Nationalists in Ukraine, in particular, who took part in the march in honor of the anniversary of the formation of the SS Galicia division, do not hide the fact that they can resume hostilities in Donbass.

This was stated by the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov.

“The question is: to what extent does President Zelenskiy control these armed forces of Ukraine and to what extent is President Zelenskiy free from the influence and pressure of those people who come out in Ukraine - in Kiev, if I’m not mistaken - to a demonstration in support of the SS Galicia brigade.

After all, it is these people who are capable of resuming hostilities again, they do not hide this, ”said Peskov on the air of Channel One.

According to him, the "big question" is whether Volodymyr Zelensky can "fence off the armed forces of Ukraine from the influence of nationalists and extremists."

The "March of embroideries" organized by nationalists, which took place yesterday in Kiev, was also condemned by politicians in Ukraine, Russia and Germany.

So, the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Dmitry Razumkov, said that the propaganda of Nazism and the Wehrmacht troops does not add to the image of the Ukrainian side. 

“I believe that any violation of the law, propaganda of Nazism, propaganda of the Wehrmacht troops on the territory of our country definitely does not add to us (image. 

- RT

) either within society or abroad.

And we all remember well ... what the war brought to Ukraine.

In fact, there is not a single family that did not lose relatives and friends in that war, ”he said at a press briefing.

German Ambassador to Kiev Anka Feldhusen also commented on the procession.

According to her, no volunteer organizations should be associated with SS formations.

“Units of the Waffen SS were involved in some of the worst war crimes and the Holocaust during World War II.

No volunteer organizations that are fighting for Ukraine today and working for it should not be associated with them, ”she wrote on her Twitter page.

  • Participants of the march in honor of the SS "Galicia" division in Kiev, April 28, 2021

  • globallookpress.com

  • © Yuliia Ovsiannikova / Keystone Press Agency

As the chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Leonid Kalashnikov noted in the RT commentary, the holding of the Embroidery March in Kiev is yet another proof that in Ukraine "Nazism is being rehabilitated."

“From Lviv, this event moved to the territory of the Ukrainian capital, where neo-Nazis began to dictate their terms.

And all this is happening in the country that fought against fascism during the war years, ”said Kalashnikov.

He also recalled that the rehabilitation of Nazism is being carried out in the Baltic countries, where SS marches are still held: “Europe essentially condones this, closing its eyes.

We only hear the usual phrases from our European colleagues ”.

In turn, the first deputy head of the international committee of the Federation Council, Vladimir Dzhabarov, emphasized that events like the "march" held in Kiev desecrate the memory of the heroes who fought against Nazism.

"March of embroideries" testifies that the power in Kiev is being seized by nationalists, supporters of Bandera, "Dzhabarov said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Former Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov called the procession "shame and disgrace."

“Forgetting about the horrors of Nazism, in the capital ... they hold a March of embroideries in honor of the SS Galicia division.

In Ukraine, the rehabilitation of Hitler's accomplices and Nazi ideology itself is in full swing, ”Azarov wrote on his Facebook page.

According to him, the very fact of holding such an event in the hero city of Kiev, where the Nazis staged terror against the local population, is "very indicative."

Shame and shame! Forgetting about the horrors of Nazism, in the capital today they hold a march of embroidered shirts in honor of the SS Galicia division. In ...

Published by Nikolay Yanovich Azarov Tuesday, April 27, 2021

As representatives of the Opposition Platform - For Life party said, “the cowardly position of the authorities evokes acute indignation of all democratic forces” regarding the march in honor of the SS Galicia division.

They stressed that Kiev, referring to the quarantine, "at all levels blocks the celebration of Victory Day", but immediately "forgets about any restrictions" when it comes to radicals.

“The authorities prefer to huddle in their offices and sit out in the hope that the pogromists will leave without completely destroying the presidential“ shop ”.

Probably, the authorities are counting on the radicals with their antics to divert the attention of society from the country's trade, poverty, meager pensions and rising tariffs.

But the impunity of the extremists only underlines the irresponsibility, weakness and inactivity of the current state leadership, ”the party said in a statement.

In addition, this political force demanded that the authorities react harshly “to the provocation of the followers of Nazism in accordance with the law”, criminalize and punish “leaders and sponsors of forces that promote war, violence, xenophobia, incite interethnic, racial and religious enmity, encroach on human rights ”.

  • Procession in honor of the anniversary of the creation of the SS division "Galicia" in Lviv *, 2016

  • RIA News

On the eve, in the center of the Ukrainian capital, the "March of embroideries" was held for the first time in honor of the anniversary of the creation of the SS "Galicia" division.

Previously, such an event was organized only in Lviv.

About a hundred people with flags of various nationalist organizations shouted chants, including promises to "fight in Moscow."

“We are a force waging war on our territory.

We are the force that will fight in Moscow, "Strana.ua quoted one of the participants in the march.

The column passed from the Arsenalnaya metro station through Grushevskogo Street towards Maidan Nezalezhnosti, where it ended the procession with a collective photo against the background of a poster with Nazi soldiers.

At the head of the column was a car with sound-amplifying equipment, from which Ukrainian music sounded.

The march was accompanied by a small number of police officers.

Law enforcement officers did not interfere with the participants of the event, on the contrary.

The video caught on how, during the procession, an elderly man began to accuse the audience of glorifying fascism and remind that the SS forces were declared illegal.

