Azov Battalion - History & Symbols

[Music] recently I made a video about Abandoned German Panther tanks in Belgium and one in particular caught the attention of many viewers who left comments expressing surprise at an Insignia painted on the vehicle's front this is that tank and here we see that symbol the wolf's angle and heraldic device used in this case is the divisional symbol the second SS Panzer Division dasarike but one that is a more modern usage today in the war in Ukraine it is the regimental logo of a Ukrainian National Guard unit called the azov battalion some weeks ago I released a video about the World War II Ukrainian SS unit that mutinered in France in 1944 and joined the French Resistance fighting against its former German Masters I raised this because the modern as of Battalion has been widely accused of perpetuating the symbols associated with Heinrich himmler's SS the azer of Battalion is now part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fighting the invading Russians so let's examine the history of the azer of Battalion and the symbols that it is chosen to display the unit was formed in May 2014 tracing its lineage from a group of football fans called Ultras because of their fanatical support of the Ukrainian football club Metalist kharkiv this group was known as sect 82 after the year of its founding in 2014 there was much internal unrest in Ukraine following the Euro maidan movement and Revolution with pro-russian and anti-government groups demonstrating in the east and south of the country sect 82 took over the khakive regional government building forming an armed self-defense Force when the war in donbass opened Ukraine's Army suffered several defeats at the hands of Russian supplied separatists this caused some ukrainians to spontaneously form paramilitary volunteer battalions many of these groups linked to certain political ideologies and movements in April 2014 these militias received official sanction from the Ukrainian government and the following month the azov Battalion was formed in birdiansk the government made it a unit of special tasks Patrol police the azer of Battalion attracted many members from the Patriot of Ukraine party whose symbol was the wolfsangle the wolf's angle or Wolf's Hook is an heraldic symbol used in Germany and France dating from the medieval period it first came to prominence as a symbol of personal Liberty and independence from oppressors when it was adopted during a peasants Revolt in Germany in the 15th century however the symbol was used by the Nazis and became a unit symbol for many SS and army formations most prominently the aforementioned second SS Panzer Division dasarich and the Dutch unit the 34th SS volunteer Grenadier division land storm Nederland precisely because of its wartime associations with the SS and the Nazi party and its post-war use by some Neo-Nazi groups the Anti-Defamation League lists the wolf's angle as a symbol of hate in Ukraine the as of Battalion entered combat against Russian separatists in the 2014 Battle of mariopol fighting alongside regular Ukrainian troops the azov Battalion then took part in the Second Battle of mariopol until a 2015 ceasefire it's important to note that since 2014 the azov Battalion now regiment as it is called has been an official part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces enrolled in the National Guard its members receiving a monthly salary in the present conflict the azov have been noted for their role in defending Mario poll and president zielinski awarded its commanding officer the highest National Honor available creating him a hero of Ukraine on the 19th of March 2022 outside observers of this unit since its Inception have been concerned by the azov's use of Nazi World War II symbolism including the wolf's angle the black sun and the swastika which has appeared on members equipment and regimental Insignia this has also been used by Vladimir Putin to attempt to portray his invasion as a measure to denossify Ukraine and the unit's prominence has been expanded by Russian media though the unit itself only numbers about 900 men in 2014 the German television network zdf shared images of azov Battalion members sporting helmets adorned with swastikas and also SS Zig runes in this earlier as of Battalion badge we see the wolf's angle overlaid over the black Sun symbol derived from the German zonnenrad or sun wheel the wheel consists of 12 radial Zig runes similar to the lightning runes used by the SS SS Heinrich Himmler had such a black Sun built into the floor of the General's Hall inside vivelsborg Castle the spiritual home of the SS the black sun has been used by many Neo-Nazi far-right and white nationalist groups since the end of the war and is also associated with occultism and Satanism however regarding the wolf's angle symbol the as of Battalion states that it represents the Ukrainian words for a United Nation rather than being a symbol consciously borrowed from the vaffane SS the unit has also deleted the black Sun from its official logo 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Channel: Mark Felton Productions

Views: 1,195,353

Keywords: Mark Felton, Azov Battalion, War in Ukraine, Donbas

Id: HGdUtUefjCA

Length: 6min 4sec (364 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 21 2022