A right-wing Ukrainian combat battalion has to cancel its promotional tour after anti-fascist protests. Dates in Rotterdam, Brussels and Cologne also cancelled.
Azov fighters taking an oath in 2022 - image via Wikimedia commons
Excerpted from an article by Peter Nowak, Neues Deutschland, Berlin, 25 July 2024* - Translated by Helmut-Harry Loewen
"The promotional event of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Azov Regiment was cancelled by the organisers at short notice,” was the message on the brigade's Telegram channel on Thursday afternoon (July 25). The day before, an event with the same guests in Hamburg, which was due to take place on Friday, had already been cancelled. In addition to Berlin and Hamburg, the dates in Rotterdam, Brussels and Cologne have also been cancelled. The European tour of the Ukrainian ultra-nationalists with contacts in the Nazi milieu has therefore been largely cancelled. Only in Prague and Vilnius will the Storm Brigade [Sturmbrigade] still be performing. The cancellations in Western Europe are the result of protests by anti-fascist and anti-militarist groups.
They had previously mobilised on social media and warned against the men's ideology. "The event is part of a European tour by the Azov brigade, with the aim of meeting ‘fans’ abroad. It is also about recruiting volunteers for the fight in Ukraine and acquiring financiers," reads an appeal signed by anti-fascist groups as well as the Berlin Left Youth Solid and the anti-militarist alliance Rheinmetall-Disarm.
Criticism from Hamburg politicians
In Hamburg, the right-wing event was also heavily criticised by Martin Dolzer and Mehmet Yildiz, two non-party members of the Hamburg parliament. "Right-wing extremists and fascists must not be given a forum in the Hanseatic city. This applies all the more when a declared goal is to recruit for war in the ranks of the organisation," the two parliamentarians declared.
That had an effect. Shortly after the call, the association and organiser Feine Ukraine announced the cancellation of the meeting in the Hanseatic city without giving an official reason.
[…]
The 3rd Assault Brigade was formed in early 2023 by merging various combat units of the Azov Battalion. This had been founded in 2014 as a rallying point for right-wing extremists to fight against Russia and suspected collaborators in eastern Ukraine. They openly used fascist symbolism, networked with neo-Nazis across Europe and repeatedly committed human rights violations.
(*Nach Protest: Asow-Auftritte in Hamburg und Berlin abgesagt. Ein rechtes ukrainisches Kampfbataillon muss seine Werbetour nach antifaschistischen Protesten in Hamburg und Berlin abblasen. Peter Nowak, Neues Deutschland (Berlin), 25.07.2024.)
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