{"id":250562,"date":"2022-03-07T08:02:14","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T08:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=250562"},"modified":"2022-03-09T08:12:05","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T08:12:05","slug":"how-ukraines-jewish-president-zelensky-made-peace-with-neo-nazi-paramilitaries-on-front-lines-of-war-with-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=250562","title":{"rendered":"How Ukraine\u2019s Jewish president Zelensky made peace with neo-Nazi paramilitaries on front lines of war with Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Alexander Rubinstein and Max Blumenthal \u2013 The Gray Zone March 4, 2022<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>While Western media deploys Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s Jewish heritage to refute accusations of Nazi influence in Ukraine, the president has ceded to neo-Nazi forces and now depends on them as front line fighters.<\/p>\n<p>Back in October 2019, as the war in eastern Ukraine dragged on, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Zolote, a town situated firmly in the \u201cgray zone\u201d of Donbas, where over 14,000 had been killed, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/aaronjmate\/status\/1496308793810034688\">mostly on the pro-Russian side<\/a>. There, the president encountered the hardened veterans of extreme right paramilitary units keeping up the fight against separatists just a few miles away.<\/p>\n<p>Elected on a platform of de-escalation of hostilities with Russia, Zelensky was determined to enforce the so-called Steinmeier Formula conceived by then-German Foreign Minister Walter Steinmeier which called for elections in the Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.<\/p>\n<p>In a face-to-face confrontation with militants from the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion who had launched a campaign to sabotage the peace initiative called \u201cNo to Capitulation,\u201d Zelensky encountered a wall of obstinacy.<\/p>\n<p>With appeals for disengagement from the frontlines firmly rejected, Zelensky <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kyivpost.com\/ukraine-politics\/im-not-a-loser-zelensky-clashes-with-veterans-over-donbas-disengagement.html?__cf_chl_tk=SbolmTBS6QnjMnPJLiQEsivGNnuW6T4od28tzMOrEM0-1646110945-0-gaNycGzNCJE\">melted down<\/a> on camera. \u201cI\u2019m the president of this country. I\u2019m 41 years old. I\u2019m not a loser. I came to you and told you: remove the weapons,\u201d Zelensky implored the fighters.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">President of Ukraine Zelensky has visited disengaging area in Zolote today <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/scFZLt45C2\">https:\/\/t.co\/scFZLt45C2<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JlD1cWPQ39\">pic.twitter.com\/JlD1cWPQ39<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Liveuamap\/status\/1188041134943154177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 26, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Once video of the stormy confrontation spread across Ukrainian social media channels, Zelensky became the target of an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kyivpost.com\/ukraine-politics\/im-not-a-loser-zelensky-clashes-with-veterans-over-donbas-disengagement.html?__cf_chl_tk=SbolmTBS6QnjMnPJLiQEsivGNnuW6T4od28tzMOrEM0-1646110945-0-gaNycGzNCJE\">angry backlash<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Andriy Biletsky, the proudly fascist Azov Battalion leader who once <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/archive\/neo-nazis-far-right-ukraine\/\">pledged<\/a> to \u201clead the white races of the world in a final crusade\u2026against Semite-led Untermenschen\u201d, vowed to bring thousands of fighters to Zolote if Zelensky pressed any further. Meanwhile, a parliamentarian from the party of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko openly fantasized about Zelensky being blown to bits by a militant\u2019s grenade.<\/p>\n<p>Though Zelensky achieved a minor disengagement, the neo-Nazi paramilitaries escalated their \u201cNo Capitulation\u201d campaign. And within months, fighting began to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-europe-51543463\">heat up<\/a> again in Zolote, sparking a new cycle of violations of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unian.info\/politics\/1043394-minsk-agreement-full-text-in-english.html\">Minsk Agreement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>By this point, Azov had been formally incorporated into the Ukrainian military and its street vigilante wing, known as the National Corps, was deployed across the country under the watch of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, and <a href=\"https:\/\/khpg.org\/en\/1517275970\">alongside the National Police<\/a>. In December 2021, Zelensky would be seen delivering a \u201cHero of Ukraine\u201d award to a leader of the fascistic Right Sector in a ceremony in Ukraine\u2019s parliament.<\/p>\n<p>A full-scale conflict with Russia was approaching, and the distance between Zelensky and the extremist paramilitaries was closing fast.