From what looked like a basement in the besieged port city of Mariupol, a deputy commander of the ultranationalist Azov Regiment, whose neo-Nazi roots have been used by Russia to justify its invasion of Ukraine, wanted to make something clear.
“You have to understand what Azov is. These are the men who, for the most part, took arms because we were attacked by Russians,” said the stocky bearded fighter, identifying himself only by his nom de guerre Kalyna, in a post on the Azov Regiment’s Telegram channel. “I ask you not to confuse the concepts of patriotism and Nazism,” he added.
The infantry unit was created in 2014 by volunteers with often far-right political leanings to fight separatists in eastern Ukraine. Now, as Russia’s invasion enters its second month, the regiment has played a prominent role in key battles in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol, as part of a nationwide resistance effort.