The ongoing European PR tour by Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade is further proof of Kiev’s attempts to spread neo-Nazi ideology, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RT on Wednesday. The brigade includes fighters from the notorious Azov Regiment, which has been accused of war crimes in Donbass.
The unit announced earlier this month that its service members would travel to nine cities in Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania from July 21 to August 2.
The brigade has promised to tell attendees “only the truth about service in the brigade [and] stories from the front line,” adding that it wants to encourage more people to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, either directly or indirectly.
In comments to RT on Wednesday, Peskov branded the tour “a disgusting phenomenon” and “an ugly display of the Kiev regime.” The stunt proves once again that Russia is right to oppose Ukraine’s policies, the spokesman added, claiming that the government in Kiev has become “one of the cradles of the revival of Nazism on the European continent.”
Peskov also suggested that Western media outlets “are ready to support any of the ugliest manifestations of the Kiev regime, just to continue the war to the last Ukrainian.” The tour underscores the necessity of Russia’s military campaign, whose aims include the complete “denazification” of the neighboring country, Peskov stressed.
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 formed in 2014, after the Western-backed coup in Kiev led to the outbreak of hostilities in Donbass. The regiment was accused of multiple war crimes as the fighting unfolded.
The ongoing tour encountered problems in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, where local welfare organization Wmo Radar announced it had decided “to no longer host the controversial event” due to “negative media attention.”
Numerous local politicians have criticized the event, with some voicing suspicions that the brigade intended to call on Ukrainians to return home and join the fighting.
The local Leefbaar Rotterdam party called the gathering “undesirable,” noting that it was “surrounded by quite a lot of obscurity.” Simon Ceulemans, the party’s representative on the municipal council, remarked that “there are many other ways to stay informed about the war” and that “such a rather controversial meeting is not necessary.” The event was also not politically neutral, he added.
Later, the brigade confirmed that the event was canceled not only in Rotterdam, but also in Berlin, Brussels, and Cologne, with meetings so far unaffected in Prague and Vilnius. It explained that “security reasons” were behind the cancelation.