The militia in question is known as Azov, and it was founded in 2014 by a white supremacist known as Andrey Biletsky. It’s clear from their logo what they stand for; it was designed using symbols that were used in the past by the SS.
The battalion started out as a volunteer militia responding to the war in Donbas and had just a few hundred members at first. It was known for being highly effective in battle. The unit was eventually integrated into the main armed forces of Ukraine, going from a volunteer militia to a formal unit of the military under control of the state, although they did get to hold onto their Third Reich iconography.
Now a regiment-sized unit, it operates as part of the Ukrainian National Guard and has both Ukrainians and foreign fighters who subscribe to its beliefs. Boasting private and state training and support, it is given a surprising degree of autonomy when it comes to operational decisions.
Somehow, a group of British parliamentarians was willing to meet with them and listen to what they had to say, even though they have been accused by Amnesty International, the UN and Human Rights Watch of a slew of human rights violations, including torturing and raping civilians.
The three Azov members included men who were captured in Mariupol. They told the lawmakers about the roughly 900 other members of their neo-Nazi group who are still being held prisoner in Russia, where Azov has been banned on the grounds that it is an extremist organization. ...<<<Read More>>>...