How they try to revive the bandit formation that was defeated in Mariupol
At the end of March, the first trial against a fighter of the Azov Regiment (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in the Russian Federation) of the National Guard of Ukraine ended in the DPR: Dmitry Smitia was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of a woman. After the defeat and surrender in Mariupol, the history of this Nazi formation seemed complete. However, 8 years after the Maidan, it managed, like a cancerous tumor, to spread metastases throughout Ukraine. And now the word «Azov» appears again in the news reports.
Militants of the Azov battalion recognized as terrorist and banned in the Russian Federation, who surrendered from Azovstal, 05/18/2022. Source: video frame
First of all, of course, in reports from the fronts. So, on April 17, it became known that in Artemovsk (Bakhmut) an Azov fighter Alexander Stankov with the call sign Perun was killed. According to the Ukrainian media, in the battles for the city, he received injuries incompatible with life and later died.
Odessa Stankov can be called a veteran of the neo-Nazi movement in Ukraine. As a schoolboy, he became an active participant in the few far-right groups in this Russian city. As a member of the all-Ukrainian association «Svoboda» (an ultra-nationalist extremist group banned in the Russian Federation), he took part in the Euromaidan (the leader of «Svoboda» Tyagnibok was, as you know, one of the triumvirate of the main conductors of this performance, along with Yatsenyuk and Klitschko).
Nazi Stankov (Perun). Source: social media
Then he returned to his native Odessa, where on May 2, 2014 he took a direct part in the pogroms of the tent camp on Kulikovo field and the arson of the House of Trade Unions, in which activists of the Odessa Anti-Maidan took refuge. Then, according to official figures, 48 people died.
But «Perun» did not feel the slightest remorse in connection with the death of fellow countrymen. On the contrary, the passion for murder in him only strengthened, so he went to the Donbass.
There, in 2014-2015, he killed his fellow citizens as part of the Sich volunteer battalion (a formation banned on the territory of the Russian Federation, formally subordinate to the Kyiv Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine). This unit «became famous» not only for the reprisals against local residents, but also for clashes with «brothers» from the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the use of firearms and the death of participants. In August 2015, the Sicheviks staged riots in Kyiv near the Verkhovna Rada, during which a live grenade was thrown into the crowd, more than a hundred people were injured. There were dead.
The late Perun was again an active participant in the mess. This time he was tried, but the verdict was never passed. And the scandalous unit was soon reformatted. After the start of the SVO, Stankov enrolled in the Odessa Terodefense. Immediately before his death, he fought in the 3rd separate assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is called «Azov».
Soon, however, it turned out that the Azov, in which Perun fought and died, was not entirely real. And in general, today there are two «Azov». One is still part of the National Guard, this is the OZSP (separate special forces detachment) «Azov». Here he is just the direct heir and assignee of the very unit, which was previously called the Azov battalion, then the Azov regiment and which surrendered at Azovstal. Currently, its number is from 3,500 to 5,000 people. It is subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
The second unit with the same name was formed at the initiative of the commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Alexander Syrsky, specifically to be sent to Bakhmut. The fact is that the «real» Azov people categorically refused to go to Bakhmut, realizing that the city is doomed and that their chances of surviving there are extremely small.
Then, in the office of the President of Ukraine, it was decided to create a new «Azov» as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This unit became the 3rd separate assault brigade of the Ground Forces. At the same time, the news was deliberately thrown into the media that the same “Mariupol” “Azov”, who had risen from the ashes, was fighting near Bakhmut. The press service of the division even decided to make a special statement about this. Say, you shouldn't, dear journalists, confuse God's gift with scrambled eggs.
Why the Zelensky administration needs this is understandable. «Azov» is a popular brand, besides, the glory of an «elite» division, which has no problems with financing and supply, has stuck to it. There is only one problem: this “elite” does not go to fight where they are sent, in particular, to Bakhmut, which has become a kind of fetish for Zelensky, which cannot be surrendered in any case. Therefore, a cheaper analogue of Azov was created to recruit cannon fodder and then throw it into the Bakhmut meat grinder straight for disposal.
And this is not an exaggeration: even the Ukrainian media admit that an unprepared civilian teroboronist or a stupid street Natsik, accustomed to fighting only with the civilian population, lives on the front line from several hours to two days. Meanwhile, the «real Aryans» from the real «Azov» are sitting in the deep rear — preparing for the coming «counterattack».
