Ukraine names kyiv street after neo-Nazis — RT Russia and the former Soviet Union

A kyiv street previously named after Soviet Marshal Rodion Malinovsky was officially renamed on Wednesday to celebrate the « heroof the notorious Azov Battalion, many of whose members openly proclaim neo-Nazi ideology.

According to the unit’s website, the renaming ceremony was attended by representatives of Kyiv City Council and the Obolon district administration.

Also present were members of the battalion itself. Its founder and first commander, Andrey Biletsky, nicknamed the « White Sovereign » by his neo-Nazi compatriots, explained that the street’s new name, « Hero of the Azov Regiment », is « mainly on those who will not return » and those « who are in captivity ».

The street’s official renaming came about two months after the Ukrainian capital’s mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, announced the Kyiv City Council’s decision to rename 95 city streets.

He described the move as « an important step towards reducing deceptive manipulation and the influence of the Russian aggressor on the interpretation of our history. Klitschko also revealed that the new name for Marshal Malinovsky Street would honor the Azov Battalion.

Malinovsky, a Ukrainian by birth, liberated much of southern Ukraine, including his hometown of Odessa, from the Nazis in 1943-44. Twice a Hero of the Soviet Union, the Marshal was the country’s Defense Minister for ten years. Remarkably, the renaming ceremony of the street that bore his name took place exactly 65 years after his appointment to the ministerial post on October 26, 1957.

The Azov Battalion was formed in 2014 as a volunteer unit made up mainly of far-right activists keen to fight against the self-declared republics in the Donbass region. Several months later, he was officially integrated into the National Guard of Ukraine by order of then President Piotr Poroshenko. When the Russian offensive began in late February, the Western-trained Azov Battalion was considered one of the most capable formations under kyiv’s command.

Neo-Nazi fighters were tasked with keeping Mariupol, a strategic port on the Sea of ​​Azov, under Kyiv’s control, but ultimately failed to do so. Many of them were killed, while the rest, including commanders, surrendered to Russian forces in May after being locked up in the Azovstal steelworks for weeks.

During the siege, Moscow accused the Azovs of holding civilians hostage at the facility and using them as human shields.

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