<\/p>\n<p>This February 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukrainian territory on a stated mission to \u201cdemilitarize and denazify\u201d the country, US media embarked on a mission of its own: to deny the power of neo-Nazi paramilitaries over the country\u2019s military and political sphere. As the US government-funded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/03\/01\/1083677765\/putin-denazify-ukraine-russia-history\">National Public Radio insisted<\/a>, \u201cPutin\u2019s language [about denazification] is offensive and factually wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In its bid to deflect from the influence of Nazism in contemporary Ukraine, US media has found its most effective PR tool in the figure of Zelensky, a former TV star and comedian from a Jewish background. It is a role the actor-turned-politician has eagerly assumed.<\/p>\n<p>But as we will see, Zelensky has not only ceded ground to the neo-Nazis in his midst, he has entrusted them with a front line role in his country\u2019s war against pro-Russian and Russian forces.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>The president\u2019s Jewishness as Western media PR device\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Hours before President Putin\u2019s February 24 speech declaring denazification as the goal of Russian operations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky \u201casked how a people who lost eight million of its citizens fighting Nazis could support Nazism,\u201d according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-europe-60503037\">BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Raised in a non-religious Jewish family in the Soviet Union during the 1980\u2019s, Zelensky has downplayed his heritage in the past. \u201cThe fact that I am Jewish barely makes 20 in my long list of faults,\u201d he joked during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lepoint.fr\/editos-du-point\/bernard-henri-levy\/bhl-deux-heures-avec-volodymyr-zelensky-04-04-2019-2305770_69.php?fbclid=IwAR22av3lMWd0w2mkVMDLbB8EXVXSOMpXnhtz7PR0KIXZv0ZimEThTahjxYs\">2019 interview<\/a> in which he declined to go into further detail about his religious background.<\/p>\n<p>Today, as Russian troops bear down on cities like Mariupol, which is effectively under the control of the Azov Battalion, Zelensky is no longer ashamed to broadcast his Jewishness. \u201cHow could I be a Nazi?\u201d he wondered aloud during a public address. For a US media engaged in an all-out information war against Russia, the president\u2019s Jewish background has become an essential public relations too.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Watch left &amp; right wing factions of MSM unite to declare any allegations of Nazism in Ukraine to be Russian fake news because President Zelensky is Jewish. Featuring Senators Marsha Blackburn &amp; Mark Warner, former CIA spy Dan Hoffman &amp; &quot;Ukraine Whistleblower&quot; Alexander Vindman <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vruyDUoWxv\">pic.twitter.com\/vruyDUoWxv<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Alex Rubinstein (@RealAlexRubi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealAlexRubi\/status\/1498187771281915905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A few examples of the US media\u2019s deployment of Zelensky as a shield against allegations of rampant Nazism in Ukraine are below (see mash-up above for video):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>PBS NewsHour noted Putin\u2019s comments on denazification with a qualifier: \u201ceven though President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish and his great uncles died in the Holocaust.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>On Fox &amp; Friends, former CIA officer Dan Hoffman declared that \u201cit\u2019s the height of hypocrisy to call the Ukrainian nation to denazify \u2014 their president is Jewish after all.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>On MSNBC, Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner said Putin\u2019s \u201cterminology, outrageous and obnoxious as it is \u2014 \u2018denazify\u2019 where you\u2019ve got frankly a Jewish president in Mr. Zelensky. This guy [Putin] is on his own kind of personal jihad to restore greater Russia.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn said on Fox Business she\u2019s \u201cbeen impressed with President Zelensky and how he has stood up. And for Putin to go out there and say \u2018we\u2019re going to denazify\u2019 and Zelensky is Jewish.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>In an interview with CNN\u2019s Wolf Blitzer, Gen. John Allen denounced Putin\u2019s use of the term, \u201cde-Nazify\u201d while the newsman and former Israel lobbyist shook his head in disgust. In a separate interview with Blitzer, the so-called \u201cUkraine whistleblower\u201d and Ukraine-born Alexander Vindman grumbled that the claim is \u201cpatently absurd, there\u2019s really no merit\u2026 you pointed out that Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish\u2026 the Jewish community [is] embraced. It\u2019s central to the country and there is nothing to this Nazi narrative, this fascist narrative. It\u2019s fabricated as a pretext.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Behind the corporate media spin lies the complex and increasingly close relationship Zelensky\u2019s administration has enjoyed with the neo-Nazi forces invested with key military and political posts by the Ukrainian state, and the power these open fascists have enjoyed since Washington installed a Western-aligned regime through a coup in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Zelensky\u2019s top financial backer, the Ukrainian Jewish oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, has been a key benefactor of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion and other extremists militias.