Ukraine Azov battalion denies neo-Nazi association
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Ukraine’s Azov battalion has been the main force defending the city of Mariupol. The group has a reputation for fighting fiercely, but it has also said to hold far-right views. In 2016 the United Nations accused it of violating international humanitarian law. In 2019, 40 US congress members unsuccessfully tried to designate the Azov as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. Russian President Vladimir Putin referenced the presence of such units within the Ukrainian military as one of the reasons for launching his so-called “special military operation – to de-militarise and de-Nazify Ukraine”. The unit has denied it adheres to Nazi ideology as a whole, but Nazi symbols such as the swastika […]