Ukrainian neo-Nazi unit forced to curb PR tour

The 3rd Assault Brigade has canceled events in Berlin, Rotterdam, Brussels and Cologne for “security reasons” after a public outcry

Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade, which is closely linked to the neo-Nazi Azov movement, has said it had to cancel several events in European cities because of public backlash.

The brigade announced earlier this month that its members would travel to nine cities in Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania from July 21 to August 2. 

The goal of the trip was to tell attendees “only the truth about service in the brigade” and stories from the front line, and to drum up support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.

While the brigade was able to hold a gathering in Warsaw, the public in several other cities proved to be less hospitable. A welfare organization in Rotterdam, Wmo Radar, said it had decided “to no longer host the controversial event” due to “negative media attention.” Local politicians had spoken out against the event, calling it “undesirable” and not politically neutral.

In Berlin, local left-wing groups also said they intended to protest outside the hotel hosting the brigade, with politician Ferat Kocak saying that the German capital “does not need additional meeting points for the extreme right… no militaristic propaganda, not even under the guise of solidarity with the Ukrainian people.”

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Amid the backlash, the 3rd Assault Brigade said on Thursday that events in Berlin, Rotterdam, Brussels and Cologne would not take place “for security reasons,” adding it had no intention of “exposing our people to threats.” It reiterated however, that two meetings – in Prague and Vilnius – were still on the schedule.

The unit added that the ticket price – which is around €20 – would be reimbursed and that “we will definitely meet and talk with Ukrainians in these cities another time.”

Commenting on the brigade’s European tour, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described it as “a disgusting phenomenon” and “an ugly display of the Kiev regime,” adding that the Ukrainian government has become “one of the cradles of the revival of Nazism on the European continent.” 

Officially established in early 2023 and led by Ukrainian nationalist and white supremacist Andrey Biletsky, the 3rd Assault Brigade includes many members of the neo-Nazi Azov Regiment. The latter was accused of multiple war crimes during the fighting in Donbass which erupted after a Western-backed coup in Kiev in 2014.