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Azov-Battalion-with-Nazi-inspired-flags-march-through-Mariupol-in-Aug-2020.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-250565\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Azov-Battalion-with-Nazi-inspired-flags-march-through-Mariupol-in-Aug-2020.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Azov-Battalion-with-Nazi-inspired-flags-march-through-Mariupol-in-Aug-2020.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Azov-Battalion-with-Nazi-inspired-flags-march-through-Mariupol-in-Aug-2020-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 640px, 100vw\" \/><\/a>Azov Battalion with Nazi inspired flags march through Mariupol in Aug 2020<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Backed by Zelensky\u2019s top financier, neo-Nazi militants unleash a wave of intimidation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Incorporated into the Ukrainian National Guard, the Azov Battalion is considered the most ideologically zealous and militarily motivated unit fighting pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Donbass region.<\/p>\n<p>With Nazi-inspired Wolfsangel insignia on the uniforms of its fighters, who have been photographed with Nazi SS symbols on their helmets, Azov \u201cis known for its association with neo-Nazi ideology\u2026[and] is believed to have participated in training and radicalizing US-based white supremacy organizations,\u201d according to an FBI indictment of several US white nationalists that traveled to Kiev to train with Azov.<\/p>\n<p>Igor Kolomoisky, a Ukrainian energy baron of Jewish heritage, has been a top <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2022\/3\/1\/who-are-the-azov-regiment\">funder of Azov<\/a> since it was formed in 2014. He has also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/the-pocket-army-controlled-by-sacked-ukrainian-billionaire-igor-kolomoisky-2015-3\">bankrolled<\/a> private militias like the Dnipro and Aidar Battalions, and has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-ukraine-crisis-kolomoisky\/ukrainian-oligarch-under-fire-after-night-raid-on-state-oil-firm-idUSKBN0MG2A320150320\">deployed<\/a> them as a personal thug squad to protect his financial interests.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Kolomoisky emerged as the top backer of Zelensky\u2019s presidential bid. Though Zelensky made anti-corruption the signature issue of his campaign, the Pandora Papers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kyivpost.com\/ukraine-politics\/reactions-in-ukraine-to-pandora-papers-revelations.html\">exposed<\/a> him and members of his inner circle stashing large payments from Kolomoisky in a shadowy web of offshore accounts.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_250566\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Zelensky-meets-with-billionaire-backers.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-250566\" class=\"wp-image-250566\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Zelensky-meets-with-billionaire-backers.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Zelensky-meets-with-billionaire-backers.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Zelensky-meets-with-billionaire-backers-480x312.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 640px, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-250566\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Zelensky (C) meets with billionaire oligarch and business associate Ihor Kolomoisky on September 10, 2019. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n<p>When Zelensky took office in May 2019, the Azov Battalion maintained de facto control of the strategic southeastern port city of Mariupol and its surrounding villages.\u00a0As Open Democracy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opendemocracy.net\/en\/odr\/entrepreneurs-of-political-violence-ukraine-far-right\/\">noted<\/a>, \u201cAzov has certainly established political control of the streets in Mariupol. To maintain this control, they have to react violently, even if not officially, to any public event which diverges sufficiently from their political agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Attacks by Azov in Mariupol have included assaults on \u201cfeminists and liberals\u201d marching on International Women\u2019s Day among other incidents.<\/p>\n<p>In March 2019, members of the Azov Battalion\u2019s National Corps <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=U7RflyZdULY\">attacked the home<\/a> of Viktor Medvedchuk, the leading opposition figure in Ukraine, accusing him of treason for his friendly relations with Vladimir Putin, the godfather of Medvedchuk\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky\u2019s administration escalated the attack on Medvedchuk, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rferl.org\/a\/ukraine-medvedchuk-tv-channels-zelenskiy-defends-ban\/31085877.html\">shuttering<\/a> several media outlets he controlled in February 2021 with the open approval of the US State Department, and <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/europe-ukraine-business-government-and-politics-c3cb6ca3a2a58096fcd9810436539de9\">jailing the opposition leader for treason<\/a> three months later. Zelensky justified his actions on the grounds that he needed to \u201cfight against the danger of Russian aggression in the information arena.