magz wrote:
Keeping them in spotlight is very likely inspired by some specific group - you could make similar documentaries probably in every country. They weren't made by Russian propaganda but they are extensively used by them, to create an impression that this is somehow mainstream in Ukraine.
Look at election results to see what is actually mainstream in Ukraine.
I have come across this issue of the popularity of neo-nazism in Ukraine in nearly every news agency (even Fox news).
Reuters is the most impartial news agency I know of and they
don't spread Russian propaganda,
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cohe ... SKBN1GV2TYAccording to them and I quote
When Russian President Vladimir Putin’s seizure of Crimea four years ago first exposed the decrepit condition of Ukraine’s armed forces, right-wing militias such as Azov and Right Sector stepped into the breach, fending off the Russian-backed separatists while Ukraine’s regular military regrouped. Though, as a result, many Ukrainians continue to regard the militias with gratitude and admiration, the more extreme among these groups promote an intolerant and illiberal ideology that will endanger Ukraine in the long term. Since the Crimean crisis, the militias have been formally integrated into Ukraine’s armed forces, but some have resisted full integration: Azov, for example, runs its own children’s training camp, and the careers section instructs recruits who wish to transfer to Azov from a regular military unit.
According to Freedom House’s Ukraine project director Matthew Schaaf, “numerous organized radical right-wing groups exist in Ukraine, and while the volunteer battalions may have been officially integrated into state structures, some of them have since spun off political and non-profit structures to implement their vision.” Schaaf noted that “an increase in patriotic discourse supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia has coincided with an apparent increase in both public hate speech, sometimes by public officials and magnified by the media, as well as violence towards vulnerable groups such as the LGBT community,” an observation that is supported by a recent Council of Europe study.
Ukraine has experienced a wave of unchecked vigilantism. Institute Respublica, a local pro-democracy NGO, reported that activists are frequently harassed by vigilantes when holding legal meetings or rallies related to politically-controversial positions, such as the promotion of LGBT rights or opposition to the war.
Azov and other militias have attacked anti-fascist demonstrations, city council meetings, media outlets, art exhibitions, foreign students and Roma.
Brutal attacks this month on International Women’s Day marches in several Ukrainian cities prompted an unusually forceful statement from Amnesty International, which warned that "the Ukrainian state is rapidly losing its monopoly on violence.”
Kiev’s recent efforts to incorporate independent armed groups into its regular armed forces, as well as a continuing national sense of indebtedness to the militias for their defense of the homeland,
This would suggest (according to unbiased and impartial sources) that the right wing militia problem is much worse than any other western country. Two things strike me, Firstly the integration of right wing militias into the regular forces (excluding Azov). The second echoes what I have posted from other sources earlier that Azov are targeting foreign students which is exactly what the students complained when they managed to escape Ukraine.
The war crimes committed by Russian soldiers must be reported....but what is happening inside the Ukrainian army and defense force should not be ignored. The last time this happened was in Afghanistan where the US backed the Mujahadeen to fight the Russians. The Mujahadeen thanked America by attacking them later when they evolved into the Taliban.
03 Apr 2022, 3:50 am
