Canada denies training Ukrainian Neo-Nazis — Analysis

Canada’s military reportedly provided combat training to members of Ukraine’s neo-Nazi Azov regiment, contrary to stated policy and despite previous denials of any relations between Ottawa and the local militia.

According to Radio-Canada’s Monday report, photos taken by the Ukrainian National Guard on social media revealed this connection. These photos show soldiers sporting Azov Battlion patches to their uniforms as they train with Canadian forces.

“According to Oleksiy Kuzmenko, a journalist specializing in the Ukrainian far right, the presence of these patches strongly suggests that the Azov regiment had access to Canadian military training,”Radio-Canada stated in their report. These patches show a crest. “firmly and exclusively associated with the Azov regiment,”Kuzmenko spoke to the media outlet.

Adrien Nonjon is a national institute researcher who studies the far right and Ukrainian nationalism. “I can assure you with absolute certainty that this is an Azov crest,”He stated.

Another picture taken during the same training program shows a Ukrainian soldier wearing a patch associated with the 14th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division, which Adolf Hitler’s regime created in 1943 to fight the Soviet Union’s Red Army with Ukrainian Nazi collaborators. As recently as May last year, Ukrainians marched to honour the fighters of the 14th Division.

Canada has reportedly spent nearly CAN$1 billion ($794 million) on training Ukrainian soldiers since the former Soviet republic’s government was overthrown in 2014. US-backed revolutionaries were led by Neo-Nazis. The Azov Battalion helped to dispel dissent.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have repeatedly denied providing training to members of Ukraine’s fascist militias. In 2015, Canada’s then-Defense Minister Jason Kennedy called the Azov fighters a “small number of rotten apples.”After a last-year report revealed that Azov-linked troops were boasting online about their training with Canada and other NATO member countries, the CAF released a statement stating that they would be conducting a “thorough review”Examine whether it was possible to avoid the problem by reviewing its methods. “unwittingly aiding those whose views it fundamentally opposes.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been one of the most vocal Western leaders in speaking out against Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine. He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin, of war crimes and declared Canada to be one of the first nations to prohibit imports from Russian energy products.

Ironically, Trudeau himself was called a fascist after his crackdown against Freedom Convoy protests in support of Covid-19 vaccine mandates. Elon Musk, a billionaire and others compared Trudeau with Hitler. The hashtag #BlackFaceHitler was the top-trending topic on Twitter Canada during February for several days. It was referencing a scandal that occurred in 2019, when old photographs showed Trudeau sporting blackface makeup to multiple events.