Russia's attacks on Ukraine are becoming increasingly brutal.

On the 9th, intensive bombardment of the maternity and gynecology hospital and children's hospital in the Mariupol area resulted in numerous civilian casualties. 



Russia denies civilian sacrifices, claiming that "the hospital has long been occupied by neo-Nazis".

In fact, one of the reasons for Russia's invasion is the 'de-Naziization of Ukraine'.

Because the Zelensky government is an evil Nazi regime, we need to liberate the people of Ukraine.



Is this Russian claim true?

The SBS fact check team checked the facts.




From the beginning of the invasion, Russia has repeatedly claimed that Ukraine had been taken over by the Nazis.

This is something that high-ranking officials in Russia have said several times in public.

Of course, there is no doubt that this is President Putin's idea.




There have also been calls for legislation to ban the activities of Nazi forces in Ukraine.


(This war) means adopting a law banning the activities of neo-Nazi organizations in Ukraine.


It means adopting legislation banning activity of neo-Nazi organizations in Ukraine…

- Alexey Meshkov, Ambassador of Russia to France, on March 15

.

Is Ukraine occupied by the Nazis?


Neo-Nazism, which has risen in European society since the 1990s, is, as you know, a revival of Nazism that caused World War II.

It embraces the doctrines of white supremacy, anti-Semiticism, and anti-Islamicism.

They deny the Holocaust and praise Hitler.



In order to examine the validity of Russia's argument, it is necessary to understand the power structure within Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish.

His grandfather came from a soldier who fought against the Nazis in World War II.

Many of President Zelensky's relatives were also victims of the Holocaust.


When Zelensky visited Jerusalem in 2020, he said three of his grandfathers had been executed during the war in Germany-led genocide in Europe.

His grandfather, the brother of the victim's relative, survived.


Three of Zelensky's great-uncles were executed as part of the German-led genocide of European Jews during the war, the president said on a trip to Jerusalem in 2020. His grandfather his, who was the brother of those killed, survived.

- Washington Post Feb 24 <Putin says he will 'denazify' Ukraine.

Here's the history behind that claim.>


Just before taking office in May 2019, President Zelensky visited his grandfather's grave and placed a wreath.

"I'm glad the inhuman ideology of Nazism is forever stuck in the past," he wrote on his social media account. "Thanks to those who fought and won against Nazism."




Zelensky won the then presidential runoff with a 73.22% approval rating.

If Ukraine had been a country with strong Nazism colors, he would not have chosen a Jewish president.



The results of the recent general election in July 2019 are even more evident.

Recently, in European society, far-right populists have become a social problem.

These are racist parties that borrow and even follow Nazism.



Ukraine also has far-right parties.

Svoboda is a prime example.

It was formed in 1991 as the Social People's Party and continues to this day.

If so, how many votes did you get in the recent general election rather than Subo?




The total number of seats in Ukraine is 450.

Although the general election system is different from that of Korea, if expressed in the Korean way, it received 2.5% of the votes in the proportional representation system and did not win even a single seat, and in the constituency, Ivano Frankivitz, a western region, was elected only one place.

There are many evaluations that the far-right color is fading compared to the outright Nazi-affiliated parties in other European countries than Svo.



In fact, European political academia and foreign media consider Ukraine to be a country with a weaker far-right party power compared to other European countries.


"The comparison with Ukraine is wrong," Amdreas Umland, an analyst at the Stockholm Center for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS) told Voice of Germany (DW).

Umland said there are far-right groups in Ukraine, but they are relatively weak compared to many European countries. 


However, the comparison with Ukraine is wrong, Andreas Umland, an analyst at the Stockholm Center for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS), told DW: "This talk of Nazism in Ukraine is completely out of place," he said.

While there are far-right groups in Ukraine, Umland said, they are relatively weak compared to those in many European countries.

- Voice of Germany (DW), Do Vladimir Putin's justifications for going to war against Ukraine add up?, February 25.


There is also a historical context.

Ukraine is one of the countries most affected by the Holocaust.

Between 1941 and 1944, more than one million Jews living in the then Soviet Union were killed by Nazi Germany, most of them in what is now Ukraine.

At that time, Soviet Jews often stayed in Jewish settlements.

