We are dealing with Nazis,” he said, referring to the apparent threat from Ukraine. “We will punish the Nazis,” he vowed as he cheered on Russian troops in Donbass.
“We would also like to respect those who fought with us in 2014,” Putin added, hailing “the peaceful people of Donbass who were killed by the Nazis.”
The Russian president appears to be citing the Azov Battalion, a Ukrainian National Guard unit in Mariupol that was once a volunteer regiment and first fought in June 2014. In March 2015, Andriy Diachenko, spokesman for the brigade , says USA Today that 10% to 20% are Nazis, but the ideology “has nothing to do with the official Azov ideology”.
Zelenskyy categorically denied the claim that the Azov Battalion promotes Nazism.
“We would also like to respect those who fought with us in 2014,” Putin added, hailing “the peaceful people of Donbass who were killed by the Nazis.”
The Russian president appears to be citing the Azov Battalion, a Ukrainian National Guard unit in Mariupol that was once a volunteer regiment and first fought in June 2014. In March 2015, Andriy Diachenko, spokesman for the brigade , says USA Today that 10% to 20% are Nazis, but the ideology “has nothing to do with the official Azov ideology”.
Zelenskyy categorically denied the claim that the Azov Battalion promotes Nazism.