Neo-Nazi Regiments in the Ukraine Army? It’s Perfectly Ok with U.S. State Department and CIA—and Its Reliable New York Times Echo Chamber—as Long as They Hide Those Nasty Neo-Nazi Insignia
Bellingcat is a Netherlands-based investigative research group that received funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a CIA cutout that promotes propaganda denigrating U.S. enemies and defending U.S.-NATO foreign policy.
On June 6, one of its researchers, Michael Colborne, provided a tortured defense essentially of the adoption of Nazi insignia by Ukrainian soldiers on their uniforms, raising concern only about the public relations effects.
Colborne was quoted in The New York Timesstating, “what worries me, in the Ukrainian context, is that people in Ukraine who are in leadership positions, either they don’t or they’re not willing to acknowledge and understand how these symbols are viewed outside of Ukraine. I think Ukrainians need to increasingly realize that these images undermine support for the country.”[1]
In short, the use of Nazi symbols is not wrong or worrying in and of itself; the only problem is the potential PR damage arising from it, which could undermine support for the war effort.
Can you imagine, during World War II, a researcher making a similar statement about Nazi storm troopers during Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union?
If he did, he would likely be condemned as a Nazi apologist since he nowhere expressed revulsion for the men wearing uniforms with Nazi insignia; he was only worried about their public image in the West because he wanted them to succeed and to sustain Western support.
Colborne’s quote was part of a New York Times article by Thomas Gibbons-Neff entitled “Kyiv Walks Fine Line as Fighters Embrace Use of Nazi Symbols.”
The article acknowledged wide use of Nazi symbols on Ukrainian military uniforms but claimed that the Ukrainian government was fighting to contain the “fringe far right movement” whose “members proudly wore the Nazi symbols.”[2]
The claim that the Ukrainian government was actually trying to contain these forces is undercut in the Times article itself, as it pointed to a) widespread use of such symbols; and b) the fact that in April, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry posted photographs on its Twitter account of a soldier wearing a patch featuring a skull and crossbones known as the Totenkopf, or Death Head, which originated with a Nazi unit that committed war crimes and guarded concentration camps during World War II.[3]
The soldier wearing it was a member of the Da Vinci Wolves, the paramilitary arm of Ukraine’s Right Sector that has committed large-scale atrocities in the Donbas since 2014, including torture and executions.
Its commander received a hero’s funeral by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after he was killed in Mariupol last year, undercutting the narative that these groups are on the fringe.
At least five other photographs on the Wolves Instagram and Facebook pages, according to the Times, featured their soldiers wearing Nazi-style patches, including the Totenkopf.
That the Twitter photo was not an aberration is further indicated by the fact that last month, according to the Times, Ukraine’s state emergency services agency posted on Instagram a photograph of an emergency worker wearing a Black Sun symbol, also known as Sonnenrad, that appeared in the castle of Heinrich Himmler, director of the Nazi SS Gestapo.
In November, during a meeting with Timesreporters near the front line, a Ukrainian press officer wore a Totenkopf variation made by a company called R3ICH (pronounced “Reich”).
The Times’s claim that the Ukrainian government was opposed to such symbols and trying to contain the “fringe far right” was undercut further when the war first began in 2014: Then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko posted on his Facebook page a photo that he took with a Ukrainian Army unit whose members had sewn the Totenkopf badge onto their uniforms.
The use of these symbols should not ultimately be concerning strictly from a public relations viewpoint but from a moral one, and provoke growth of a large-scale movement in Western countries to cut off military aid to Ukraine and push for a negotiated settlement that ends the war.
For years, the public was told that the U.S. was arming moderate rebels in Syria—though it was eventually acknowledged that there were no moderates and that the U.S. was arming jihadist extremists.
Similarly, with regard to Ukraine, the public is being told that U.S. weapons are going to moderates, when the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion has been pictured using Western weapons.
Last month, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu displayed images of two severely damaged armored vehicles that looked like they came from the U.S. after a May 22 cross-border raid into Belgorod by the Russian Volunteer Corps of neo-Nazi Denis Kapustin (aka Nikitin).
