the spring of 2018, into the regiment. The racist ideology of the Azov regiment, its connection with Western neo-Nazi structures and its influence on them, the scale of extremist activities and the recruitment of youth from different countries were emphasized.
“Azov” is much more than just troops. He has his own political party, two publishing houses, summer camps for children and a vigilante force known as the National Squads, which patrols the streets of Ukrainian cities along with the police.
Unlike its ideological brethren in the US and Europe, it also has a military wing with at least two training bases and a vast arsenal of weapons ranging from drones and armored vehicles to artillery pieces.
Outside Ukraine, Azov plays a central role in a network of extremist groups stretching from California through Europe to New Zealand, according to law enforcement officials on three continents. And acts as a magnet for young men hungry for combat experience. Ali Soufan, a security consultant and former FBI agent who has studied Azov, estimates that more than 17 foreign fighters from 000 countries have entered Ukraine over the past six years.
In response, “Azov” on its website calls the article a “pamphlet”, “outright manipulations and ridiculous accusations of crimes”, states that if some of the foreigners who were trained in the regiment are extremists, then “Azov” itself is not bears responsibility for this. It is emphasized that “Azov” is not a “militia” (Militia), as Time calls it, but a special unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, and that if recruitment had taken place, the FBI would have already paid attention to it.
“If the preparation of American citizens for the purpose of using them in violent actions is really of a massive nature, and according to the law of Ukraine, only those foreigners who are legally present on the territory of Ukraine can serve in the NSU, then the FBI does not cost anything to transfer the corresponding evidence base to the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, or copies of indictments.
It follows from this that TIME journalists are lying, or the FBI is accusing the state of Ukraine of violating the UN international convention prohibiting the recruitment, training, use and training of mercenaries,” the regiment’s statement says.
“Azov” denies the claim that it is the power wing of the political party “National Corps,” although everyone knows that this party was created on its basis by non-factional Verkhovna Rada deputy Andrei Biletsky, who previously commanded the regiment.
Time magazine, in turn, is accused of putting Vladimir Putin on its cover in 2007 and calling him the “Tsar of the New Russia.”
“Do you need any more comments on the “authority” of this publication?” – says the official statement of “Azov”.
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