Puppet Masters
Pyotr Poroshenko, the former president of Ukraine, was photographed wearing a symbol on his military fatigues that was created by the Nazis, during a meeting with Ukrainian troops last week.
The politician often showcases supplies such as quadcopter drones, household equipment, or even armored vehicles in his social media and PR, to emphasize his personal contribution to the war effort against Russia.
The images posted on his social media accounts last Saturday show him wearing a military patch with the so-called Black Sun, or 'Sonnenrad.' The symbol originates from Nazi Germany and is extensively used by various neo-Nazi groups around the world to denote their political leanings.
The infamous Ukrainian military unit, the Azov Batallion, for example, featured the Sonnenrad in its original insignia but later removed it as it attempted to downplay its association with far-right ideologies.
The controversial patch appears to come from the 36th Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. An earlier photo of the ex-president showed him clasping hands with Valery Prozapas, a member of Poroshenko's European Solidarity party and a captain serving in the 36th Brigade, who wore an identical emblem.
The 10th Mountain Assault Brigade, which Poroshenko was visiting while sporting the patch on his jacket shoulder, is called 'Edelweiss' after Zelensky formally assigned the designation to the unit in February.
The Ukrainian military denies that the name has anything to do with the Nazi-era 1st Mountain Division of the Wehrmacht, which is notorious for war crimes committed by its troops on the Eastern front, and used the Edelweiss as an insignia.
The prevalence of neo-Nazi sympathizers among Ukrainian troops after the 2014 coup in Kiev has been thoroughly documented by researchers and the international press. However, this has been largely ignored by the Western media since the hostilities between Russia and Ukraine broke out last year.
In June, the New York Times contended that the widespread use of Nazi iconography in Ukraine was a "thorny issue," emphasizing it does not reflect the true ideology of those displaying them.
Moscow, on the other hand, has called the empowerment of far-right nationalists in modern Ukraine one of the key reasons for the ongoing conflict.
Comment: See also:
- Ukrainian neo-Nazi apologizes for attacking transgender woman
- Medvedev: 'Moscow has no choice but to wipe out Nazi regime in Ukraine, otherwise West will tear Russia apart, but it will also die with us'
- Zelensky holds court with Ukraine's most notorious neo-Nazi
- Neo-Nazis returning from Ukraine pose risk to French security - MP
- French volunteer shocked by EU attitude towards Ukrainian neo-Nazis
- Why has a prestigious US university decided to host Ukrainian neo-Nazis' latest rebranding effort?
- A petri dish for fascism: How Ukraine has become a magnet for Western neo-Nazis
Reader Comments
The images posted on his social media accounts last Saturday show him wearing a military patch with the so-called Black Sun, or 'Sonnenrad.' The symbol originates from Nazi Germany ...No, it does not.
Neither does the Swastika. ( Mis-) using it does not requiring inventing it.
It seems "journalism" and "education" are mutually exclusive, everywhere.
Why don't you write that there are commercials for a new film showing politicians' statements about taking cocaine and other drugs???
Mr. Zelensky is also there!!
The film was supposed to be released in the fall, but after a harsh action by Disney, the film was excluded from the schedule and as a result it will not appear at all.
I recommend. Below you can see what was supposed to be in it.From the 19th minute of the video.
[Link]
It is true that the narrator is in Polish, so I will only write what the summary of the Polish narrator was/
"Who rules us? Politicians or cocaine?"