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Next, in August 2020, Azov\u2019s National Corps <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kyivpost.com\/ukraine-politics\/unknown-attackers-shoot-rubber-bullets-at-bus-near-kharkiv-injure-4.html\">opened fire<\/a> on a bus containing members of Medvedchuk\u2019s party, Patriots for Life, wounding several with rubber-coated steel bullets.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Breaking! A bus carrying supporters and members of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Ukraine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Ukraine<\/a>&#39;s opposition party &quot;Patriots For Life&quot; was attacked by Ukrainian National Corps and Azov Battalion in the east of the country (Kharkov), unconfirmed reports that some of the passengers have been murdered. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/O0hB2sqbRA\">pic.twitter.com\/O0hB2sqbRA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Eurasianist \u2626\ufe0f (@Russ_Warrior) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Russ_Warrior\/status\/1299040499937021952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 27, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Zelensky failed to rein in neo-Nazis, wound up collaborating with them<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Following his failed attempt to demobilize neo-Nazi militants in the town of Zolote in October 2019, Zelensky called the fighters to the table, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VavqTg7SLEg\">telling<\/a> reporters \u201cI met with veterans yesterday. Everyone was there \u2013 the National Corps, Azov, and everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A few seats away from the Jewish president was Yehven Karas, the leader of the neo-Nazi C14 gang.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_250567\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Zelensky-Karas.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-250567\" class=\"wp-image-250567\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Zelensky-Karas.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-250567\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zelensky meets with \u201cveterans\u201d including Yehven Karas (far right) and Dmytro Shatrovsky, an Azov Battalion leader (bottom left). Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n<p>During the Maidan \u201cRevolution of Dignity\u201d that ousted Ukraine\u2019s elected president in 2014, C14 activists took over Kiev\u2019s city hall and plastered its walls with neo-Nazi insignia before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/politics\/canadian-embassy-used-as-safe-haven-during-ukraine-uprising-investigation-finds-1.3148719\">taking shelter in the Canadian embassy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As the former youth wing of the ultra-nationalist Svoboda Party, C14 appears to draw its name from the infamous 14 words of US neo-Nazi leader David Lane: \u201cWe must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/khpg.org\/en\/1520808476\">offering<\/a> to carry out acts of spectacular violence on behalf of anyone willing to pay, the hooligans have fostered a cozy relationship with various governing bodies and powerful elites across Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>A March 2018 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-cohen-ukraine-commentary\/commentary-ukraines-neo-nazi-problem-idUSKBN1GV2TY\">report<\/a> by Reuters stated that \u201cC14 and Kiev\u2019s city government recently signed an agreement allowing C14 to establish a \u2018municipal guard\u2019 to patrol the streets,\u201d effectively giving them the sanction of the state to carry out pogroms.<\/p>\n<p>As The Grayzone <a href=\"https:\/\/thegrayzone.com\/2018\/10\/30\/c14-ukrainian-nazi-kiev-police-america-house\/\">reported<\/a>, C14 led raid to \u201cpurge\u201d Romani from Kiev\u2019s railway station in collaboration with the Kiev police.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The C14 Nazi terror gang signed an agreement with the Kiev municipal government to patrol its streets. This footage taken just a few months later in 2018 shows them carrying out a pogrom against a Romani camp. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9aAA86K8TQ\">pic.twitter.com\/9aAA86K8TQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Alex Rubinstein (@RealAlexRubi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealAlexRubi\/status\/1498191420703883264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Not only was this activity sanctioned by the Kiev city government, the US government itself saw little problem with it, <a href=\"https:\/\/thegrayzone.com\/2018\/10\/30\/c14-ukrainian-nazi-kiev-police-america-house\/\">hosting Bondar at an official US government institution<\/a> in Kiev where he bragged about the pogroms. C14 continued to <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20180617020140\/https:\/\/hromadskeradio.org\/derzhava-finansuye-c14\">receive<\/a> state funding throughout 2018 for \u201cnational-patriotic education.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Karas has <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20220129134515\/https:\/\/news.liga.net\/politics\/interview\/s14_kto_oni_i_pochemu_im_pozvoleno_bit_lyudey\">claimed<\/a> that the Ukrainian Security Serves would \u201cpass on\u201d information regarding pro-separatist rallies \u201cnot only [to] us, but also Azov, the Right Sector and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn general, deputies of all factions, the National Guard, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Ministry of Internal Affairs work for us. You can joke like that,\u201d Karas said.