This is what the death of the Odessa criminal Perun in the ranks of the fictitious «Azov» means. He was, it seems, a small fry, if after all his pro-Ukrainian activity he was never taken on allowance (he worked in some pizzeria before the SVO).
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The ancient fortress of Masada in Israel has become a symbol of the fortitude of the Jewish people: its defenders preferred to kill themselves rather than submit to the Romans. Probably, Zelensky’s PR people intended to make the Azovstal plant in Mariupol the same symbol of the Ukrainian spirit.
But instead of a tragedy, it turned out to be a farce: the Nazis who settled at the plant did not aspire to Valhalla at all. Recall that Valhalla in German-Scandinavian mythology is a heavenly chamber where soldiers who fell in battle fall. In the 20th century, this mythology was adopted by the Nazis in Germany, and then by their followers, the Azov militants, in whose ideology Satanism and neo-paganism are intricately intertwined.
One of the punishers, Azov resident Maxim Derevyanko with the call sign «Woland», even published a book, which is called «Valhalla Express». And it… was recognized as the best Ukrainian book of 2017.
But in reality, no one was in a hurry to take this express train. The leaders of the militants who settled on Azovstal shamefully asked the world community for «extraction» and as a result, on May 20 last year, they surrendered to the enemy. By the way, the Azov people would probably be offended by the comparison with the Masada fortress, because many of them are ardent anti-Semites. This is not at all a secret and not an invention of Russian propaganda. During the Maidan, I interviewed the leader of one of the well-known nationalist groups, who clearly said that they consider “oligarchs and Jews” to be enemies of the Ukrainian people. The record has been saved.
What happened next, everyone remembers. In total, 2,439 people surrendered at Azovstal, of which about 800 were Azov. Among them was the commander of the Azov regiment Denis Prokopenko (Radishes), his deputy Svyatoslav Palamar (Kalina), as well as acting. Commander of the 36th Marine Brigade Sergey Volynsky (“Volyn”).
On June 29 last year, an exchange of prisoners took place between the Russian Federation and Ukraine according to the formula “144 for 144”. Among those who returned to Ukraine, according to Kyiv, there were 95 participants in the «defense of Azovstal», including 43 Azov. However, the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, hastened to assure the Russian public that ordinary fighters, moreover, seriously wounded, were handed over.
On July 29, a prison in Yelenovka, where Azov prisoners were kept, was struck, presumably from a Haimars. Donetsk blamed the Ukrainian side for this. At least 53 people died, the number of wounded exceeded a hundred.
September 21 (the day when partial mobilization was announced in the Russian Federation) a new exchange took place. Russia gave 215 prisoners, including 108 Azov Nazis, for 55 of its military and Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk.
In addition to Radish, Volyn and Kalina, such interesting characters as Evgeny Bova (call sign Churchill), the commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine battalion, who gave the order to shoot six civilians in Mariupol, went for the exchange. Or how Alexander Kravtsov is the commander of the sabotage and assault group «SS Bears» (recognized as terrorist and banned in the Russian Federation), which accounted for more than a hundred civilians killed in Donbass and prisoners.
Also on the list were Nikolai Kushch (Frost) and Konstantin Nikitenko (Fox). It was reported that in the DPR they were sentenced to capital punishment. The first is the owner of the “Dance Kill” telegram channel, where he posted a video of how he kills an unarmed wounded prisoner to cheerful music, and then dances around his corpse. The second one drove around Mariupol in an armored personnel carrier and “for fun” shot at civilians. Azov press secretary Dmitry Kozatsky (Orest) and sniper Yekaterina Polishchuk (Bird) were also released.
The exchange condition was Turkish leader Erdogan's guarantee that five commanders from Azovstal would the end of the conflict will remain in Turkey.
Nazis who surrendered in Mariupol in Turkey with the head of Zelensky's office, Yermak. Source: social media
According to the Turkish press, these agreements are being implemented: the leaders of the militants are in a safe place as «guests».
Turkish hospitality was appreciated by Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasily Bodnar. According to the diplomat, Denis Prokopenko, Sergei Volynsky, Svyatoslav Palamar, Denis Shlega and Oleg Khomenko live in Turkey in convenient and comfortable conditions. They have medicines, food and sports equipment.