Nikitin claimed that his group had recovered military vehicles that somebody else had stolen from the Ukrainian military—meaning that U.S. military equipment is reaching the most extreme elements in the Ukrainian Army one way or another.[4]
The Times’s Liberal Luminary Champions a Nazi-Infested Army
Liberal New York Times columnist Paul Krugman ironically published an op-ed championing U.S. military aid to Ukraine in the same edition that Gibbons-Neff’s piece was run.
Krugman timed his piece to coincide with the 79th anniversary of the D-Day landing, a turning point after the Soviet victory at Stalingrad in the defeat of the Nazi army during World War II.
Krugman wrote that the anniversary of D-Day “seems especially evocative this year as we await the moral equivalent of D-Day, coming any day now when Ukraine begins its long-awaited counter-attack against Russian invaders.”[5]
Krugman concedes, like Colborne, that Ukraine “does have a far-right movement, including paramilitary groups that have played a part in its war,” but says that these elements “don’t create any equivalence between the two sides in this war. Ukraine is an imperfect but real democracy, hoping to join the larger democratic community. Vladimir Putin’s Russia is a malevolent actor and friends of freedom everywhere have to hope it will be thoroughly defeated.”[6]
Krugman’s black-and-white view is complicated by the fact that it is Ukraine’s government that has banned twelve opposition parties, including the Communist Party, which is legal in Russia.
Ukraine also has many more political prisoners than Russia per capita with jails full of dissidents, and has employed a war strategy straight out of the Nazi playbook in bombing critical infrastructure, dams, and pipelines in an attempt to deprive people of water and cripple the Russian economy.
Krugman expresses his wish that the citizens of Western democracies were “more fully committed to Ukrainian victory” and that “some of those who oppose Western aid just don’t see the moral equivalence with World War II.”[7]
It is Krugman, however, who is blind to the fact that Russians are again fighting Nazi groups, and the U.S. and Western countries, shamefully, are on the side of the bad guys this time.
Thomas Gibbons-Neff, “Kyiv Walks Fine Line as Fighters Embrace Use of Nazi Symbols,” The New York Times, June 6, 2023, A6.
Gibbons-Neff, “Kyiv Walks Fine Line as Fighters Embrace Use of Nazi Symbols.” ↑
Gibbons-Neff, “Kyiv Walks Fine Line as Fighters Embrace Use of Nazi Symbols.” The Anti-Defamation League considers the Totenkopf “a common hate symbol.” ↑
Kapustin has co-hosted a podcast with Robert Rundo, leader of the California neo-fascist Rise Above Movement. ↑
Paul Krugman, “The Eyes of the World Are Upon Ukraine’s Armed Forces,” The New York Times, June 6, 2023, A22. ↑
Krugman, “The Eyes of the World Are Upon Ukraine’s Armed Forces.” ↑
Krugman, “The Eyes of the World Are Upon Ukraine’s Armed Forces.” Krugman makes a point of attacking people on the left “for whom it is always 2003. They remember how America was taken to war on false pretenses—which, for the record, I realized was happening and vociferously opposed at the time—and can’t see that this situation is different.” On the right, by contrast, Krugman writes that “many of those who oppose helping Ukraine—call it the Tucker Carlson faction—do understand what this war is about. And they’re on the side of the bad guys. The Putin wing of the GOP has long admired Russia’s authoritarian regime and its intolerance. Before the war, Republicans like Senator Ted Cruz contrasted what they perceived as Russian toughness with the ‘woke emasculated’ U.S. military: Russia’s military failures threaten such people’s whole worldview, and they would be humiliated by a Ukrainian victory.” ↑
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About the Author
Jeremy Kuzmarov is Managing Editor of CovertAction Magazine.
He is the author of four books on U.S. foreign policy, including Obama’s Unending Wars(Clarity Press, 2019) and The Russians Are Coming, Again, with John Marciano (Monthly Review Press, 2018).
