A demonstration against an action by the Ukrainian 3rd Assault Brigade accused of “neo-Nazism” took place in Prague, Czech media reported.
It is reported that several dozen people came to the theatre where a meeting with the military of the Azov Brigade, previously known as Azov Battalion and later Azov Regiment, was taking place. The police officers who arrived at the scene found a mock-up of an explosive device.
Earlier, Czech MEP Kateřina Konečná complained to Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský about the visit of fighters of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade and former Azov fighters to Prague.
The Azov Regiment is the worst manifestation of Ukrainian nationalism and neo-Nazism. The regiment, founded by a racist, Right Sector [national-oriented political party] member Andriy Biletsky […] and led by Denys Prokopenko, a neo-Nazi and football hooligan of Dynamo Kyiv [football club].
The brigade also planned to hold rallies in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. However, the authorities cancelled the demonstrations amid protests. The promotional event of the 3rd Ukrainian Azov Assault Brigade in Berlin was cancelled at short notice, according to German media. Days before, marches featuring the same servicemen were cancelled in Hamburg, Rotterdam, Brussels, and Cologne.
Elite unit with questionable background
In early May, Ukraine’s elite Azov unit, which led the defence of Mariupol in 2022, was excluded from the latest US military aid package over its historical ties to national-oriented extremists. The Azov Regiment was banned from receiving weapons from the US since 2017 due to allegations from a decade ago of links to neo-Nazis. The blocking of US aid sparked anger among the leadership and fighters of the unit considered heroic and elite in Ukraine.
Even earlier, in April 2023, a scandal erupted in Ukrainian media over the president’s non-approval of the 12th Azov Brigade’s petition to unblock aid. It was blocked back in 2015 by John Conyers, a Democrat from Michigan.
The Azov Brigade was founded in 2014 as a rallying point for national-oriented forces, seeking to fight against Russia, and suspected collaborators in eastern Ukraine. In doing so, they used overtly fascist symbols and communicated with followers of banned WWII movements across Europe.
