Ukraine’s Azov regiment, formerly Azov battalion that became part of the country’s National Guard, posts photos of a recent training. Two guys seen with tattoos of the Black Sun/sonnenrad, a popular neo-Nazi symbol. Another guy flashing 👌. Imagine if this were US Natl Guard...
Azov is well known for having far-right extremists and neo-Nazis in its ranks. The regiment and broader Azov movement has attracted the attn of Western extremists who’ve gone to Ukraine to train with the group. Journalists, including me, have done extensive reporting on Azov.
Some US lawmakers want Azov and its affiliates to be designated a “foreign terrorist organization.” That designation is tough to get. And the Azov regiment being an official Ukrainian govt force makes it tougher. buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…
In Ukraine Azov’s viewed not as far-right extremists but as brave defenders who helped fight back Russia’s military invasion of the Donbas. Azov’s close connection to Ukraine’s powerful interior minister has also allowed members to operate (attack minorities, etc.) with impunity.
Azov is a favorite bogeyman of Russia and its state propaganda outlets, which often use the group’s existence as “proof” that Ukraine is run by neo-Nazis. That, of course, couldn’t be further from the truth. But the group is indeed dangerous and yet allowed by the govt to exist.
Ugh. Rattled and no doubt under duress, Roman Protasevich, the Belarusian journalist dragged off a RyanAir flight in Minsk after a bogus bomb threat, tells a state propaganda channel that he pleaded guilty to organizing "riots" to try to oust Lukashenko, who isn't all that bad.
The disturbing "interview" is being pushed by Lukashenko's propagandists as well as Russian state-run and pro-Kremlin media in an attempt to whitewash the Belarusian dictator in the eyes of Belarusians and smear his opposition and the West.
Protasevich says in the full-length video, which I'm not sharing here, that he "realized that many things for which Alexander Grigoryevich [Lukashenko] is criticized are in fact just attempts to pressure him, and that in many moments he acted...like a man with balls of steel." 😏
Ukrainian President Zelensky met today with US Sens. @ChrisMurphyCT, @SenatorShaheen, @robportman. He told them US & EU sanctions against Russia "are no longer working" and that it's "necessary not just to put pressure [on Russia], but to build a new format of sanctions policy."
And here on Nord Stream II. "Nord Stream 2 will disconnect Ukraine from gas supplies, which means 'disconnecting' us from at least $3 billion a year… We will have nothing to pay for the Ukrainian army." president.gov.ua/en/news/volodi…
Read quickly and overlooked this earlier: Zelensky told the US senators that Russia has only pulled back about 10,000 soldiers of some 100,000 that it had mobilized near the Ukrainian border this spring. "Russia is only declaring in words the withdrawal of its forces," he said.
Horrific scene. This Belarusian activist, before trying to slit his throat with a pen in court, said, "the GUBOPiK (a brutal police force of Lukashenko's) promised that if I don't admit my guilt then there will be criminal cases opened against my relatives and neighbors."
Stepan Lapytov (In Belarusian, Sciapan Latypaŭ), in the video above, was arrested for organizing a community protest against the brutal Lukashenko regime. His father told local media he'd been abused while in custody.
Here's a video of him being carried out of the courtroom after the incident.
Unbelievably brazen move by Belarusian dictator Lukashenko to fake a bomb threat, scramble a jet, & force a @Ryanair flight to land in Minsk to arrest @nexta_tv founder @pr0tez, who helped organized last years protests against Lukashenko. Protasevich could face the death penalty.
Reaction from the Belarusian opposition leader in exile who’d have likely won last year’s presidential election if it hadn’t been rigged. She’s asking for an international response, including further sanctions against Lukasheno’s regime.
Here’s the president of Lithuania reacting to today’s absolutely mad events. The Ryan Air fight was headed to his capital of Vilnius. The Irish airline had flown through EU airspace before crossing into Belarusian airspace.
Erik Prince’s guy Tom Williams keeps popping up in pro-Trump smear and spying campaigns. Pet NYT, Williams replaced ex-spy Richard Seddon as a Project Veritas trainer.
I reported for @BuzzFeedNews that Prince provided Williams to Rudy Giuliani as a bodyguard on his Ukraine trip.
Tom “Doc” Williams blocked me on Twitter after I reached out to him for comment. Then he locked down his account. But of course I took screenshots of everything before he did both. His tweets were filled with pro-Trump and pro-Erik Prince and Blackwater content.
Today: AG Merrick Garland & DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee about domestic violent extremism. They're expected to push lawmakers to approve $100M in additional funds to fight the rising threat. abcnews.go.com/Politics/top-l…
Yesterday, Mayorkas established a new domestic terrorism branch in DHS' Office of Intel & Analysis and created the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, which is an effort to take a community-focused approach to preventing violent extremism.