He can be reached at: jkuzmarov2@gmail.com.
Resimen Neo-Nazi di Angkatan Darat Ukraina? Tidak apa-apa dengan A.S. Departemen Luar Negeri dan CIA—dan Kamar Gema New York Times yang Andal—selama Mereka Menyembunyikan Lambang Neo-Nazi yang Jahat Itu
Jeremy Kuzmarov 12 Juni 2023
[Sumber: ebay.com]
Bellingcat adalah kelompok penelitian investigasi yang berbasis di Belanda yang menerima dana dari National Endowment for Democracy (NED), sebuah potongan CIA yang mempromosikan propaganda yang merendahkan musuh-musuh AS dan membela kebijakan luar negeri AS-NATO.
Michael Colborne [Sumber: soundcloud.com]
Pada tanggal 6 Juni, salah satu penelitinya, Michael Colborne, memberikan pembelaan yang disiksa pada dasarnya dari adopsi lencana Nazi oleh tentara Ukraina pada seragam mereka, meningkatkan kekhawatiran hanya tentang efek hubungan masyarakat.
Colborne dikutip dalam The New York Timesstating, "yang membuat saya khawatir, dalam konteks Ukraina, adalah bahwa orang-orang di Ukraina yang berada di posisi kepemimpinan, entah mereka tidak atau mereka tidak mau mengakui dan memahami bagaimana simbol-simbol ini dilihat di luar Ukraina. Saya pikir Ukraina perlu semakin menyadari bahwa gambar-gambar ini merusak dukungan untuk negara."[ 1]
Singkatnya, penggunaan simbol Nazi tidak salah atau mengkhawatirkan dengan sendirinya; satu-satunya masalah adalah potensi kerusakan PR yang timbul darinya, yang dapat merusak dukungan untuk upaya perang.
Dapatkah Anda membayangkan, selama Perang Dunia II, seorang peneliti membuat pernyataan serupa tentang pasukan badai Nazi selama Operasi Barbarossa, invasi Nazi ke Uni Soviet?
Tentara Ukraina dengan lencana Totenkopf. [Sumber: stalkerzone.org]
Jika dia melakukannya, dia kemungkinan akan dikutuk sebagai apologis Nazi karena dia tidak menyatakan jijik terhadap pria yang mengenakan seragam dengan lencana Nazi; dia hanya khawatir tentang citra publik mereka di Barat karena dia ingin mereka berhasil dan mempertahankan dukungan Barat.
Kutipan Colborne adalah bagian dari artikel New York Times oleh Thomas Gibbons-Neff berjudul "Kyiv Walks Fine Line as Fighters Embrace Use of Nazi Symbols."
Artikel tersebut mengakui penggunaan simbol Nazi secara luas pada seragam militer Ukraina tetapi mengklaim bahwa pemerintah Ukraina berjuang untuk menahan "gerakan pinggiran sayap kanan" yang "anggotanya dengan bangga mengenakan simbol Nazi."[ 2]
Klaim bahwa pemerintah Ukraina sebenarnya mencoba menahan pasukan ini dilemahkan dalam artikel Times itu sendiri, karena menunjuk pada a) meluasnya penggunaan simbol-simbol tersebut; dan b) fakta bahwa pada bulan April, Kementerian Pertahanan Ukraina memposting foto-foto di akun Twitter-nya tentang seorang tentara yang mengenakan tambalan yang menampilkan tengkorak dan tulang bersilang yang dikenal sebagai Totenkopf, atau Death Head, 3]
Prajurit yang memakainya adalah anggota Serigala Da Vinci, lengan paramiliter Sektor Kanan Ukraina yang telah melakukan kekejaman skala besar di Donbas sejak 2014, termasuk penyiksaan dan eksekusi.
Komandannya menerima pemakaman pahlawan oleh Presiden Ukraina Volodymyr Zelensky setelah dia dibunuh di Mariupol tahun lalu, meremehkan narasi bahwa kelompok-kelompok ini berada di pinggiran.
