Symbolic: Germany Quietly Deports Ukrainian Troops Over Use of Nazi Insignia

Ukraine’s NATO sponsors have a longstanding habit of ignoring a cornucopia of Nazi symbology in the Ukrainian military’s ranks, looking the other way when delivering fresh tranches of arms assistance to Kiev, and going so far as to disguise troops with obvious fascist and neo-Nazi leanings during visits to Western countries.

German authorities have quietly expelled seven Ukrainian troops being trained by Bundeswehr instructors over the use of Nazi symbols.

“Seven cases were identified in which soldiers wore right-wing extremist symbols during training conducted by the Bundeswehr for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The training of the relevant soldiers was terminated immediately in coordination with the Ukrainian military and the affected persons were returned to Ukraine,” the German government said in a statement posted to its official web portal.

“German soldiers who interact with members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces as part of training support are regularly instructed and made aware of right-wing extremist symbols. After their arrival in Germany, Ukrainian soldiers are taught about Nazi symbolism,” the statement added.

The declaration, part of a formal government reply to a question by the AfD opposition parliamentary group about whether Ukrainian ultranationalists pose a threat to a potential Ukrainian peace process, assured that “the federal government sees no threat” to peace from these extremist forces, and claimed that Russia’s military operation in Ukraine has nothing to do with Ukrainian neo-Nazis.

The government did not elaborate on what kinds of “right-wing extremist symbols” got the Ukrainian troops kicked out of Germany, but the Ukrainian military’s fondness of Nazi symbols, and Western government and media’s sheepish attempts to ignore the problem have long become the stuff of legend.

Ukrainian army units have been spotted sporting a wide variety of extremist symbols, from Totenkopf SS Death’s Head patches and 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich rune logos to Sonnenrad ‘Black Suns’, Nazi eagles, swastikas, stylized Wolfsangels, and patches sporting the face of Stepan Bandera – the notorious Nazi collaborator whose militias killed tens of thousands of Poles, Jews, Ukrainians and Russians during WWII. Along with symbols, Western media have ignored pro-Nazi chants, Hitler salutes, neonazi training summer camps for children, and perhaps most tragicomically of all - Jon Stewart’s awarding of an Azov Regiment* fighter at Disney World with a Black Sun tattoo hidden under his cast.

To be sure, not all troops in Ukraine’s military are devout neo-Nazis, with many coming from poor backgrounds, drafted by force and sent to fight Russia in support of Washington’s psychopathic goal of “weakening” Moscow militarily in a proxy war.

Nevertheless, Ukraine has seen a frightening resurgence of Nazi symbols and ideology in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, culminating in the creation of gangs of organized neo-Nazi thugs who helped overthrow the Yanukovych government during the US-sponsored coup in 2014. After the violent power grab, the radicals carried out repressions against opponents of the new regime, traveled to the Donbass to terrorize civilians and fight local militias, kept watch over authorities to prevent a softening of Kiev’s anti-Russian stance, and served in blocking units to prevent Ukrainian frontline troops from retreating from their positions.

* Recognized as an extremist organization and banned in Russia.