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout 2019, Zelensky and his administration deepened their ties with ultra-nationalist elements across Ukraine.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>After Prime Minister attends neo-Nazi concert, Zelensky honors Right Sector leader<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Just days after Zelensky\u2019s meeting with Karas and other neo-Nazi leaders in November 2019, Oleksiy Honcharuk \u2013 then the Prime Minister and deputy head of Zelensky\u2019s presidential office \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/ukrainian-pm-minister-attended-neo-nazi-concert-in-kyiv\/\">appeared on stage<\/a> at a neo-Nazi concert organized by C14 figure and accused murderer Andriy Medvedko.<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky\u2019s Minister for Veterans Affairs not only attended the concert, which featured several antisemitic metal bands, she promoted the concert on Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>Also in 2019, Zelensky defended Ukrainian footballer Roman Zolzulya against Spanish fans taunting him as a \u201cNazi.\u201d Zolzulya had <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/zozulyaroman18\/status\/671675855932891136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E671675855932891136%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsportsfinding.com%2Fwhy-do-they-call-roman-zozulya-nazi-the-origi%20\">posed beside photos<\/a> of the World War II-era Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vocativ.com\/falsestart\/414086\/did-espn-let-a-nazi-soccer-player-off-the-hook\/index.html\">openly supported<\/a> the Azov Battalion. Zelensky responded to the controversy by proclaiming that all of Ukraine backed Zolzulya, describing him as \u201cnot only a cool football player but a true patriot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In November 2021, one of Ukraine\u2019s most prominent ultra-nationalist militiamen, Dmytro Yarosh, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dyastrub\/posts\/4533858036691045\">announced<\/a> that he had been appointed as an advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.\u00a0Yarosh is an avowed follower of the Nazi collaborator Bandera who led Right Sector from 2013 to 2015, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spiegel.de\/international\/europe\/ukrainian-militias-prepare-for-possibility-of-russian-invasion-a-964628.html\">vowing<\/a> to lead the \u201cde-Russification\u201d of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_250568\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yarosh-Zaluzhny.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-250568\" class=\"wp-image-250568\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yarosh-Zaluzhny.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yarosh-Zaluzhny.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yarosh-Zaluzhny-480x269.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 640px, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-250568\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dmytro Yarosh poses with Ukraine\u2019s Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A month later, as war with Russia drew closer, Zelensky <a href=\"https:\/\/focus.ua\/uk\/politics\/499544-za-lichnoe-muzhestvo-zelenskiy-prisvoil-zvanie-geroya-ukrainy-dobrovolcu-pravo-sektora\">awarded<\/a> Right Sector commander Dmytro Kotsyubaylo the \u201cHero of Ukraine\u201d commendation. Known as \u201cDa Vinci,\u201d Kosyubaylo keeps a pet wolf in his frontline base, and likes to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/20\/world\/europe\/-ukraine-russia-putin-invasion.html\">joke<\/a> to visiting reporters that his fighters \u201cfeed it the bones of Russian-speaking children.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_250569\" style=\"width: 750px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Zelensky-Kotsyubaylo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-250569\" class=\"size-full wp-image-250569\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Zelensky-Kotsyubaylo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"740\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Zelensky-Kotsyubaylo.jpg 740w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Zelensky-Kotsyubaylo-480x243.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 740px, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-250569\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zelensky awards Right Sector commander Dmytro Kotsyubaylo the \u201cHero of Ukraine\u201d award. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Ukrainian state-backed neo-Nazi leader flaunts influence on the eve of war with Russia\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>On February 5, 2022, only days before full-scale war with Russia erupted, Yevhen Karas of the neo-Nazi C14 delivered a stem-winding public address in Kiev intended to highlight the influence his organization and others like it enjoyed over Ukrainian politics.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Watch Yevhen Karas the leader of Ukraine&#39;s neo-Nazi terror gang C14&#39;s speech from Kiev earlier this month. Straight from the horses&#39; mouth, he dispels the many narratives pushed by the left, the mainstream media and the State Department. