Foreigners join far-right militias in Ukraine’s fight against rebels
Sitting in the shade of a broad pine tree and a pink-and-orange umbrella, two Swedes and a Canadian explain why they are ready to kill, and be killed, for the future of a free Ukraine.
They are members of the Azov Battalion, one of several units of volunteers fighting alongside Ukraines military and national guard against separatist rebels allegedly backed by Moscow who want the countrys eastern regions to join Russia.
The battalion is based by the Sea of Azov in southern Donetsk province, in a beachside complex formerly used as a holiday home by the family of Viktor Yanukovich, who was ousted as Ukraines president in February.
The unit was formed by the Social National Assembly, a Ukrainian nationalist group described by critics as violently racist, and its emblem includes variations on the black sun and wolfs hook symbols long associated with Nazism.
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Severin calls himself a national socialist, but rejects the connotations that he says come with the term neo-Nazi. He wanted to serve in the Swedish army to protect my land and people but was rejected due to his political beliefs.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/foreigners-join-far-right-militias-in-ukraine-s-fight-against-rebels-1.1868779