The Russian propagandists are really having a crack at the Azov Regiment, so for a balanced viewpoint, I thought I would take a look at the origins of the Azov Regiment and where they are now. Let us keep in mind that Ukraine has a democratically elected government and Russia is a fascist dictatorship – it is really that simple.

Since 2014 Russian backed separatists have been operating in the Donbas region bordering Russia, it is well known that Russia is supporting the separatist movement arming the militia and providing financial support. Then there was the invasion and occupation of Crimea also in 2014, the Ukrainian military was too weak to resist and they lost that territory. When the Azov Battalion was formed to drive the Russians out, there was claims about far right ideology and torture. I am not here to defend them, I am just doing some internet searching to identify the genesis of this organisation.

So this is where the Azov Regiment really began to build strength. Are they a right wing nationalist organisation? Well, based on the criteria that they have had their sovereign territory invaded and occupied, this provides a fertile recruiting basis for Ukrainian nationalism to evict these invaders from their territory. Is the Azov Regiment a Nazi organisation? I severely doubt it, are they fascists, nope. Are there fascists in Ukraine? You bet there is, they are easy to identify, they are the ones with the Z symbol on their military hardware.