President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. File photoATHENA, May 2.Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Greek television ERT that he is grateful to the Nazi Azov regiment (against whose fighters criminal cases have been initiated in the Russian Federation — ed.) and other «volunteers», whatever they may be, and at the same time believes that in Ukraine «almost no» appeals to radicalism. Two Greek-born militants from the Ukrainian Nazi Azov Regiment appeared on April 7 in front of the Greek Parliament along with Zelensky, which caused a political scandal. The entire leadership of Greece came to Zelensky's speech. All parties condemned the performance of the Nazis in front of the Greek Parliament, the former Prime Minister of Greece, the leader of the opposition party SYRIZA Alexis Tsipras called it a «historical shame.» The Greek government subsequently stated that it considered it «mistaken» to address the Greek parliament by the Nazis from Azov. An ERT correspondent asked Zelensky about his attitude towards the Azov battalion. He replied that in 2014 «volunteers from different parts of the state united to protect Ukraine.» He admitted that he sees the difference between the Ukrainian troops and the national battalions. «There is also the Azov battalion, which does not consist of volunteers, but is part of the national guard of our state. Today it is part of the armed forces, and all of them are the official army of our state. Some of those who were volunteers at the beginning of the war left into politics and stayed there. Those who decided to continue serving in the armed forces of Ukraine became military men and are part of the armed forces of Ukraine. These are two different things,» Zelensky said. According to him, Mariupol is «protected» by professional soldiers, not only the Azov battalion. «There are also the National Guard, border guards, special forces, there are the armed forces of Ukraine,» Zelensky said. neo-Nazis in UkraineAccording to him, he and his team are following all events very closely. «And if there are challenges or calls for radicalism, I believe that in our state there are much fewer of them compared to other countries of the world. I think that we have almost none. Despite the fact that we have a war and we could understand this. In case such radical statements take place, believe me, we are following them, we take them very seriously, stop and immediately take such steps,» Zelensky said. another.
