A speech by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Greek parliament on Thursday (8 April) was overshadowed by the inclusion of a video message from the far-right militia group, the Azov Battalion,that was addressed to lawmakers.
Addressing the Greek parliament via videoconference, Zelenskyy called on Athens to put pressure on the EU to adopt stricter sanctions against Moscow.
However, a video showing a member ofthe Azov Battalion, which was broadcast to Greek lawmakers right after Zelenskyy’s speech, has triggered strong reactions in Athens.
“I have been waking up everyday for more than a month thinking about Mariupol, which is being destroyed by Russian troops,” the Ukrainian president said.“Freedom or Death was what your revolutionaries were saying. We are shouting the same today,”the Ukrainian president said, referring to the Greek Revolution of1821.
Zelenskyy also called on Greeks to mount pressure on the EU and adopt stricter measures against Russia.
​
**Although all lawmakers present hailed the Ukrainian president’s speech expressing their support for Ukraine, a video message to parliament showing a member of the Azov Battalion describing the disaster of Mariupol overshadowed the event.**
​
The soldier in the video message said:“I was born in Mariupol, and I take part in the defence of the city from the Russian Nazis. I will not talk about the difficulties we have in defence, participating through the Azov Battalion. This is my debt to my city, my debt as aman and I must talk about the catastrophic conditions in which the Greek Mariupol is experiencing.”
The video of Azov Battalion’s soldier triggered the reaction of opposition parties as well as influential members of the ruling New Democracy party.
“**The speech of members of theneo-Nazi Azov Battalion in the Greek Parliament is a provocation.**
The absolute responsibility lies with the Prime Minister KyriakosMitsotakis.
**He talked about a historic day,but it is a historic shame.**
**The solidarity with the Ukrainian people is a given.**
**But the Nazis cannot have a say in Parliament,**”
Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras posted on Facebook.
Similarly, former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said allowing this video to be broadcast in the Greek House was a “big mistake”.
**“The Greek government irresponsibly undermined the struggle of the Ukrainian people, by giving the floor to a Nazi.**
The responsibilities are heavy. The government should publish a detailed report of preparation and contacts for the event,”
Somehow people who are defending the city are Nazis, not the Russian army that massacred tens of thousands of people in that city alone.
Unfortunately nobody is focused on the massacre in Mariupol and everyone is speaking about this “nazi fighter” from Ukraine ,which we really dont know what he is, who blamed the “nazi fighters” from Russia.
And now try to explain what Azov Battalion is turn to in 2016 after so much Russian propaganda against it.
It’s not clear in the article, the soldiers who spoke on video were of greek descent.
Ukraine has made its position that azov “[are who they are](https://247newsbulletin.com/world/191239.html)”, which is understandable, and it’s hardly the first time an extreme group is armed for war (taleban, jihadists etc). Some people worry that they might lead ukraine to civil war after the war ends, but politically they have always received tiny percentages, so not very likely.
It’s crazy how effective the Russian propaganda has been, to manage to put so much focus on a group of 900-1500 people in a country of 44 million.
I would imagine President Zelenskyy is in a very difficult position, he cannot tell them: “Yes, please, die for Ukraine” and at the same time ask them to hide because it’s an embarrassment to have them amongst your fighter. People who judge him should remember though that the “useful nazis” were quietly “recycled” after WWII (no matter how much blood they had on their hand, directly or indirectly) so we can’t really blame him to use “dubious people” in the current situation, he needs them.
Dear people, focus on actions, not on the uniform
There are nazis in Azov battalion but that doesn’t mean Azov is a nazi battalion.
Ukraine can’t pick and choose who is defending the country, they are keeping an eye on them and any excess like a murder is or will be punished. That is the difference between even Azov and the Russians – a Russian soldier committing atrocities gets a medal, Ukrainian soldier committing atrocities gets a prison sentence.
Guys there a photo of a captured Russian ….with a full Nazi symbol on his back ….no problem there I take it.
Yeah this is annoying, was Azov a civilian battalion formed by a bunch of neonazi friends? Yes. Is it that now? No. It is a part of the UA National Guard, that has entry requirements, you can’t just be someone’s friend and get a gun, over 8 years the nazis were almost certainly replaced by random recruits from all sorts of backgrouns. Like the soldier in the video stated he is just a local guy, is he a nazi? No clue. There is a ~2% chance that he is, considering the amount of votes the nationalist parties got last election. The only real remnant of the neonazi civilian unit within the Azov Special Operations Detachment is the location, the name (named after the sea), and the crest, which I wish they would change.
