The British government has admitted to sending weapons to Ukrainian neo-Nazis from the extremist Azov regiment.
Azov is a neo-Nazi militia that preaches a white-supremacist ideology, and was officially incorporated into Ukraine’s National Guard after a violent US-sponsored coup in 2014.
A member of parliament, Kenny MacAskill, from the Alba Party, a Scottish pro-independence party, formally asked the British Ministry of Defence on March 21 “whether any members of Ukraine’s Azov movement have access to UK-supplied anti-aircraft weapons.”
The British parliamentary under-secretary of defence, James Heappey, a member of parliament from the Conservative Party, replied on March 24 confirming that the Ukrainian extremists have indeed received these weapons.
“The UK is taking a lead role in coordinating the humanitarian and military support to Ukraine,” he boasted. “This includes lethal aid in the form of defensive weapons, and non-lethal aid such as body armour.”
Heappey said that Britain is specifically sending Starstreak anti-aircraft weapons to the Ukrainian military.
“Under the current circumstances, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence is likely to have operational command of the National Guard, which also includes the Azov battalion,” Heappey acknowledged.
The British official’s response was indirect, but its meaning was clear: as part of the Ukrainian National Guard, yes, the neo-Nazi Azov regiment has indeed received anti-aircraft weapons from the UK.
Azov uses Nazi Germany-era symbols, such as the wolfsangel and black sun. It also preaches a white-supremacist ideology that portrays the war in Ukraine as a race war between “asiatic” Russians and “white” Ukrainians.
The Nazi symbols used by Ukraine’s Azov Battalion
Azov fascists hold torchlit ceremonies with Nazi symbols, and post videos on their official YouTube channel:
US and Canadian military officials have been photographed meeting with and advising Azov neo-Nazis in Ukraine.
In the back of this photo, you can also see a Canadian officer, alongside US military officers, meeting with Ukraine's neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, which uses Nazi-era symbols.https://t.co/8tOZ9A7YGK pic.twitter.com/dAZBeFaHdU
— Benjamin Norton (@BenjaminNorton) January 16, 2018
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, NATO member states have provided more weapons and military training to Azov neo-Nazis.
NATO is sending weapons and trainers to help neo-Nazis in Ukraine’s white-supremacist Azov movement fight Russia, as the US floods the country with weapons.
This follows numerous reports of Western government support for Ukrainian far-right extremists.https://t.co/5gYgmU8PFo
— Benjamin Norton (@BenjaminNorton) March 10, 2022
Despite its fascist ideology, Azov extremists have been repeatedly promoted by Western media outlets.
CNN promoted a commander from Ukraine’s neo-Nazi Azov regiment, failing to mention his militia’s explicit white-supremacist ideology
Azov then proudly shared the CNN video on its official Twitter account
Azov uses Nazi symbols. NATO has armed/trained ithttps://t.co/VcgTBkrl2u
— Benjamin Norton (@BenjaminNorton) March 21, 2022
The official Twitter account of Ukraine’s National Guard even posted a video of a neo-Nazi Azov fighter dipping bullets in pig fat to kill Russian Chechen Muslims, whom the Ukrainian state institution dehumanized as monstrous “orcs.”
This is the official, verified Twitter account of Ukraine's National Guard publicly portraying Russian Chechen Muslims as monstrous "orcs," and praising its Nazi soldiers for threatening to kill them with lard-greased bullets: https://t.co/gs0yYu4qXohttps://t.co/PMKeTajw9e
— Benjamin Norton (@BenjaminNorton) February 27, 2022
