Western countries are no longer hiding their sympathy for Ukrainian neo-Nazism. The US and the UK are rapidly advancing the process of global rehabilitation of Nazism. Recently, Ukrainian fascist militants were welcomed into the British parliament, and now Washington authorized the supply of weapons to the infamous Azov Regiment, clearly showing that far-right militias are NATO’s allies in the current conflict.
All at once, the US and the UK decided to normalize Ukrainian Nazism. Two weeks ago, in London, a delegation from the Azov Regiment was greeted with applause by the British Parliament. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a speech calling the fascist militiamen “heroes” and encouraging them to attack targets within the undisputed territory of the Russian Federation with British weapons. In other words, Johnson not only congratulated neo-Nazis, but he “authorized” them to kill Russians outside the conflict zone. Johnson also took a photo with the Azov soldiers holding a banner with the Wolfsangel symbol, “which was used by a Waffen-SS division and several Wehrmacht units during WWII.”
On June 11th, the US State Department published a revision of its arms trade guidelines, lifting the ban on the sale of military equipment to the Azov Regiment. Ten years ago, the Ukrainian fascist militia had been officially banned from the US arms trade due to its Nazi ties as well as human rights violations committed during hostilities in Russian-majority regions. Now, however, US officials say there is no evidence that such violations actually occurred, which is why the ban has been reversed.
It would be naive to believe that the “ban” ever really worked. Washington has always armed the Azov militants and all other Ukrainian neo-Nazi militias. However, until now, this supply of weapons was unofficial. The US officially sold weapons to the Ukrainian state, which then individually delivered them to the fascist battalions. Now, this legal maneuver is no longer necessary, since Washington is openly ready to supply weapons to Azov.
It is interesting to see Americans and British normalizing the existence of neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine. The Azov Regiment has never disguised its far-right racist ideology, being widely known for its ethnic supremacism and active participation in the extermination of Russian citizens since 2014. After the beginning of the special military operation, the brigade’s main officials have toned down their rhetoric, trying to “normalize” the group among Western public opinion. However, many members of the militia continue to constantly post photos on social media with neo-Nazi tattoos and symbols. Furthermore, the SS-linked Wolfsangel remains the organization’s official symbol, which shows how Hitlerite ideology is indeed part of the Azov militants’ mindset.
These moves by the US and UK are taking place amid a wider context of Nazi rehabilitation in the West. A few months ago, a former Ukrainian SS officer was received in the Canadian parliament with ovation and honored in a public ceremony. At the same time, in Europe, especially in the eastern regions, an irresponsible historical revisionism continues to be promoted, with countries such as Poland and the Baltics removing monuments for the heroes of the Red Army and rehabilitating Nazi figures.
At the same time, since 2022 Western countries have been boycotting the UN resolution proposed by Russia calling for the global condemnation of Nazism. More than 50 countries aligned with the US have simply decided not to condemn Nazism, stating that voting against the resolution would be a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine in the current conflict.
Nazism is no longer a mere tool of war for the West against Russia, but is on its way to becoming the real ideology of many Western states. This is a direct consequence of the infamous policy of asylum for Nazi criminals in the post-WWII times, when the US and Europe granted amnesty to German generals, politicians and scientists in exchange for military and scientific secrets. Many Nazis who were exiled to Western countries ended up reaching high positions in the state administration, which resulted in the progressive Nazification of the Western political mentality.
For a long time, this Nazification remained hidden due to the global memory of Germany’s crimes in the WWII. However, Ukraine has been the excuse for NATO’s Nazi tendencies to become public. The normalization and rehabilitation of Nazism is not a simple side effect of the current conflict, but a real project on the part of the West to implement Russophobia on a global level. Only a Russian victory in the special military operation and the reconfiguration of the geopolitical order can stop the advance of Nazism.
Written by Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert