Do literally ALL Ukrainian soldiers wear fascist imagery?

After almost a decade of reporting on this war, I'd like to chip in with a couple of thoughts on why you might see these symbols on the battlefield in Ukraine. Not to justify these soldiers' decisions — as any use of Nazi symbols should always be condemned — but to offer my explanation for this phenomenon.

So, why are these symbols present on the battlefield?

First of all, let's establish one fact. No, Ukraine does not have "a Nazi problem."

lmfao

Just like in many places around the world, people with far-right and neo-Nazi views, driven by their ideology, are prone to joining the military and participating in conflicts. One also has to take into account that in Ukraine, nationalism with deep historical roots is tied to a desire for independence from Russia. It has driven many to take up arms to fight in what they believe is an existential war against a neighbor that seeks to subjugate and destroy their country. Among them, people with far-right views.

"deep historical roots" going all the way back to Second World War, where a minority of Ukrainian soldiers willingly sided with a genocidal fascist regime that wanted the complete extermination and enslavement of the Slavic people. weirdly enough, the part of history where an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians sided with the Red Army to free Eastern Europe from those genocidal fascists isn't represented quite as much, but that's not important, obviously.

These groups were aggressive and highly motivated. It is, of course, true that, for instance, the Azov Battalion was originally founded by neo-Nazi and far-right groups (as well as many soccer ultra-fans), which brought along with it the typical aesthetics — not only neo-Nazi insignia but also things like Pagan rituals or names like "The Black Corps," the official newspaper of Nazi Germany's major paramilitary organization Schutzstaffel (SS). But as with any country, real neo-Nazis in Ukraine were and still are a tiny minority.

are you sure about that?

It hasn't helped that, since 2014, some Western journalists have made the supposed "rise of the far right" a staple of their coverage of Ukraine, as headlines of supposed neo-Nazis in the country are consistently attention-grabbing. And right before the full-scale invasion, certain American journalists wrote about how Ukrainian neo-Nazis were allegedly using the threat of Russia's full-scale invasion to seize power in the country.

But guess what — the Russian invasion did happen, and the neo-Nazi power grab never did. Not only was there no serious evidence ever presented to support claims of an attempted "coup," these fringe elements are nothing compared to Ukraine's state and military machine.

Ukraine's government is absolutely fucking littered with fascists, what the fuck?

did this author think that the fascists would be like "We have an announcement to make! We are taking over the Ukrainian government. We are Nazis. We are fascists. We want to do genocide and are very evil. Please carry on!"

absolute fucking morons. if fascism was already an institutionalized force in the government as it was after the US-backed coup of 2014, you don't need to do dramatic takeovers of power! you just continue doing what you're doing! fascism was already the de facto arrangement of the Ukrainian government!

this is like saying "The racist power grab in America never happened. There was never a point where racists and white supremacists took control of Congress and the House in a dramatic coup d'etat. We beat racism in the Civil War. There is no racism in America today. This was definitely true by the time Obama was elected president (the good ol' "buhhhh if zelensky jew then how fascism?!?!?!!" thing). You are a stooge of foreign governments if you argue that America still has racists in it when a black president was elected. There is no systemic racism in the United States today."

So why is this happening? In the oversimplified memory of some around the world, particularly within various militaristic subcultures, symbols representing the Wehrmacht, Nazi Germany's Armed Forces, and the SS are seen to reflect a super-effective war machine, not the perpetrators of one of the greatest crimes against humanity in human history.

This, this is why a Ukrainian SS member was applauded in the Canadian parliament. The history of Ukraine is fighting with Russia to defend communism. When you tear that down, there's no heroes left but Hitler.

First of all, let's establish one fact. No, Ukraine does not have "a Nazi problem."

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