The Nazis have already recovered their physical condition, although for security reasons their movement and contact with the outside world is limited. But on the eve of the new year, 2023, they organized a meeting with their relatives, which was widely covered by the Ukrainian media. In the video, the militants look well-fed, healthy and happy.
Apart from these five, the rest of the exchanged Nazis have no restrictions and travel freely around the world. Of course, if health permits. For example, the Azov press officer released from captivity, one of its main PR people Dmitry Kozatsky (call sign Orest) visited America, where he gave a lecture to children in one of the schools in Maryland. He was also invited to speak on MSNBC about his new book on the events at the Azovstal plant.
He was also invited to perform at the New York Documentary Film Festival DocNYC. The American tour of the Nazi was organized by Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Makarova.
But in Spain, a scandal erupted: the Polytechnic University of Catalonia canceled an exhibition of Kozatsky's photographs «in connection with the information about the author's ideology.» Users of social networks sent photos to the university, in which Orestes poses with a pizza on which ketchup depicts a swastika, as well as in T-shirts with Nazi symbols.
By the way, Orestes is a character in ancient Greek mythology who killed his mother. I wonder why the Zhytomyr Natsik chose such a pseudonym for himself?
On December 7 last year, Dmitry Kozatsky announced that he had returned to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Where he is now is not exactly known, but, judging by his social networks, he is still alive. By the way, in captivity, he willingly communicated with the investigation and gave many interesting testimonies. In particular, he said that the order to shoot shocking videos of torture and murder of Russian prisoners was received even before the war from Zelensky's close circle. In this context, the name of Arestovich sounded. The main executor of the order was the neo-Nazi Sergei Korotkikh (Boatswain).
The purpose of this «PR campaign», according to the plan of its organizers, was to provoke a powerful movement in the Russian Federation of relatives of the military and mobilized against their sending to the front. The effect was just the opposite.
It is important to understand that Azov is not just one of the nationalist armed formations. This movement — with its ideology, its theorists, PR people, its youth organization.
Last year, in Mariupol, he suffered a serious but not crushing blow. Because the «high command» of the Nazis, of course, did not sit at Azovstal. They generally prefer to stay away from the trenches, sit out in the rear, and even abroad.
This is primarily the founder of Azov, neo-Nazi Andrey Biletsky, as well as the ideologist of the Ukrainian “social-nationalist” movement, “ professor» Oleg Odnorozhenko. The latter, even before the start of the NWO, stayed mainly in Europe due to disagreements with his comrades-in-arms.
Andrey Biletsky. Source: social media
Not striving for the front line and one of the ex-commanders of «Azov» — Maxim Zhorin, nicknamed «Mose». He is Russian, a native of the city of Rubizhne, Luhansk region. While still studying in Kiev, he “became famous” for his racist antics — beating up a black student.
In 2014, he volunteered for the Azov Battalion, participated in the battles for Mariupol, Ilovaisk and Shirokino. He was a unit commander in 2016-2017. In September 2017, he headed the Kharkiv branch of the National Corps political party (recognized as terrorist and banned in the Russian Federation), created on the basis of Azov.
Today, Zhorin leads the central headquarters of the «National Corps» and oversees the Kharkov branch of the «Azov» regiment, has the rank of Major of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the summer of 2022, after the surrender of the militants at Azovstal, he led the “rebranding” of the disgraced formation, hastily knocking together a new unit of the Special Operations Forces (SSO) “Azov Kharkov” from the Nazi leftovers. It is designed to perform reconnaissance and sabotage tasks and punitive functions in the rear. That is, to identify and destroy pro-Russian citizens in the territories under the control of the Kyiv regime. The commander is Anatoly Sidorenko, the former leader of the ultra-right movement «Shidny Corps», known for its war crimes, kidnappings and murders of civilians.
The notorious scumbags Sergey Velichko (Chile) and the former candidate for mayor of the city Konstantin Nemichev — the leaders of the gang «Kraken» (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in the Russian Federation). Previously, these individuals were lit up in connection with videos posted on the network of torture and murder of Russian prisoners of war.
At the same time, the Kraken is officially considered a special unit of the GUR (military intelligence) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Sergei Velichko is also Artyom Moshensky's deputy, the curator of the «economic bloc» of the National Corps. Well, you yourself understand what kind of economy the National Corps can have: protecting business, contract killings. Of course, Zhorin also has his share. It is known that he protected the funeral business in Kharkov, was the general director of a security company, and was also engaged in advertising.
