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West Experiences Blowback From Fostering Fascists In Ukraine
At the start of the Special Military Operation in February 2022 I warned of the blowback that, I asserted, would likely come if the West continued to pamper Nazi groups in Ukraine:
The U.S. aim is to create an insurgency in the Ukraine.
The Coming Ukrainian Insurgency – Foreign Affairs
Russia’s Invasion Could Unleash Forces the Kremlin Can’t Control
Since 2015 the CIA has trained Ukrainian groups for exactly that purpose.
CIA-trained Ukrainian paramilitaries may take central role if Russia invades – Yahoo
CIA support for Ukrainian Nazis has a long history.
Op-Ed: The CIA has backed Ukrainian insurgents before. Let’s learn from those mistakes – LA Times
A new Nazi insurgency in eastern Europe is an exceptionally bad idea. Fascist groups from everywhere would join in. A few years from now it may well lead to Nazi terror in many European countries. Have we learned really nothing from the war on Syria and the ISIS campaign?
Me and Ivan Katchanovski were probably the only ones who had warned of this:
Katchanovski adds that, “This is also going to have a dangerous effect on Ukraine and potentially other countries because now, basically, Nazis in Ukraine are made into national heroes.” He also noted that Azov (as well as Western governments) has consistently pressured Zelensky — including with threats, and even before Russia invaded — not to seek a peace deal with Russia or withdraw forces from the Donbas region. In February, Azov branded Zelensky a “servant of the Russian people” after he suggested that he might negotiate with Moscow.
Katchanovski said that the valorization of the Azov Regiment is comparable to how the West initially supported the predecessors of the Taliban in their fight against the Soviet Union’s intervention in the war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, and also risks inspiring yet more far-right activists from other countries to join the conflict in Ukraine in order to gain military experience, potentially causing a blowback effect if they make it home.
Yesterday one avid U.S. supporter of the fascists in Ukraine tried to assassinate the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump:
Jack Poso 🇺🇸 @JackPosobiec – 1:39 UTC · Sep 16, 2024
EXCLUSIVE: Attempted Trump assassin Ryan Routh appeared in a propaganda video for the AZOV BATTALLION in May 2022
Embedded video
Routh, himself being too old to fight, had tried to hire foreign mercenaries to fight on the fascist side in Ukraine. He obviously targeted Trump because he had promised to dictate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Was Routh more than a lone wolf in this?
Edward Snowden @Snowden – 23:27 UTC · Sep 15, 2024
We know little so far, but w alleged Trump shooter's personal and public participation in military activity in Ukraine, it is hard to imagine this White House's agencies can claim zero contact—"clean hands." Something of an Oswald vibe, here. Congress should get answers.
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As more people start to think about potential ways to end the war in Ukraine the far-right in Ukraine is threatening to use violence to prevent that:
SIMPLICIUS Ѱ @simpatico771 – 18:13 UTC · Sep 15, 2024
⚡️🇺🇦Ukraine's most feared drone warlord threatens Zelensky:
A serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the call sign "Madyar" openly and "without drama" threatens the Ukrainian government.
According to him, if someone negotiates with the Russian Federation "not in the interests of the Ukrainian people", then a million fighters will return from the front and overthrow such a government.
Embedded video
The Washington Post tries to explain the issue:
‘Sprinkled with our blood’: Why so many Ukrainians resist land for peace
Ukraine is under pressure to cut a deal to end the war, especially if Trump wins, but there is likely to be fierce opposition from some soldiers and their families in the east.
It turns out that the 'so many' Ukrainians are not so many but a small radical minority that is willing to use force against politicians who want to take the necessary steps to make peace:
Polling, however, shows that Ukrainians are not ready to give up their land, especially among those soldiers in Donbas who have been fighting for it for the past 10 years.
…
[W]hile only 7 percent said they would join an armed protest in case of territorial concessions, that number more than doubled among soldiers and veterans — including those who have been fighting for the past decade, who have seen Russian forces raze the Ukrainian cities they capture to the ground, and who are now grappling with the prospect of losing their long-contested homeland.
The Post cites only few named sources in support of its thesis:
Vitaliy Barabash, the head of Avdiivka’s military administration, has been fighting Russia since 2014. The city was finally captured by Russia this winter after a decade of fighting.
