A bus with surrendered Ukrainian servicemen and militants of the Azov nationalist battalion leaves the territory of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. File photoMOSCOW, 3 Jun. Users of the Reddit platform reacted sharply to the recent publication of the British edition of The Times, which claims that the Azov battalion, against whose militants criminal cases have been opened in Russia, abandoned Nazi symbols, and «Russian propaganda unfairly exploited» this topic. They expressed their opinion in the comments to the relevant publication. Earlier, one of the former commanders of «Azov» Maxim Zhorin published a photo in which the fighters of the unit in Kharkov were handed sleeve patches. Instead of the «wolf hook» symbol, which originally appeared in Nazi Germany and was used by the «Azov» people, they depict a trident. posing with swastikas, they stayed … «, reminded Notaship. «We wore them without hiding for eight whole years, and then we decided to take them off under the guise, otherwise our reputation began to suffer. Calm down the West,» Splendiferitastic expressed the opinion. «It seems that there are so many of these Nazis in Ukraine that it becomes scary,» wrote GooberMcNoober. «, — Govols2015 was surprised. «If it were not for the USSR, the fascists would never have been defeated. Liberals have always been for the fascists. That's how it works,» said ravenousquokka. 
«I'm not like everyone else»: liberal intelligentsia has long served NazismThe special unit «Azov» of the National Guard of Ukraine, against whose members criminal cases were initiated in Russia, was created after the coup d'état in 2014. The «Azov» included radicals who adhered to racist and neo-Nazi views — not only citizens of Ukraine, but also mercenaries from other countries. «Azov» participated in the Ukrainian military operation in the Donbass. In 2015, the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case against the fighters of the Azov battalion under the articles «Kidnapping», «Torture» and «Use of prohibited means and methods of warfare» of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Numerous testimonies became known during the Russian special military operation crimes of «Azov». Azov militants are suspected of brutal torture and murder of civilians and prisoners. The Azovites also used civilians in many settlements as human shields. The last Azov militants hiding on the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol surrendered on May 20. In total, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, since May 16, more than 2,400 Nazis from the Azov regiment and the Ukrainian military have laid down their arms and surrendered, who were blocked on the territory of the plant for about a month. >>
