Ukrainian neo-Nazi commander struggles to explain SS-style insignia.
Laura Loomer confronted infamous Azov Battalion founder Andrey Biletsky about its members “wearing a swastika”
The commander of the notorious Ukrainian neo-Nazi Azov unit, Andrey ‘White Leader’ Biletsky, struggled to explain its SS-style insignia in an interview with American influencer Laura Loomer, eventually resorting to a comparison between Adolf Hitler and eating with a fork.
However, she confronted Biletsky about his unit members “wearing a swastika, carrying swastika flags, doing Hitler salutes” in what she described as a “bizarre” practice. She also pointed to Azov’s insignia, describing it as “identical to the Nazi Germany logos worn by SS agents.” The emblem is the exact copy of the Wolfsangel rune used by several Nazi military formations, including the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.
Biletsky then tried to downplay the issue by comparing the use of SS-style symbols to eating with a fork. “Should we see nothing but offensive triggers in everything…? Hitler ate with a fork and was a vegetarian. That doesn’t make forks or vegetarianism bad things,” he said, adding that his unit’s “symbolism” should be “approached… more cautiously.”
Neo-Nazis are reportedly still prevalent within the Azov ranks. A Dutch mercenary who fought for Kiev told De Telegraaf newspaper in January that he saw Nazi symbols, swastikas, and flags at one of the Azov HQs. He said other foreign fighters told him they had seen the unit’s soldiers “giving the Nazi salute every morning.”
