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FLASHBACK: Congress Banned Arms From Going To Neo-Nazis In Ukraine In 2018

Congress approved a 2018 spending bill that included a clause to stop U.S. arms being given to the Azov Battallion in Ukraine, which is known for having openly supported neo-Nazis.

The mainstream media’s coverage of the powerful neo Nazis in Ukraine are split. They try to downplay or deny their existence while giving praise and acknowledging the problem.

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Neo-Nazis

The Hill reported that U.S. arms were in the hands of neo Nazis in 2018.

“House-passed spending bills for the past three years have included a ban on U.S. aid to Ukraine from going to the Azov Battalion, but the provision was stripped out before final passage each year,” The Hill noted.

The story continued, “This year, though, the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill signed into law last week stipulates that ‘none of the funds made available by this act may be used to provide arms, training or other assistance to the Azov Battalion.”

Speaking to The Hill,  Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna told the news outlet, “White supremacy and neo-Nazism are unacceptable and have no place in our world.” 

“I am very pleased that the recently passed omnibus prevents the U.S. from providing arms and training assistance to the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion fighting in Ukraine,” Khanna added.

Khanna said in a statement, “The State Department should pressure Kiev to dissociate itself with this group and investigate whether any of our weapons or training have already been provided to them. This is just one of many reasons why lawmakers should be concerned about channeling huge amounts of weapons into this volatile conflict zone.”

The Azov Battalion militia was founded in 2014, and its “first commander was Andriy Biletsky, who previously headed the neo-Nazi group Patriots of Ukraine. Several members of the militia, which has been integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard, are self-avowed neo-Nazis.”

Readers following the Ukraine war may have noticed the odd number of photos that Western media and Ukrainian newspapers have shared, some of which inadvertently or unknowingly highlight neoNazis. 

The official Twitter account for NATO deleted a tweet celebrating “International Women’s Day” that featured a female Ukrainian fighter with the Nazi Sonnenrad patch on her uniform.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) notes, “The sonnenrad or sunwheel is one of a number of ancient European symbols appropriated by the Nazis in their attempt to invent an idealized “Aryan/Norse” heritage.”

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also seeking to celebrate women in the military, shared an image of a woman wearing a Sonnenrad (lower right image):

The NEXTA media outlet based in Poland, a Polish media outlet, has openly praised NATO arms that were sent to the Azov Battalion. The photo on the right shows the unit’s insignia, which is a Wolfsangel. 

The ADL notes of the Wolfsangel, “It appeared as part of the divisional insignia of several Waffen-SS units, including the notorious 2nd SS ‘Das Reich’ Panzer Division.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly said to military officers that his mission was to liberate Ukraine, not Nazis who he claimed have taken control of the country. 

While this is patently false, the fact that a substantial number of Nazis operate openly in Ukraine is no doubt a morsel of enough truth to sustain Putin’s war mythology.

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NBC News’ Ripp: ‘It would be a dangerous oversight to deny Ukraine’s antisemitic history and collaboration with Hitler’s Nazis’

Or as NBC News’ Allan Ripp put it, “Even though Putin is engaging in propaganda, it’s also true that Ukraine has a genuine Nazi problem — both past and present. Putin’s destructive actions — among them the Jewish communities are devastated — make clear that he’s lying when he says his goal is to ensure anyone’s welfare.”

“But important as it is to defend the yellow-and-blue flag against the Kremlin’s brutal aggression, it would be a dangerous oversight to deny Ukraine’s antisemitic history and collaboration with Hitler’s Nazis, as well as the latter-day embrace of neo-Nazi factions in some quarters,” Ripp observed.