https://antiimperialistnews.substack.com/p/why-is-boris-johnson-inviting-the
He is holding up Third Reich iconography
May 24, 2024

Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson made the worrying decision to invite three members of Ukraine’s Azov battalion to a round table in parliament where he called them “heroes”. Logos with symbols once used by the SS were on full display as the men wore their uniforms to address ministers who applauded them.

Johnson even posed for a picture with the men, holding up the Azov flag, and he made a speech praising them. The mainstream media isn’t even acknowledging this event for reasons that should be obvious - they would have to spell out what the Azov battalion is.

The Azov battalion, for those who are still in denial, is a neo-Nazi group, or as the Guardian once described it “a notorious, fascist militia”. Prior to the Russia war, the group was even labelled a hate group by Facebook.

If Johnson’s meeting was just about the sovereignty of Ukraine, why did he bring the Azovs with him? Why not just invite Zelensky and people who don’t wear Nazi insignia? The invitation was a celebration of who the Azovs are and what they stand for. It was a signal that he sees the Azov battalion and the Ukrainian military as one and the same, rather than a far-right militia they called on out of desperation.

Johnson said at the meeting:

“My message to you is very simple: Thank you to the heroes from the Azov brigade who honour us with their presence tonight.

“Give the Ukrainians the weapons. Give them the authorisation to use those weapons outside their own borders. It’s absolutely ludicrous that Ukrainians should be forbidden from doing what Putin is doing himself.

“It’s the single best defence investment we can make in the whole Euro-Atlantic area.”

What Johnson didn’t point out is that Putin has made it very clear that if British weapons are used to attack Russian soil, then Russian weapons will be used to attack British soil. This attack could come in many forms. Perhaps it won’t be a typical military attack, perhaps it will be a terror attack or a cyber attack, but given Oliver Dowden is telling us to stock up on food and supplies, they know an attack is possible, maybe even likely.

To be clear, the UK has given Ukraine authorisation to strike Russian soil with British weapons such as long-range Storm Shadow missiles. British weapons have already been used to strike Russian targets inside Crimea, after David Cameron said it is “up to Ukraine” how it uses them.

“Just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine, you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it's defending itself,” Cameron said.

Our government has taken the decision to endanger our civilian population without consulting us or obtaining our consent. Most people have no idea this is even happening. If a single British person is killed as a result, remember Johnson flew to Kyiv two years ago to sabotage the Istanbul peace agreement and now he’s pushing for escalation while celebrating far-right extremists.

Azov has been accused of rape and torture by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the United Nations, but I think those things are only bad when Hamas does them. The group was founded by white supremacist Andrey Biletsky in 2014 and authorised by Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, Arsen Avakov, to battle ethnic Russians in Donbas with 12,000 fighters.

The Independent reported that Andriy Biletsky is a former football hooligan from the FC Metalist Kharkiv ultras who are known as Sect 82. Biletsky is called “Bely Vozd” (White Ruler) by his supporters, and he helped lead the far-right groups Patriot of Ukraine and Social National Assembly. He once wrote:

“The historic mission of our nation in this critical moment is to lead the white races of the world in a final crusade for their survival. A crusade against the Semite-led untermenschen [inferior races].”

It may seem like a contradiction that we have aligned ourselves with both neo-Nazis and Zionists until you consider the military-industrial complex does not care about ideology and will join forces with whoever furthers its aims. Today, we call the Azovs “heroes”, but tomorrow, if it became convenient, we would throw them under a bus. We always throw former allies under a bus, just ask the Kurds who were helping us fight ISIS.

The Guardian ran a story back in 2018 on how neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine are recruiting far-right activists in the UK to come and fight for them. This was back when the media was free to report on Ukrainian neo-Nazis and regularly called Ukraine the most corrupt nation in Europe, before they were instructed to u-turn and pretend it’s an oasis of democracy that we should consider going to World War III for.

The Azov battalion was coordinating with proscribed terror organisations like National Action and the situation drew the attention of British anti-terror police. Former Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley made a speech about how they’re trying to build a far-right global network. Little did he know that network would end up encompassing the British and US governments.

Ironically, it was claimed at the time that law changes meant there was no parliamentary route to fascism, and yet here we are, waving Third Reich iconography in front of cameras and defying the ICC to do genocide in Gaza. We have arrived at fascism and most people still have no idea it has happened.