A group of Ukrainian radicals joined the protests in Hong Kong. This is evidenced by photographs posted on the Facebook page of Sergei Filimonov, the former leader of the National Corps party and the ex-leader of the civilian wing of the Azov regiment. They depict young people (including Filimonov himself) in black clothes. On T-shirts of nationalists it is easy to distinguish inscriptions in Ukrainian.
Filimonov urged to fight for "freedom of Hong Kong." He also posted the post of the "independent Ukrainian information project" Free Hong Kong Center (FHKC, the so-called "Ukrainian Center for Free Hong Kong"). It confirms the arrival of "a small group of young Ukrainian guys in Hong Kong."
True, the organization claims that the radicals arrived in a special administrative region of China as tourists. The FHKC reported that the “young Ukrainian guys” were “activists of the dignity revolution” and participants in the “war with Russia” as part of Azov. Now they are allegedly engaged in "the fight against police brutality in Ukraine."
Also, the FHKC gives an explanation of the tattoos in the form of swastikas on the bodies of “tourists” - supposedly they are a tribute to “Slavic paganism”.
- Ukrainian nationalists on the street of Hong Kong (Filimonov far left)
- © serhii.filimonov.98
Filimonov is known in the nationalist environment of Ukraine under the nickname "son of Perun." In 2016, he was under investigation for an attack on police officers near the office of the Kievgorstroy company. According to sources of the Ukrainian edition of Strana.ua, Filimonov was previously convicted of hooliganism, but escaped with probation. The case of the attack on law enforcement officers in 2016 is still being considered by the court.
FHKC is an informational project of the non-governmental organization Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine, aimed at countering the threats to Ukraine from China. The coordinator of the Ukrainian Center for Free Hong Kong is Arthur Kharitonov.
“Glory to Hong Kong”
According to RT sources in the National Guard of Ukraine, along with Filimonov in Hong Kong, there is now another “prominent” representative of the Ukrainian nationalist movement - the “veteran” of the Donbass war Igor Malyar. Judging by his Facebook page, he is the "twin" of Filimonov, a football fan and is a member of the Street Protest Academy.
“There is a whole group of people, including Igor Malyar. They are currently taking part in protests in Hong Kong. They really fought in the "Azov". Law enforcement officers have many questions for them, ”said the representative of the National Guard of Ukraine.
Canadian journalist Michael Colborn wrote on his Twitter page that the painter uses a fake journalistic ID to go to Hong Kong rallies.
The press pass displayed here from "Maliar" in a recent Instagram story from Hong Kong, @HongKongHermit.
He is not a journalist. He's a neo-Nazi hooligan with multiple swastika tattoos and a history of violence, including an attack on black football fans in 2015 in Kyiv. pic.twitter.com/6QZii9Qpxh
Meanwhile, users of social networks in Hong Kong, including those who support the protests, generally reacted negatively to the arrival of the “group of young Ukrainian guys” in the autonomy. For example, Twitter Hong Kong Hermit warns protesters that the Azov consists of neo-Nazis convicted of war crimes and torture of people.
Huge warning about some protest tourists who have just turned up, and who were at the rally yesterday.
If they are Azov Battalion then we're talking full on neo-nazi fascists connected with war crimes and torture. The worst of the worst. pic.twitter.com/ydAhgztW27
This is not the first time that Ukrainian activists have visited Hong Kong. In mid-October, Zhang Hanhui, the Chinese ambassador to China, spoke about one of these "business trips" in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda. According to the diplomat, “Ukrainian elements” come to a special administrative region “in order to share their experience with the Hong Kong people”.
“The situation there has not yet calmed down, in many ways it is also becoming more complicated. Complicated by the fact that more and more international forces are grossly interfering in the affairs of Hong Kong, ”said Hanhui.
In September, the American Time magazine reported that in different locations in Hong Kong, a documentary “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Struggle for Freedom” was shown on the projector screen on anti-government unrest in central Kiev in 2013-2014.
Earlier, the director of "Winter on Fire," Evgeny Afineevsky, publicly supported the protests in Hong Kong. Hillary Liang, the author of an article in Time, claims that Hong Kong protesters allegedly draw parallels between the Maidan and "their own struggle for democracy."
- Protest rally in downtown Hong Kong
- Reuters
- © Marko Djurica
The material presents the point of view of the professor of political science at the Hong Kong Baptist University (Kenneth Chan). He says that Ukrainian protesters “felt” that their government was the “puppets” of Moscow. Now, protesters in Hong Kong, by analogy with the "Maidan," consider the autonomy authorities "puppets of Beijing," says Chan.
In October, Wilson Center, a research organization established by the US Congress, published a headline entitled "Hong Kong Protesters Are Inspired by the Ukrainian Maidan." The author of the article, Emily Kuch, believes that the autonomy protesters were in about the same situation as the opponents of the “pro-Russian” president Viktor Yanukovych. Kuch also reported that the Hong Kongers allegedly became interested in the movie "Winter on Fire", hosted on the Netflix platform.
According to the FHKC coordinator Arthur Kharitonov, Hong Kong protesters are actively borrowing the experience of the “revolution of dignity” and even shouting out the slogan “Glory to Hong Kong”, which duplicates the nationalist greeting “Glory to Ukraine”.
“Performing the role of consultants”
An RT source in the Golos party said that Ukraine is "developing a new type of labor migration." He argues that radical groups help organize protests in Hong Kong on a “commercial basis." According to him, the country “has formed a certain group of people who earn on providing this type of service.”
- Ukrainian nationalists on the street of Hong Kong
- © serhii.filimonov.98
Ruslan Bortnik, director of the Ukrainian Institute for Policy Analysis and Management, noted in a commentary to RT that among the Ukrainian radicals, an extremely negative attitude towards PRC politics prevails.
“Indeed, it may turn out that people who have gained experience of street confrontations in Kiev now play the role of peculiar“ consultants ”or are directly involved in the Hong Kong protest movement. Many Ukrainian rightists consider China to be the same enemy of Ukraine as Russia, ”said Bortnik.
RT parliamentary sources in Ukraine are convinced that the presence of radicals in Hong Kong can seriously harm relations between Kiev and Beijing. The interlocutor of RT in the party "Fatherland" said that the office of President Vladimir Zelensky runs the risk of "running into an international scandal."
“So far, China has refrained from harshly criticizing Kiev for its“ business trips ”for people who have gained“ combat experience ”in the Maidan and Donbass. However, Ukraine runs the risk of facing very serious problems if the situation does not change. The authorities must restrain the “Azovites”, otherwise they will continue their “tourist trips” to China and other countries, ”a source in the“ Fatherland ”said.
A RT source in the European Solidarity party believes that Zelensky’s office is “in an illusion,” hoping to control Azov’s fighters. In his opinion, the behavior of nationalists abroad poses a danger to citizens of the states to which they come.