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VWJqWPUGUp\">pic.twitter.com\/VWJqWPUGUp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Alex Rubinstein (@RealAlexRubi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealAlexRubi\/status\/1497747535783411714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 27, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cLGBT and foreign embassies say \u2018there were not many Nazis at Maidan, maybe about 10 percent of real ideological ones,\u2019\u201d Karas remarked. \u201cIf not for those eight percent [of neo-Nazis] the effectiveness [of the Maidan coup] would have dropped by 90 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 2014 Maidan \u201cRevolution of Dignity\u201d would have been a \u201cgay parade\u201d if not for the instrumental role of neo-Nazis, he proclaimed.<\/p>\n<p>Karas went on to opine that the West armed Ukrainian ultra-nationalists because \u201cwe have fun killing.\u201d He also fantasized about the balkanization of Russia, declaring that it should be broken up into \u201cfive different\u201d countries.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_250570\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Karas-Salute.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-250570\" class=\"wp-image-250570\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Karas-Salute.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"406\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Karas-Salute.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Karas-Salute-480x304.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 640px, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-250570\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yevhen Karas delivering the Nazi salute. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u201cIf we get killed\u2026we died fighting a holy war\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>When Russian forces entered Ukraine this February 24, encircling the Ukrainian military in the east and driving towards Kiev, President Zelensky announced a national mobilization that included the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RussiaUSA\/status\/1498245126300311552\">release of criminals<\/a> from prison, among them accused murderers wanted in Russia. He also blessed the distribution of arms to average citizens, and their training by battle-hardened paramilitaries like the Azov Battalion.<\/p>\n<p>With fighting underway, Azov\u2019s National Corps gathered hundreds of ordinary civilians, including grandmothers and children, to train in public squares and warehouses from Kharviv to Kiev to Lviv.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As US media celebrated average Ukrainian citizens taking up arms against Russian troops, the ultra-nationalist Azov Battalion&#39;s National Corps published a propaganda video of its fighters training and passing out arms to residents of Kharkiv, transforming them into combatants. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RVL1nyWkfw\">pic.twitter.com\/RVL1nyWkfw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MaxBlumenthal\/status\/1498535108445409282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 1, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>On February 27, the official Twitter account of the National Guard of Ukraine <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ng_ukraine\/status\/1497924614865002497\">posted<\/a> video of \u201cAzov Fighters\u201d greasing their bullets with pig fat to humiliate Russian Muslim fighters from Chechnya.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"und\" dir=\"ltr\">Azov fighters of the National Guard greased the bullets with lard against the Kadyrov orcs\ud83d\udc4a<\/p>\n<p>\u0411\u0456\u0439\u0446\u0456 \u0410\u0437\u043e\u0432\u0430 \u041d\u0430\u0446\u0433\u0432\u0430\u0440\u0434\u0456\u0457 \u0437\u043c\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0438\u043b\u0438 \u043a\u0443\u043b\u0456 \u0441\u0430\u043b\u043e\u043c \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0442\u0438 \u043a\u0430\u0434\u0438\u0440\u043e\u0432\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0445 \u043e\u0440\u043a\u0456\u0432\ud83d\udc4a<\/p>\n<p>\u041f\u0456\u0434\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0443\u0439\u0442\u0435\u0441\u044c \u043d\u0430 \u043d\u0430\u0448 \u0442\u0435\u043b\u0435\u0433\u0440\u0430\u043c \u043a\u0430\u043d\u0430\u043b <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SBQltMr4bM\">https:\/\/t.co\/SBQltMr4bM<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/A1ci7tZL8r\">pic.twitter.com\/A1ci7tZL8r<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; \u041d\u0413\u0423 (@ng_ukraine) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ng_ukraine\/status\/1497924614865002497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 27, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A day later, the Azov Battalion\u2019s National Corps <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/nationalcorps\/11126\">announced<\/a> that the Azov Battalion\u2019s Kharkiv Regional Police would begin using the city\u2019s Regional State Administration building as a defense headquarters. Footage <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/czartv\/2282\">posted<\/a> to Telegram the following day shows the Azov-occupied building being hit by a Russian airstrike.