Backbone of the Army

(An interview with Dmitry Kovalevich, a Ukrainian journalist and a member of the Marxist organization "Borotba".)

Original article available here

Fascists gain more and more ground in Ukraine. West willingly supplies weapons

Neo-Nazis played a decisive role during the 2013/2014 "Euromaidan" in Ukraine. After that, they assumed a number of leadership positions in all spheres of the Ukrainian state system, their paramilitary armed formations were legalized and included in the National Guard, the police and the regular army. They were also given the field of educating children and young people, who were brainwashed for eight years in special training camps.

In all these years, only Ukraine and the United States voted annually in the UN against a resolution condemning Nazism, which already says a lot. Gradually, the state apparatus merged with neo-Nazi groups, the ideology of the ultra-right became the state ideology, their symbols became official state symbols. The slogan of the Nazi collaborators, "Glory to Ukraine," has become an official greeting in the army, and even liberal European politicians do not hesitate to repeat it.

The leader of the neo-Nazi group "C 14," Yevgeny Karas, said at a press conference in Kiev on February 23, the eve of Russia's operation, that a number of countries had provided a large amount of military support "not because they want us to benefit from it," but because the state was "performing the tasks of the West." He continued, "We are the only ones who are willing to perform these tasks because we have fun - we like to kill, and we enjoy fighting."

Not surprisingly, since the beginning of the Russian operation, the neo-Nazis and the extreme right have offered the most stubborn resistance. Denazification is directed specifically against them, but they try to present their cause as the cause of the entire Ukrainian people, as the cause of all of Europe, which they are supposedly protecting from the "Asian hordes." For the past eight years, the Western media have tried to timidly criticize neo-Nazi units such as "Azov," "Free Corps," and "Right Sector," but since late February they have become quite acceptable defenders of Ukraine.

The neo-Nazis of "Azov" are the most motivated forces, and they were the first to receiveWestern weapons. The US media also freely reports that they supply "Azov". "On March 3, Ukraine's 'Northern' Operations Command published photos of troops being instructed inиthe use of NLAW and Javelin anti-tank weapons. Since then, more such images have been published by the "Azov National Guard" battalion," the U.S. portal Overt Defense wrote on March 8.

In addition to the regular army units, "territorial defense detachments" were formed from the civilian population at the end of February, which immediately received the nickname "Volkssturm" in Ukraine. These units are led by representatives of extreme right-wing groups who have undergone training or have experience of military action in the Donbass. Regularly have to pass their checkpoints, which are established at every intersection. The fighters of the "Territorial Defense" appear quite arrogant even to representatives of the Ukrainian authorities. They do not allow men between the ages of 18 and 60 to leave the region.

Refugees fleeing the war zone are sometimes forced to take a "language test" on their Ukrainian language skills. Those who fail the test are either not allowed through or are subjected to a humiliating check where they have to undress in the cold. They take a particularly harsh attitude toward people from Asian and African countries who try to leave the country.

The "Territorial Defense" as well as military personnel like to show the insignia of the SS division "Totenkopf", the Nazi symbol "Black Sun", which even got into congratulatory NATO tweets to fighting Ukrainian women on March 8. Of course, not all soldiers of the army or members of the "territorial defense" are supporters of neo-Nazi views. However, they are all to one degree or another under the leadership and control of the extreme rightwing forces that form the backbone of the Ukrainian armed forces.