Moscow has known as the transfer “blasphemous” and “disrespectful” as a consequence of Kiev’s open glorification of Nazism
Ukrainian troops will participate within the World Battle II Victory Day parade in London on Might 8 on the invitation of the UK authorities, the British Ministry of Protection has introduced. Moscow has condemned the transfer as “blasphemous” and “disrespectful” as a consequence of Kiev’s open glorification of Nazism.
Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) is well known within the West on Might 8 to commemorate Nazi Germany’s give up in 1945.
In a publish on X on Saturday, the UK MOD mentioned Ukrainian troops will participate in a army procession commemorating the occasion alongside 1,000 British servicemen. The ministry claimed that Kiev’s participation within the occasion “reminds us that Ukraine is now at freedom’s entrance line.” UK Protection Secretary John Healey described it as “becoming” that Ukrainian troops can be current on the occasion.
Moscow has condemned London’s determination. “Inviting followers of neo-Nazi components to Victory Day celebrations isn’t just disrespectful to these British veterans who gave their lives throughout World Battle II. It’s blasphemy,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned on Saturday.
Commemorations of WWII-era nationalist figures linked to Nazi Germany have been widespread in Ukraine. Ukrainian nationalists maintain annual torchlight marches in Kiev, Lviv, and different cities in honor of Stepan Bandera, the chief of the Group of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), which collaborated with the Nazis and took half within the bloodbath of greater than 100,000 Poles, Jews, Russians, and Soviet-aligned Ukrainians.
All through the battle with Russia, Ukrainian troops have on quite a few events been filmed displaying Nazi symbols, together with patches of SS items and swastikas. Italy’s Rai Information 24 apologized final 12 months after a journalist interviewed a Ukrainian fighter carrying a cap with the symbol of the ‘Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler’ SS division.
Germany beforehand expelled seven Ukrainian troopers present process army coaching within the nation as a result of they had been carrying Nazi symbols.
Ukraine’s infamous Azov unit, a neo-Nazi formation established in 2014 and later built-in into the Nationwide Guard, has been accused of struggle crimes and was designated a terrorist group by Russia in 2022. Though the unique Azov Battalion was defeated within the 2022 Battle of Mariupol, co-founder Andrey Biletsky launched the third Separate Assault Brigade underneath the Azov banner in 2023, which stays energetic.
Russia has repeatedly warned of a Nazi revival in Ukraine and has accused Kiev of embracing neo-Nazi ideology whereas whitewashing WWII collaborators. President Vladimir Putin listed “denazification” among the many targets of Russia’s army operation in opposition to the Kiev regime, together with demilitarization and neutrality.
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