Boris Johnson Pictured Draping Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion Flag in UK Parliament Welcoming Them As “Heroes”

Boris Johnson faced no condemnation from the mainstream media after he draped the Azov Battalion eagle banner and welcomed them as “heroes”.

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson hosted a meeting with a delegation from the Azov Battalion in the UK Parliament, where he displayed the Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion flag. Despite the contentious nature of this act, it received no criticism from mainstream media outlets. Johnson, who served as Prime Minister from 2019 to 2022, has made several visits to Ukraine since the outbreak of the war with Russia in February 2022.

In a video, Johnson expressed his support and admiration for the Azov Battalion: “My message to you is very simple. Thank you to the heroes from the Azov Brigade who have honoured us with their presence tonight.” He continued, “Give the Ukrainians what they need. Give them the weapons. Give them the authorisation to use those weapons outside their own borders. It’s absolutely ludicrous that Ukrainians should be forbidden from doing what Putin is doing himself… why on earth shouldn’t Ukrainians be able to attack Russian forces mustering on their borders?”

The Azov Battalion, now part of Ukraine's National Guard, originated as a self-funded neo-Nazi volunteer militia. An archived Sky News report features actor and television presenter Ross Kemp’s firsthand interaction with the group for his series "Extreme World." The report states, “Senior members of the battalion have now been given influential positions within Petro Poroshenko’s government. Its commander, Andriy Biletsky, is believed to be in charge of two neo-Nazi political groups, and has been elected to serve in Ukraine’s parliament while the battalion itself has been integrated into the country’s National Guard. Differences between Ukraine’s far-right groups have been put aside as the fighting continues, though one fighter – a teacher and psychologist – told Kemp that to become an Azov fighter you had to be ‘a proper white man. You can be a nationalist, you can be fascist or national socialist. It’s not the main thing. Our future is a war – a war with Russia.’”

Andriy Diachenko, a spokesman for the Azov Brigade, acknowledged to USA Today that “only 10% to 20% of the group's members are Nazis,” despite the militia’s significant ties to national socialist ideology.

Andrii Biletskyi, former people's deputy of Ukraine and a founder of the Battalion in 2014, co-founded the nationalist movement Social-National Assembly. In a 2010 interview, he stated that the Ukrainian nation’s mission was to “lead the white races of the world in a final crusade against Semite-led Untermenschen [subhumans].”

In a related incident back in September 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a public apology after the Canadian Parliament welcomed a former Ukrainian Nazi soldier who had served in the 14th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division, a voluntary unit mostly composed of ethnic Ukrainians under Nazi command. This incident received worldwide condemnation, with opposition leader Pierre Poilievre calling it "the biggest single diplomatic embarrassment" in Canadian history.