Ukraine: Russo-Ukr War (June-December 2015)

[OUTLAW 09]

As an American in Berlin who has been observing the social media side from the beginning of Maidan, through the Crimean annexation to the Russian open and blatant invasion of eastern Ukraine in August 2014 that the US wipes away as just an "incursion"----

-----it literally is painful to read an US mainstream online news media that should know better than release the following article as they are in full support of the Russian propaganda machine and yet seem oblivious to it.

This media outlet should have done their own fact checking but instead rolls over a number of arguments albeit from a different angle but still the same thought streams as the two Congressmen they referenced.

BUT better YET why did they not send one of their so called journalists to Mariupol and ask to be embedded with the Azov BN?????????

In order one might say to "check the facts on the ground" in real time and in a reality zone of the truth not fiction.

I and other social media types have completely destroyed the myth being propagated by the two Congressmen and even pointed out that a Russian lobbyist was behind their efforts--NOTICE The Daily Beast seems to have missed that simple fact.

Right now the Azov BN if in fact so "Nazi and white supremacist" then why does it enjoy such a high respect and support level in the eyes of the population of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol???

Is The Daily Beast attempting o allude to the fact that all Ukrainians are Nazi white supremacists???

Why because they have been simply fighting and dying in the defense of the Ukraine which they have sworn allegiance to when they joined the MoI as a regular Ukrainian military unit. AND this since the earliest days of the Maidan--and they have lost many along the way in the defense of the Ukraine.

I am totally surprised that in the article which is not balanced at all --they did not attempt to even question some of what they themselves quote others on--what ever happened to US journalism with the concepts of "fair and balanced" and "due diligence"?

In some aspects--no actually the entire article reminds me in portions of the slated Russian propaganda that is streaming daily into the US and being simply passed on even in support of Russia or worse yet not even checked and passed on as the "so called truth".

If one really wants a solid understanding of Azov and the other "volunteer BNs" it is easily accomplished--just Google.

OR far better yet--if they were already in the Ukraine WHY did they not go straight to the war front and interview directly in the trenches as other reporters have done recently????????? WHAT better way to "fair and balanced".

Or better yet maybe The Daily Beast should become more active in the social media arena especially the Ukrainian media --I will be personally more than helpful if they need assistance.

Fair and balanced journalism really needs a helping hand --BUT The Daily Beast needs to fully understand Russian "informational conflict" and understand just how they have been "used" this time as have other mainstream US news media outlets.

Come on guys--what a title and yet you are not biased in your reporting and you are not slanting to Russian propaganda????

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...n-ukraine.html

Jackboot Camp

07.04.1512:01 AM ET

Is America Training Neonazis in Ukraine?

Officially no, but no one in the U.S. government seem to know for sure.

There are no doubts about the neo-Nazi and white supremacist background of the Azov Battalion, a militia that has positioned itself at the forefront of the fight against Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. As the founder and head of the battalion Andriy Biletsky once put it, “The historic mission of our nation in this critical moment is to lead the White Races of the world in a final crusade for their survival.”

That Russian President Vladimir Putin and his propagandists exploit this fact, using it to build support for their aggression and to undermine the international effort to help Ukraine defend its independence, is undeniable. But knowing that, and wanting to resist that, does not resolve some very important questions about the basic facts.

What is the relationship of the U.S. government to these people? Is it training them? Might it arm them? Is this, like the Afghan war of the 1980s, one of those cases where we aid and abet the kind of monsters who eventually become our enemies? Concerns about that possibility have been growing on Capitol Hill.

Because of uncertainties surrounding the Azov Battalion’s role in the U.S. training initiative and worries about the possible supply of shoulder-held anti-aircraft missiles to such characters, the House unanimously adopted bipartisan amendments to H.R. 2685, the “Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2015.” And one of them specifically blocks training of the “Ukrainian neo-Nazi paramilitary militia ‘Azov Battalion.’” Representatives John Conyers and Ted Yoho sponsored the amendment to the bill, which was passed unanimously by Congress.

This is in addition to criteria established in an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, originally sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy, known as “the Leahy Vetting Process.” The Leahy process consists of screening foreign forces applying for U.S. Government training and support to certify that they haven’t committed any “gross human rights violations.” If they are found to have done so, support is withheld.

But the highly problematic truth is that the U.S. currently has no real way of ensuring that members of neo-Nazi groups like the Azov Battalion are not being trained by U.S. forces, because most, if not all, have not committed a “gross human rights violation.” Even more difficult to determine is whether ex-U.S. military are training crypto-Nazis in a private capacity, and the issues speaks volumes about the complexities that have to be confronted by the United States in its efforts to help Ukraine defend itself from the Russian-supported secessionists.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Sgt. Ivan Kharkiv of the Azov battalion talks about his battalion’s experience with U.S. trainers and U.S. volunteers quite fondly, even mentioning U.S. volunteers engineers and medics that are still currently assisting them. He also talks about the significant and active support from the Ukrainian diaspora in the U.S. As for the training they have and continue to receive from numerous foreign armed forces. Kharkiv says “We must take knowledge from all armies… We pay for our mistakes with our lives.”

Continued.....

The Ukrainian Ministry of Interior brings what one U.S. official calls a “mishmash” of troops, consisting of volunteers, members of militia battalions and official army to be trained, and the Leahy process exists to check and see if any have committed a “gross violation of human rights,” which most likely they have not—at least not yet. But much less care is given to the question of ideology. When officials are asked for details of any kind regarding how the vetting process actually functions, answers are ambiguous, details are scarce and the explanations become contradictory.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, the U.S. Army Public Affairs Officer from the 173rd Airborne Brigade training Ukrainian forces in Lviv in western Ukraine, Capt. Steven Modugno, says that no one from the Azov Battalion or Right Sector is being trained in Lviv because the embassy uses the Leahy vetting process, which is in place to make sure no one has committed any kind of gross human rights abuses. When asked about members of the Azov Battalion who have not committed gross human abuses, more specifically how they are screened out, he says, “You know that’s actually a great question. It’s one the State Department would need to answer.”

Continued.....

The Daily Beast then interviewed State Department representative, Press Officer Yarina Ferentsevych of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. Ferentsevych told us, “At this point, as far as we are aware, no”—that is, no members of Azov. “Whether or not some may be in the lineup, that is possible. But frankly, you know, our vetting screens for human rights violations, not for ideology. Neo-Nazis, you know, can join the U.S. army too. The battalions that are in question have been integrated as part of Ukraine’s National Guard, and so the idea is that they would be eligible for training, but in all honesty I cannot tell you if there are any on the list we train. There were not any in the first rotation as far as I am aware.”

Ferentsevych confirms that it is practically impossible to know which trainees are from which battalion, “It’s a mishmash of folks: volunteers, soldiers, war heroes, Maidan veterans—I mean I couldn’t tell you, you know, short of investigating the background of each guy.”

Continued..........

When we asked PAO Capt. Modugno whether it was possible to detect all the Azov guys who are dispersed into the national guard battalions, he told us, “I don’t know if any of them could get through.” He explained that he is not an expert on the Leahy vetting process, but, “From what I’ve seen here, I haven’t seen any extremists, I’ve seen patriots.” The acting head of Ukraine’s national guard, Mykola Balan, told The Daily Beast, “Azov hasn’t been trained by the U.S. military. Currently they are at the front line.”

Continued.....

The Azov Battalion not only answers directly to the Ministry of Interior, but it is ingrained deeply in that structure. The founder and head of Azov, Andriy Biletsky works closely with the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior and as the BBC reported last year, “The Azov Battalion was formed and armed by Ukraine’s interior ministry.”

Continued............