However, the man was stopped by a policeman, who asked him to explain his actions.

In the context of the proceedings

In September 2020, the sixth administrative court of appeal in Kiev overturned the ban on the symbols of the SS Galicia division in Ukraine, which had previously been imposed by the court of first instance.

The new decision noted that such symbols are allegedly not Nazi.

As stated in the press service of the court, the board satisfied the complaint of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINP) against the verdict of the Kiev District Administrative Court issued in May 2020.

As the director of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, Eduard Dolinsky, noted on his Facebook page, this decision will allow the Institute of National Remembrance to “calmly heroize the SS Galicia division.

The 6th Administrative Court of Appeal upheld the appeal of the Institute of Memory and overturned the decision of the first ...

Published by Eduard Dolinsky Wednesday, 23 September 2020

The Opposition Platform - For Life party also condemned the lifting of the ban.

They noted that the court made a "monstrous decision", forgetting about "all the tragedies of the war and the horrors of Nazism, and allowed to openly popularize the activities of the SS" in the country.

Let us remind you that the SS Galicia division was created in April 1943 in Lvov.

As historians note, the idea of ​​its formation came from the governor of the Galicia district Otto Wächter.

About 80 thousand Ukrainian volunteers responded to the call to participate in the struggle against the Soviet Union, from which the division was then formed.

She was involved in punitive operations against civilians, in particular, during the destruction of the Polish village of Guta Penyatskaya, where more than 500 people were burned alive.

By the decision of the Nuremberg Tribunal, the SS troops were recognized as a criminal organization.

  • Participants of the march in honor of the anniversary of the creation of the SS division "Galicia" in Lviv, 2014

  • RIA News

  • © Pavel Palamarchuk

The SS Galicia division existed until the summer of 1944, when the Red Army defeated it near the Ukrainian city of Brody.

In recent decades, attempts have been regularly made to rehabilitate individual SS units, including in Ukraine.

So, in 1991 a memorial sign was erected near Brody.

Three years later, a special memorial military cemetery in the village of Chervonoye, Lviv region, was created for the punishers from "Galicia".

In Ukraine, in honor of the division, annual parades are held, in a number of cities, in particular in Ivano-Frankovsk and Ternopil, streets were renamed in memory of the "heroes" of the SS "Galicia" division.

"Nobody controls the situation"

As Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies, IMEMO RAS, noted, the fact of the march in honor of the SS division causes bewilderment and indignation.

“The event dedicated to the troops of the criminal organization is taking place on the eve of Victory Day.

The position of the Ukrainian authorities, who prefer to connive at this, is unclear, ”Olenchenko said.

According to a RT source in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, such an action in the center of the capital suggests that the authorities indulge nationalists and are afraid to conflict with them.

“The police even blocked the roads for the sake of the nationalists.

And in the party "Servant of the People" they say that they did not know anything about it.

Either the president's entourage does not control the situation in the country, or it is flirting with the radicals.

And by the way, such shares can cost Ukraine dearly.

Foreign partners are already alarmed by such "marches", which are prohibited in all civilized countries of the world, "said the interlocutor of RT.

A RT source in the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Western colleagues drew attention to the event in honor of the SS Galicia division, who “might get the impression that no one is in control of the situation in the country.”

“Moreover, all this is taking place on the eve of May 9, which Ukraine is gradually refusing to celebrate for the sake of“ supporting European values ​​”.

And then the march of the SS "Galicia" supporters in the very center of Kiev, which raises questions not only from foreign partners, but also from the citizens of the country themselves, who have an extremely negative attitude towards radicals, "said the representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

As RT was told in the Servant of the People party, in the president's office, "no one wants to conflict with a radical-minded segment capable of destroying everything in its path with the complete connivance of the police."

“Apparently, the chapter is closed for this.

No one runs the risk of setting a framework for radicals, and complete impunity makes them almost heroes, ”said a representative of Servant of the People.

According to Volodymyr Olenchenko, the radicals have always tried to spread their ideology throughout Ukraine, but "they do not have enough strength and representatives for this."

“But there has always been a desire to have our own tribune in Kiev.

It is sad that the central authorities allowed them to do this.

At the same time, neo-Nazis act mainly by force, impudently, unceremoniously and cynically.

After this march, they will feel strengthened and put pressure on the rest of the population of Ukraine, ”the expert noted.

  • President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky

  • AFP

  • © CHARLES PLATIAU

At the same time, according to Olenchenko, if the Ukrainian authorities do not interfere with the radicals, "clashes between neo-Nazis and those who do not accept such an ideology are inevitable."

As the director of the Kiev Center for Political Research and Conflictology Mikhail Pogrebinsky summed up, in Ukraine over the past few years, "the Ukrainian ideology of integral nationalism has been increasingly established."

“The manifestation of radical nationalism, which merges with Nazism in various forms, will continue to spread in Ukraine.

There are many nationalists in the Ukrainian government, the president of the country also behaves as a representative of this ideology in order to maintain his legitimacy.

For this reason, Kiev, probably, believes that it is permissible to call those who fought against the USSR even in alliance with Hitler as national heroes, ”the analyst concluded.

* "Ukrainian National Assembly - Ukrainian People's Self-Defense" (UNA-UNSO) is a Ukrainian organization recognized as extremist and banned on the territory of Russia (decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 11/17/2014).