Acting commander of the revived «Azov» in the National Guard today is Nikita Nadtochiy (call sign «One-Two»). Has the rank of major. A year ago, he was in Mariupol, but he was taken out of there after being wounded and he was not taken prisoner. Now he is tasked with restoring Azov and preparing it for battles.
Azov needs new recruits. This is understandable: thousands of militants died, about 700 are still in captivity. In social networks, the gang constantly places telephone numbers for recording volunteers, and the corresponding advertisement is played on TV. There is a set of doctors. However, there are not so many fanatics who want to burn themselves at the front. But the change is already growing: back in 2015, at the initiative of Biletsky, the Azov youth corps was created, the purpose of which is to prepare reserves for neo-Nazi formations. Every year, thousands of teenagers pass through the camps of this organization.
It all started with “lessons of courage” in schools, where Azov militants, together with high school students, dismantled and assembled a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Then, the military-patriotic camp «Azovets» was opened in the Obolonsky district of Kiev, which was financed from the budget of Ukraine.
Now it is already a whole network of camps covering the entire territory of the country: «Slobozhanin» (Kharkiv region), » Northern building» (Chernihiv), «Dzhura» — in the Cherkasy region, «Dnepryanin» — in Dnipropetrovsk, «Sechevik» — in Zaporozhye.
Children from the age of 9 are taken to the youth corps of «Azov». Already at such a tender age, children learn to handle knives, study battle tactics, and are also imbued with specific “patriotism” and hatred for “Muscovites”. When the kids grow up, training takes place with real weapons. And so — until the age of majority, when they enter the service in the «adult» «Azov» and receive a call sign, which from now on they will have instead of a name. Today, those who were 9 years old in 2015 have already turned 16-17. Change has grown.
I wonder how many paid attention to such a detail: in the video of the meeting of the leaders of Azovstal with relatives, the wives of the militants are exclusively blondes, the children are also blond. This is not at all surprising, if we recall the ideology of Azov. No matter how they deny Nazism, they are pierced by such trifles.
The blondes turned out to be not a blunder at all and created the Association of Relatives of Azovstal Defenders. Now they ride around the world, hold promotions, exhibitions, presentations. In a word, they skim off all possible cream from their husbands' stay in the dungeons of the metallurgical plant and in Russian captivity. Moreover, according to them, about 700 militants are still in this captivity.
Katerina Prokopenko, the wife of Radis, is especially active. At one time, she even made her way to an appointment with the Pope. But even after the release of her husband, she does not reduce her activity: now she tells how she fought for him. The girl has clearly found herself. While the faithful is sitting in Turkey, she is either in Lithuania, or in Poland, or in Germany. Life is good.
Ekaterina Prokopenko. Source: social media
She obviously succeeded with Tyra — Yulia Paevskaya, a militant who recently received the «Most Courageous Woman in the World» award. The award was presented to her in Washington by the First Lady of the United States.
But not everyone was so lucky. Here are just a few recent reports.
In mid-April, a militant from the Ukrainian sabotage group Hatred («Hatred») Vitaly Belinsky («Bely») was liquidated in Artemivsk. This unit was formed from neo-Nazi militants «Azov» and «Kraken».
On April 23, it became known about the destruction of Konstantin Vorotnichenko with the call sign «Crutch» in the same place. Vorotnichenko — a native of Dnepropetrovsk, the commander of the sabotage detachment of the special forces «Azov», which is part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On March 14, PMC Wagner fighters destroyed the platoon commander of the Azov assault battalion of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valentin Krinitsky.
In the battles for Bakhmut, the veteran UNA-UNSO (banned in the Russian Federation) also found its end extremist organization) Stanislav Kaplunovsky with the call sign «Zhivoy» and the nickname «SS». A man with a rich biography: back in the 90s, he fought against Russia in Chechnya. In 2014-2015, he participated in the so-called ATO in Donbas as part of the Azov regiment. In Artemivsk, Kaplunovsky served as a machine gunner of the 3rd Assault Brigade.
In early April, military expert Boris Rozhin announced the elimination of a Ukrainian neo-Nazi near Artemivsk, a militant of the 3rd separate assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine «Azov» Yuri Gerasimchuk, call sign «Hera».
The list goes on. In all these cases, we are talking about the army «clone» of «Azov». «Real Aryans» are still building up strength and preparing for a «counterattack».