[Sumber: stalkerzone.org]
Setidaknya lima foto lainnya di halaman Instagram dan Facebook Wolves, menurut Times, menampilkan tentara mereka mengenakan tambalan gaya Nazi, termasuk Totenkopf.
Serigala Da Vinci [Sumber: twitter.com]
Bahwa foto Twitter itu bukan penyimpangan lebih lanjut ditunjukkan oleh fakta bahwa bulan lalu, menurut Times, badan layanan darurat negara Ukraina memposting di Instagram foto seorang pekerja darurat yang mengenakan simbol Matahari Hitam, juga dikenal sebagai Sonnenrad, yang muncul di kastil Heinrich Himmler, direktur SS Gestapo Nazi.
Sonnenrad. [Sumber: sott.net]
Pada bulan November, selama pertemuan dengan Timesreporters di dekat garis depan, seorang petugas pers Ukraina mengenakan variasi Totenkopf yang dibuat oleh perusahaan bernama R3ICH (diucapkan "Reich").
Klaim Times bahwa pemerintah Ukraina menentang simbol-simbol seperti itu dan mencoba untuk menahan "pohon paling kanan" dipotong lebih jauh ketika perang pertama kali dimulai pada tahun 2014: Kemudian-Presiden Ukraina Petro Poroshenko memposting di halaman Facebook-nya sebuah foto yang dia ambil dengan unit Angkatan Darat Ukraina yang anggotanya telah menjahit lencana Totenkopf ke seragam mereka.
[Sumber: stalkerzone.org]
Penggunaan simbol-simbol ini pada akhirnya tidak boleh memprihatinkan secara ketat dari sudut pandang hubungan masyarakat tetapi dari sudut pandang moral, dan memprovokasi pertumbuhan gerakan skala besar di negara-negara Barat untuk memotong bantuan militer ke Ukraina dan mendorong penyelesaian yang dinegosiasikan yang mengakhiri perang.
Selama bertahun-tahun, publik diberitahu bahwa AS mempersenjatai pemberontak moderat di Suriah—meskipun akhirnya diakui bahwa tidak ada moderat dan bahwa AS mempersenjatai ekstremis jihadis.
Demikian pula, sehubungan dengan Ukraina, publik diberitahu bahwa senjata AS akan menjadi moderat, ketika Batalyon neo-Nazi Azov digambarkan menggunakan senjata Barat.
Anggota Batalyon Azov Sektor Kanan digambarkan dengan rudal lembing anti-tank yang dipasok AS. [Sumber: twitter.com]
Bulan lalu, Menteri Pertahanan Rusia Sergei Shoigu menampilkan gambar dua kendaraan lapis baja yang rusak parah yang tampak seperti berasal dari AS setelah serangan lintas batas 22 Mei ke Belgorod oleh Korps Relawan Rusia neo-Nazi Denis Kapustin (alias Nikitin).
Denis Kapustin [Sumber: wikipedia.org]
Nikitin mengklaim bahwa kelompoknya telah menemukan kendaraan militer yang telah dicuri orang lain dari militer Ukraina—artinya peralatan militer AS mencapai elemen paling ekstrem di Angkatan Darat Ukraina dengan satu atau lain cara.[ 4]
The Times's Liberal Luminary Memperjuangkan Tentara yang Dipenuhi Nazi
Kolumnis Liberal New York Times Paul Krugman ironisnya menerbitkan op-ed yang memperjuangkan bantuan militer AS ke Ukraina dalam edisi yang sama dengan karya Gibbons-Neff.
Krugman mengatur waktunya bertepatan dengan peringatan 79 tahun pendaratan D-Day, titik balik setelah kemenangan Soviet di Stalingrad dalam kekalahan tentara Nazi selama Perang Dunia II.