Nazi Germany slaughtered entire villages without having to single out the Jews.

Ukraine is a country with a deep resentment against Nazism as much as Israel.



Genocide of Jews in Ukraine by Nazi Germany

Azov alliance controversy


So, why does Russia keep repeating this claim? 



Russia cites the 'Azov Regiment' as a concrete example.

Known as the 'Azov Militia', they were formed in 2014 during the Donbass War in Ukraine.

The Donbas War was a war between Ukrainian government forces and separatist rebels in the Donbas region of Ukraine.

Despite the seemingly civil war, the separatists were pro-Russian forces in Ukraine, followed by Russia.

This war is an extension of the Donbass War.



At that time, the Azov Regiment engaged in voluntary service against pro-Russian forces, and their ideology became a problem.

It is known that the color of white supremacy is strong.

The actual unit mark of the Azov Regiment is also similar to that of the Nazi Hagenkreuz.



Unit Mark of the Azov Regiment (left) and the Nazi Hagenkreuz


He was also accused of brutally massacred pro-Russian residents during the Donbass War.

The phrase 'Nazi militia' can often be found in articles of that time.

Internationally, it was criticized as well, and in June 2015, the US Congress passed a resolution to end support for the Azov Solidarity. 



After that, the Azov Regiment was incorporated into the regular army of Ukraine.

The following year, the United States also lifted the resolution and decided to continue providing aid.



Ukrainian Azov Regiment


In fact, our team has searched a lot of Azov-related materials, but it is true that opinions are still divided.

There are also voices of concern, saying that Ukrainian far-right forces, including Azov, are also taking advantage of this war.

There was also an analysis that neo-Nazis from other countries were gathering in Azov as a focal point.


In recent years, international neo-Nazis and white supremacists have been enlisting in Ukraine's extreme militia to gain training and combat experience.


In recent years, global neo-Nazi and white supremacist extremist foreign fighters have sought training and combat experience by joining ultranationalist defense militias in Ukraine.

- MSNBC, <Fighting Russia in Ukraine sadly appeals to racist, far-right extremists>, 7 March.


In fact, for a more objective evaluation, the team decided to pay attention to the attitude of the Israeli media, which has no choice but to reject Nazism because of the memories of the Holocaust. 



The Jerusalem Post evaluated that the far-right orientation was being diluted after the Azov Regiment was incorporated into the Ukrainian regular army.


However, after joining the Ukrainian official army, it broke away from neo-Naziism, and in early 2016, Jewish groups in Ukraine did not object to the lifting of the US ban on aid (to the Azov regiment).


However, since its incorporation into Ukraine's official armed forces it has moved away from neo-Nazism, and a Ukrainian Jewish group as early as 2016 did not oppose lifting the US ban.

- Jerusalem Post, <Did the infamous Azov Battalion inspire Putin's 'denazification' claim?>, March 5.


Even in Korea, there is an opinion that no matter how much Russia hates it, it should not be excused for the war crimes of the Azov Regiment.

Of course, the evaluation is up to the viewers.



However, the conclusions of foreign media and academia are gathered together anyway.

Even if the Azov Regiment is an extreme Nazi force, it cannot be an excuse for Russia to start a war.




A recent article in the Washington Post puts it well.


The plans of the most extreme of the neo-Nazis are even more ominous.

They see Ukraine as an opportunity to speed up the collapse of civilization as a whole, strengthening the construction of fascist states from the ashes.

Of course, none of these events justify Putin's claim that the war is intended to de-Nazi Ukraine.


For the most extreme among these neo-Nazis, the plan is even more sinister.

They see Ukraine as a chance to further “accelerationist” agendas, which seek to speed up a civilization-wide collapse and then build fascist ethno-states from the ashes.

Of course, none of these developments validate Putin's claims that the war is about “denazifying” Ukraine.

- Washington Post, Neo-Nazis are exploiting Russia's war in Ukraine for their own purposes, March 15.


The SBS Facts team is aiming for fact-checking that goes beyond simply determining facts and lies, and unraveling the various layers of the world we live in.

You can request a fact check verification by typing SBS facts on the Internet.

If you request it, we will fact-check it to the best of our ability.



(Interns: Lee Min-kyung, Jung Kyung-eun)