…
He does not believe that Zelensky would sign a peace deal that would “abandon” Donbas — and said that it would be a “stupid mistake” to reason with Moscow. “Most people are hopefully that we will return to Avdiivka. They are ready to live in tents and rebuild this city.”
The report does not mention that Vitaliy Barabash, who is Jewish, was one of those who fought, and lost, with the fascist Azov battalion in Mariupol:
A Jewish Ukrainian soldier in the besieged Azovstal plant in Mariupol called on Israel on Wednesday night to intervene to save the garrison.
In a Facebook video posted by Jewish Kyiv-based entrepreneur and activist Ilgam Gasanov, Vitaliy Barabash said in Ukrainian, “It’s hard for me to speak, so my speech for me will be said by my brother, on behalf of all Ukrainian Jews who are together with me here.”
Barabash, also known as Benya, held a Ukrainian flag up to the camera as his friend read his statement, a Star of David tattoo clearly visible on Barabash’s hand.
Members of Azov and other 'nationalist' groupings in Ukraine are now experienced fighters. The have the means to fight as there are lots of Ukrainian weapons in unaccountable hands (machine translation):
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia in Ukraine, more than 270,945 weapons have disappeared or been stolen.
…
In less than 2024, more weapons were stolen or lost than in the whole of last year – 78,217 units. At the same time, it is 4 times more than before the start of a full-scale war.
These weapons can be easily smuggled into Europe to target any politician who dares to pressure Ukraine into accepting an end of the war.
The attempted assassination of Trump is only one of the first of such incidents. (The motives for the assassination attempt against the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico are still unknown.)
Many such incidents, predominantly in Europe, are likely to follow.
posted by: ossi | Sep 16 2024 16:50 utc | 112
Gleaned from recent references on “b’s” site:-
. I see fewer and fewer reports of the reformed Azov Brigade actually involved in the worst of the fighting that is grinding down units, but a lot about its separate recruiting operations. It’s hard to know how big these fascist forces are since they have their own recruiting and the order of battle doesn’t tell you much. But whereas a normal Ukrainian brigade has 4 maneuver battalions, the order of battle of the Azov “3rd Separate Assault Brigade” lists 7 maneuver battalions and a massive number of support units. Likewise the National Guard’s “12th Azov Special Forces Brigade” also lists 7 maneuver battalions. These forces are likely each several times the size of a normal Ukrainian brigade.
Posted by: Bob | Sep 16 2024 13:37 utc | 32
Nationalist/Nazi number. Sometime after the start of the SMO, Jacques Baud wrote an article for the Postil Magazine. He is ex Swiss military intel and had been part of the Nato ‘training’ stuff in Ukraine. He said at the start of the SMO, nationalist volunteer formations numbered 100,000 and made up 40% of the Ukraine military.
How much it has changed since I have no idea, but that piece by Baud is one point where a solid number can be found.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Sep 16 2024 14:01 utc | 38
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/09/west-experiences-blowback-from-fostering-fascists-in-ukraine/comments/page/2/#comments
A few references – not comprehensive since I don’t follow all the ins and outs of the fighting – on the ultra-nationalist forces.
On the Azov units I hunted through some notes recently and summarised them for Colonel Lang’s old blog:-
Zaluzhnyi, Black Sun himself, tended to favour them (Azov) and kept them out of the worst of the fighting. They are in any case semi-autonomous. If sent into the really hopeless battles, as in Avdeevka, they’re quite capable of assessing the situation for themselves and refusing the deployment. The remnants of the Azovstal (Mariupol) Azov fighters, some released by Erdogan not long back and now reconstituted as the 12th Special Purpose Brigade Azov, are doing their own thing in the Serebryansk forest up towards Kreminna. They harbour the suspicion that Syrski’s deliberately putting them in harm’s way to get rid of them so don’t always take much notice of him.
https://turcopolier.com/yuriy-butusov-on-the-difficult-situation-in-the-pokrovsky-direction/#comment-240586
The 3rd Assault Brigade was said to have moved up to the Sumy region a while ago, though they’re not listed among units used for the Kursk offensive that was linked to by “unimperator” recently. However, one now also sees references to Azov units elsewhere, recently, for example in Niu York. No doubt those who follow the disposition of Ukrainian units more closely could supply further information.