<\/p>\n<p>Besides authorizing the release of hardcore criminals to join the battle against Russia, Zelensky has ordered all males of fighting age to remain in the country. Azov militants have proceeded to enforce the policy by brutalizing civilians attempting to flee from the fighting around Mariupol.<\/p>\n<p>According to one Greek resident in Mariupol recently <a href=\"https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/2022\/03\/01\/greek-in-mariupol-fascist-ukrainian\/\">interviewed<\/a> by a Greek news station, \u201cWhen you try to leave you run the risk of running into a patrol of the Ukrainian fascists, the Azov Battalion,\u201d he said, adding \u201cthey would kill me and are responsible for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Footage posted online appears to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Deus_Abscondis\/status\/1497620925176754184\">show<\/a> uniformed members of a fascist Ukrainian militia in Mariupol violently pulling fleeing residents out of their vehicles at gunpoint.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING \ud83d\udca5 Ukrainian NAZI are preventing people from leaving Mariupol and are shooting at them.<\/p>\n<p>Residents of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Mariupol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Mariupol<\/a> do not move around the city,  Mariupol will soon be liberated!<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/EndTheBandera?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#EndTheBandera<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/StopUkrainianNazism?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#StopUkrainianNazism<\/a> <br \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Ukraine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Ukraine<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Russia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Russia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DPR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#DPR<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LPR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LPR<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DNR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#DNR<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LPR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LPR<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Donbass?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Donbass<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AakZGyNxQx\">pic.twitter.com\/AakZGyNxQx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Deus Abscondis (@Deus_Abscondis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Deus_Abscondis\/status\/1497620925176754184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 26, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Other video filmed at checkpoints around Mariupol showed Azov fighters <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/oulosP\/status\/1499435522590224385\">shooting and killing<\/a> civilians attempting to flee.<\/p>\n<p>On March 1, Zelensky <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukrinform.net\/rubric-ato\/3417806-zelensky-replaces-heads-of-odesa-cherkasy-regional-state-administrations.html\">replaced<\/a> the regional administrator of Odessa with Maksym Marchenko, a former commander of the extreme right Aidar Battalion, which has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/documents\/eur50\/040\/2014\/en\/\">accused<\/a> of an array of war crimes in the Donbass region.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, as a massive convoy of Russian armored vehicles bore down on Kiev, Yehven Karas of the neo-Nazi C14 posted a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ylCCIbcw5rk?t=584\">video<\/a> on YouTube from inside a vehicle presumably transporting fighters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we get killed, it\u2019s fucking great because it means we died fighting a holy war,\u201d Karas exclaimed. \u201dIf we survive, it\u2019s going to be even fucking better! That\u2019s why I don\u2019t see a downside to this, only upside!\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate?token=_lM89mdZHp4lDpTxBoeYFbMatafnWYJ0-eKQOYja92rPxnHrSQcvtfX7wJJVu_TyvCavesEs6EVXKz_F\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-175417 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2002\/10\/donate-pp.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"80\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thegrayzone.com\/2022\/03\/04\/nazis-ukrainian-war-russia\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While Western media deploys Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s Jewish heritage to refute accusations of Nazi influence in Ukraine, the president has ceded to neo-Nazi forces and now depends on them as front line fighters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":167878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-Behind_The_News","category-ukraine"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=250562"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":250572,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250562\/revisions\/250572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/167878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=250562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=250562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=250562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}