Krugman menulis bahwa peringatan D-Day "tampaknya sangat menggugah tahun ini saat kami menunggu moral yang setara dengan D-Day, datang kapan saja sekarang ketika Ukraina memulai serangan balasan yang telah lama ditunggu-tunggu terhadap penjajah Rusia."[ 5]
Paul Krugman [Sumber: huffpost.com]
Krugman mengakui, seperti Colborne, bahwa Ukraina "memiliki gerakan sayap kanan, termasuk kelompok paramiliter yang telah memainkan peran dalam perangnya," tetapi mengatakan bahwa elemen-elemen ini "tidak menciptakan kesetaraan antara kedua belah pihak dalam perang ini. Ukraina adalah demokrasi yang tidak sempurna tetapi nyata, berharap untuk bergabung dengan komunitas demokrasi yang lebih besar. Rusia Vladimir Putin adalah aktor jahat dan teman-teman kebebasan di mana pun harus berharap itu akan dikalahkan secara menyeluruh."[ 6]
Pandangan hitam-putih Krugman diperumit oleh fakta bahwa pemerintah Ukrainalah yang telah melarang dua belas partai oposisi, termasuk Partai Komunis, yang legal di Rusia.
Ukraina juga memiliki lebih banyak tahanan politik daripada Rusia per kapita dengan penjara yang penuh dengan pembangkang, dan telah menggunakan strategi perang langsung dari pedoman Nazi dalam mengebom infrastruktur kritis, bendungan, dan jaringan pipa dalam upaya untuk merampas air orang dan melumpuhkan ekonomi Rusia.
Krugman mengungkapkan keinginannya bahwa warga negara demokrasi Barat "lebih berkomitmen penuh untuk kemenangan Ukraina" dan bahwa "beberapa dari mereka yang menentang bantuan Barat tidak melihat kesetaraan moral dengan Perang Dunia II."[ 7]
Krugman, bagaimanapun, yang buta terhadap fakta bahwa Rusia kembali memerangi kelompok Nazi, dan negara-negara AS dan Barat, dengan memalukan, berada di pihak orang jahat kali ini.
Thomas Gibbons-Neff, "Kyiv Berjalan di Garis Halus saat Pejuang Merangkul Penggunaan Simbol Nazi," The New York Times, 6 Juni 2023, A6.
Gibbons-Neff, "Kyiv Berjalan di Garis Halus saat Pejuang Merangkul Penggunaan Simbol Nazi." ↑
Gibbons-Neff, "Kyiv Berjalan di Garis Halus saat Pejuang Merangkul Penggunaan Simbol Nazi." Liga Anti-Pencemaran Nama Baik menganggap Totenkopf "simbol kebencian yang umum." ↑
Kapustin telah menjadi co-host podcast dengan Robert Rundo, pemimpin Gerakan Rise Above neo-fasis California. ↑
Paul Krugman, "Mata Dunia Tertuju pada Angkatan Bersenjata Ukraina," The New York Times, 6 Juni 2023, A22. ↑
Krugman, "Mata Dunia Tertuju pada Angkatan Bersenjata Ukraina." ↑
Krugman, "Mata Dunia Tertuju pada Angkatan Bersenjata Ukraina." Krugman membuat titik menyerang orang-orang di sebelah kiri “untuk siapa selalu 2003. Mereka ingat bagaimana Amerika dibawa berperang dengan alasan palsu—yang, sebagai catatan, saya sadari sedang terjadi dan ditentang dengan keras pada saat itu—dan tidak dapat melihat bahwa situasi ini berbeda.” Di sebelah kanan, sebaliknya, Krugman menulis bahwa “banyak dari mereka yang menentang membantu Ukraina—sanggap saja faksi Tucker Carlson—memahami tentang apa perang ini. Dan mereka berada di pihak orang jahat. Sayap Putin dari GOP telah lama mengagumi rezim otoriter Rusia dan intoleransinya. Sebelum perang, Partai Republik seperti Senator Ted Cruz membandingkan apa yang mereka anggap sebagai ketangguhan Rusia dengan militer AS yang 'bangun dan dikebiri': Kegagalan militer Rusia mengancam seluruh pandangan dunia orang-orang seperti itu, dan mereka akan dipermalukan oleh kemenangan Ukraina." ↑
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