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From the article :
A speech by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Greek parliament on Thursday (8 April) was overshadowed by the inclusion of a video message from the far-right militia group, the Azov Battalion,that was addressed to lawmakers.
Addressing the Greek parliament via videoconference, Zelenskyy called on Athens to put pressure on the EU to adopt stricter sanctions against Moscow.
However, a video showing a member ofthe Azov Battalion, which was broadcast to Greek lawmakers right after Zelenskyy’s speech, has triggered strong reactions in Athens.
“I have been waking up everyday for more than a month thinking about Mariupol, which is being destroyed by Russian troops,” the Ukrainian president said.“Freedom or Death was what your revolutionaries were saying. We are shouting the same today,”the Ukrainian president said, referring to the Greek Revolution of1821.
Zelenskyy also called on Greeks to mount pressure on the EU and adopt stricter measures against Russia.
​
**Although all lawmakers present hailed the Ukrainian president’s speech expressing their support for Ukraine, a video message to parliament showing a member of the Azov Battalion describing the disaster of Mariupol overshadowed the event.**
​
The soldier in the video message said:“I was born in Mariupol, and I take part in the defence of the city from the Russian Nazis. I will not talk about the difficulties we have in defence, participating through the Azov Battalion. This is my debt to my city, my debt as aman and I must talk about the catastrophic conditions in which the Greek Mariupol is experiencing.”
The video of Azov Battalion’s soldier triggered the reaction of opposition parties as well as influential members of the ruling New Democracy party.
“**The speech of members of theneo-Nazi Azov Battalion in the Greek Parliament is a provocation.**
The absolute responsibility lies with the Prime Minister KyriakosMitsotakis.
**He talked about a historic day,but it is a historic shame.**
**The solidarity with the Ukrainian people is a given.**
**But the Nazis cannot have a say in Parliament,**”
Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras posted on Facebook.
Similarly, former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said allowing this video to be broadcast in the Greek House was a “big mistake”.
**“The Greek government irresponsibly undermined the struggle of the Ukrainian people, by giving the floor to a Nazi.**
The responsibilities are heavy. The government should publish a detailed report of preparation and contacts for the event,”
Somehow people who are defending the city are Nazis, not the Russian army that massacred tens of thousands of people in that city alone.
Unfortunately nobody is focused on the massacre in Mariupol and everyone is speaking about this “nazi fighter” from Ukraine ,which we really dont know what he is, who blamed the “nazi fighters” from Russia.
And now try to explain what Azov Battalion is turn to in 2016 after so much Russian propaganda against it.
It’s not clear in the article, the soldiers who spoke on video were of greek descent.
Ukraine has made its position that azov “[are who they are](https://247newsbulletin.com/world/191239.html)”, which is understandable, and it’s hardly the first time an extreme group is armed for war (taleban, jihadists etc). Some people worry that they might lead ukraine to civil war after the war ends, but politically they have always received tiny percentages, so not very likely.
It’s crazy how effective the Russian propaganda has been, to manage to put so much focus on a group of 900-1500 people in a country of 44 million.
I would imagine President Zelenskyy is in a very difficult position, he cannot tell them: “Yes, please, die for Ukraine” and at the same time ask them to hide because it’s an embarrassment to have them amongst your fighter. People who judge him should remember though that the “useful nazis” were quietly “recycled” after WWII (no matter how much blood they had on their hand, directly or indirectly) so we can’t really blame him to use “dubious people” in the current situation, he needs them.
Dear people, focus on actions, not on the uniform
There are nazis in Azov battalion but that doesn’t mean Azov is a nazi battalion.
Ukraine can’t pick and choose who is defending the country, they are keeping an eye on them and any excess like a murder is or will be punished. That is the difference between even Azov and the Russians – a Russian soldier committing atrocities gets a medal, Ukrainian soldier committing atrocities gets a prison sentence.
Guys there a photo of a captured Russian ….with a full Nazi symbol on his back ….no problem there I take it.
Yeah this is annoying, was Azov a civilian battalion formed by a bunch of neonazi friends? Yes. Is it that now? No. It is a part of the UA National Guard, that has entry requirements, you can’t just be someone’s friend and get a gun, over 8 years the nazis were almost certainly replaced by random recruits from all sorts of backgrouns. Like the soldier in the video stated he is just a local guy, is he a nazi? No clue. There is a ~2% chance that he is, considering the amount of votes the nationalist parties got last election. The only real remnant of the neonazi civilian unit within the Azov Special Operations Detachment is the location, the name (named after the sea), and the crest, which I wish they would change.