The eastern “ultras” are said not to get on too well with the Galician groups. Azov get quite militant about the suppression of the Russian language since they use it themselves. A disagreement with the language purist Irina Faryon about that.
Rob Campbell mentions here the dislike of these groups for the Russian Orthodox Church:-
https://robcampbell.substack.com/p/ukraine-weekly-update-32b
To my surprise, in that list “unimperator” supplied there is also reference to
to a Nachtigall unit. “49th Separate Artillery Brigade the 14th Separate UAV Regiment (represented by the Nachtigall Battalion, “Project M2” UAV group of the “A” Directorate of the Securi(t)y Service of Ukraine Central and the Special Operations Forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine.”
https://x.com/GeromanAT/status/1821510667154682003
So I don’t know how reliable that Geroman list is – difficult to believe the Ukrainians would be fool enough to call any of their units “Nachtigall”.
……………….
That’s just from one or two scattered references. There is as far as I know no comprehensive account of the ultra-nationalist groups and where they now are. One story is that they were more or less disbanded not long after the Maidan and are now of little importance. I don’t believe that story. Zolote, when they were of great importance, is not that long ago. Not only do they still comprise many units within the Ukrainian armed forces. Ultra-nationalist personnel are in very many regular armed units as stiffeners and are also in important positions in the Security Services and the Ukrainian Civil Service and educational establishment. What I term the “Black Sun crowd”, though small in number, hold important positions in Kiev and from what comes out from time to time have managed to inculcate in many Ukrainians their distinctive ideology, particularly amongst the young.
There was a very good study of the international reach of the Azov published by an American University. That’s now unavailable but I kept a note or two from it:-
https://cisac.fsi.stanford….
(“Executive Summary
The Azov Battalion is an extreme-right nationalist paramilitary organization based in Ukraine. Founded in 2014, the group promotes Ukrainian nationalism and neo-Nazism through its National Militia paramilitary organization and National Corps political wing. It is notable for its recruitment of far-right foreign fighters from the U.S. and Europe as well as its extensive transnational ties with other far-right organizations. In 2022, the group came to prominence again for fighting against Russian forces in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mariupol.”)
Maybe you or someone amongst “b’s” commenters can give a fuller account of the current state of play with the “ultras”. I got to know something of them in the earlier stages of the war, ’14/’15/’16, but seldom know now, when there’s fighting in question, whether the units involved in that fighting are regulars or “ultras” or a mixture.
………………..
An eye witness account, I don’t know how reliable, from a man who served with the Ukrainian military. The account is mostly about Bucha but includes these remarks on the activities of Azov generally:-
When I returned to France from Ukraine, I was shocked: TV channels invite as experts people who have not been to Ukraine and do not know anything about what is happening there now. However, they dare to speculate about these events. Between what I hear from the TV screen and what I saw with my own eyes is an abyss.
Azov fighters are everywhere. With neo-Nazi stripes. It shocks me that Europe is supplying weapons to neo-Nazis. On their uniforms, SS symbols are embroidered everywhere. Not only do they not hide their views. They advertise them. I worked with these people and treated them. They openly say that they are ready to destroy blacks and Jews.
Being there, there was nothing I could do. Just watch and make videos. I have this footage and will use it as evidence of Ukraine’s crimes.
I witnessed how the Ukrainian military shot through the knees of captured Russian soldiers and shot in the head higher-ranking officers.
I have personally seen American cameramen making fake footage from the scene of the events, staging staging.
All destroyed civilian buildings, given out by Ukraine for bombardment of civilians, are nothing more than the result of inaccurate shooting by Ukrainians at military facilities.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine hide ammunition in residential buildings at night, without even informing the residents. This is called using people as a shield.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1794008476831584305
An earlier interview that I believe to be entirely reliable gives an account of Aidar activities in the Donbass before the SMO.
“Harrowing interview with Laurent Brayard”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFynJY_SeKc
Something of a horror show, what we unleashed upon the people of the Donbass. Considering that, and what the people of Gaza and the West Bank have been going through, I don’t believe the 21st Century is going to be any more civilised than the 20th.
Posted by: English Outsider | Sep 16 2024 20:42 utc | 206
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