Some are, but they are by no means representative of the majority let alone the whole. As such, your point is still valid. This is a molehill being turned into a mountain as part of a blatant exaggeration designed to provide cover for Russia's flagrant abuses. Originally Posted by HDGristle
yeah pretty much. a lot has been made of the Azov battalion and so-called Neo-NAZI ideology and symbols like this .. their unit badge.
some vague resemblance perhaps but the actual NAZI swastika was "stolen" by the Germans from Hindu symbols dating back hundreds of years before the NAZIs in Germany came to power.
interestingly, the NAZIs used the Hindu "swastika" and other symbols in an attempt to prove their Aryan bloodline existed back hundreds of years. Aryans did exist long ago as Ino-Irainians. only NAZI historians find any links with NAZI Germany, all real historians know the NAZI's claim is nonsense.
here's an older unit badge "supposedly" using several NAZI symbols
A former Azov emblem[234][235][236] featuring a combination of a mirrored Wolfsangel and the Black Sun, two symbols associated with the Wehrmacht and SS, over a small Tryzub. Since 2015, it is no longer in use as a symbol of the regiment.[237][236]
another interesting fact about the Azov battalion is that it was originally part of the Ukrainian National Guard. only after Russia's invasion was the battalion called up into the Ukrainian Army.
full strength for a battalion is typically 2,500 soldiers. for the sake of debate let's say all 2,500 are hardcore NAZI's that's interesting because Russia has claimed invading Ukraine is to remove these NAZi's ... who just happen to be Russian speakers from Russian speaking regions ... so .. Russia is invading Ukraine to remove "Russian speaking" NAZI's. you can't make this shit up! all this per Putin over one "Russian speaking" Ukrainian battalion.
bahahhaaaa
of course the Ukraine Army has hundreds of thousands of troops due to the invasion now so we are expected to believe that 2,500 soldiers in one unit are enough to corrupt the entire Ukraine Army into NAZI's that Putin "must eliminate".
clearly this is nonsense and Putin merely used this as an excuse to invade. if you ask me the real reasons are twofold, one the failed Minsk deals where i see fault on both sides, Ukraine and Russia that allowed the unrest in the Donbas eastern region to continue and Putin believes the US wants Ukraine to join NATO and with good reason since several US presidents (G Bush as an outgoing president endorsed Ukraine into NATO) and both party candidates, Obama who won and McCain also supported Ukraine joining NATO. the Biden admin, while perhaps not openly calling for Ukraine to be admitted into NATO before the invasion, took no steps at all to discuss the issue with Putin, giving him the perception the US would back such a move.
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/04/14/biden-official-admits-us-refused-to-address-ukraine-and-nato-before-russian-invasion/
Biden official admits US refused to address Ukraine and NATO before Russian invasion
Prior to the war, many analysts said it would be reasonable to deny or delay Kyiv’s ascension into the Atlantic Alliance to stave off conflict.
this and the fact that there never was self government in Donbas per the Minsk terms where Putin felt certain the Donbas, almost all ethnic Russians by descent, would have voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia. unlike his annexation, this would have been a legal referendum in the Donbas and if they had voted to join Russia what would Ukraine have done? legally there's nothing they could do, otherwise they'd be the ones who "invaded" Russian territory.
the reason why Putin took no action in Ukraine while Trump was president is obvious, Trump did not favor Ukraine joining NATO. has nothing to do with all this "Putin controls Trump nonsense" and in fact disproves it because "IF" Putin actually did control Trump that's the first thing he would do, invade eastern Ukraine at the least if not all of Ukraine, knowing Trump wouldn't send mass amounts of equipment to Ukraine.