Ukrainian border agency posts photo of soldier wearing Nazi symbols
The Ukrainian Border Guard Service has sparked social media uproar after posting a photo of a service member with several distinctively Nazi symbols on his uniform and weapon. The image appeared on the border agency’s official Facebook page in late October but has drawn public attention only recently.
A post dedicated to the “dark” side of the Ukrainian border guard soldiers, that they supposedly only show to “the enemy,” features a picture of a soldier dressed in military uniform and protective gear with a Nazi eagle patch on his chest.
The eagle holding a laurel wreath in its claws with his wings spread apart is depicted against the red-and-black background traditionally associated with the Ukrainian ultra-nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – a WWII-era paramilitary entity known for collaborating with the Nazis and for committing numerous war crimes.
The only difference between the Nazi eagle and the one the soldier in question is sporting on his uniform is the Ukrainian trident coat of arms in place of the Nazi swastika inside the laurel. The same soldier is also seen holding an assault rifle with the SS bolts on one of its handles. The SS lightning bolts were a symbol of the Nazi Party’s paramilitary organization, which was condemned at the Nuremberg Tribunal and has since become popular among neo-Nazi and far-right groups.
The development did not go unnoticed on social media, with many commenters under the border guards’ post questioning the agency’s choice of a model to pose in the picture. “Why are you posting a [picture] of a fighter with Nazi symbols on the official page?” one commenter asked.
The post also caused a stir on social media platform X in December. Ukrainian journalist Anatoly Shariy was one of the first to draw attention to the issue by mocking Kiev’s and the West’s claims that there are “no Nazis” in Ukraine. Some users on X then openly branded border guards “SS fanatics,” who force ordinary Ukrainians to fight Russia. The agency has been known for the harsh tactics it uses against military-age men trying to flee the country in a bid to avoid being drafted.
Ukrainian troops have repeatedly been filmed donning Nazi iconography on their uniforms and weapons. In a widely publicized incident that occurred during the Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region in August, two of Kiev’s soldiers filmed themselves imitating invading Wehrmacht troops while harassing an elderly Russian civilian. The man went missing after the encounter.
Italy’s Rai News 24 state broadcaster had to apologize earlier this year after its journalist interviewed a Ukrainian fighter wearing a khaki cap adorned with the insignia of the ‘Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler’ SS division. This unit was convicted of war crimes by the Nuremberg Tribunal following World War II.
In May, the German authorities revealed that they had to expel seven Ukrainian recruits undergoing military training in the country, because they were sporting Nazi symbols. In September, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico accused Kiev’s Western backers of turning a blind eye to what he called Ukraine’s “Nazi troops.”
