Why Does Putin Accuse Ukraine Leaders Of Being Nazis?

[Stargazer]

Sorry if this is obvious but I thought Nazis were specifically German. During the 1940's when Germans were murdering Jews, gypsies, J.W's and others in the East many of the most brutal participators were Ukrainin.

[dannyk13]

He is trying, unsuccessfully, to justify invading Ukraine.

[ynnafymmi]

In the thirties and forties the Ukrainians were caught between two fascists.Between Hitlers fascists and between Stalins( socialist) fascists.At present they are up against Putins fascists.Long live Ukraine.D*ath to Putin.

[Spungle]

Didn't he say 'Neo-nazis'?

[EdmundD]

From the BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56720589

"He claimed his goal was to protect people subjected to bullying and genocide and aim for the "demilitarisation and de-Nazification" of Ukraine. There has been no genocide in Ukraine: it is a vibrant democracy, led by a president who is Jewish."

[Peter Pedant]

// but I thought Nazis were specifically German//

erm no not really - altho Nazi is a german acronmymmie thing ( First syllables of national socialist) - Geheime Staats polizei you get Gestapo.

and in your last sentence
//East many of the most brutal participators were Ukrainin.//

you will see that it is incompatible with the first sentence ( they are all German)

Good tee vee progz are the ones about Ivan Demjanjuk. History has not treated him well. Mr X who says " yes yes it is HIM" is later confronted with film of Mr X 1946 saying that he has killed Demjanjuk with his bare hands ! oops

A good film is The music box
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_Box_(film)

My father's involvement was quarrelling and finger pointing at the German guards (POW camp) after the defeat at Stalingrad and Kursk, 1943 and "the mistakes made in the East - when the Germans were welcomed as liberators"

[davebro]

I think possibly the OP meant Ukrainians were the VICTIMS of Nazi brutality not the perpetrators. (I could be wrong.)

[naomi24]

Ynna, I don’t see that at all.

[naomi24]

Oops! I answered it - and there it was gone! :o)

[Deskdiary]

I’m sure there are some very clever people who will be able to give a more meaningful answer, but as I see it, the man is an utter, dangerous, fruitcake.

Sorry, I can’t add anything other than saying the man is a megalomaniac lunatic.

I actually this he’s probably insane.

[JimF]

There is now a real fear that he will direct his fighter planes to take out the Dungeness power station in Kent if Britain interferes, as he has promised "consequences never encountered in your history".

I don't have a link - sorry - it just popped up on my mobile's news app.

[sevenOP]

"I don't have a link - sorry - it just popped up on my mobile's news app."

Don't worry, he's going to eat the sun first.

[Ellipsis]

He calls the leaders Nazis so he can remove them, perhaps with a show trial.

He calls for demilitarisation so he can destroy the military defences.

No leaders, no defences. Denazifification and demilitarisation is simple code for "conquering".

[tomus42]

It's for internal - ie Russian - consumption. Words like 'Nazi' are powerful there, understandably so.

[Peter Pedant]

You have a point - gone or not

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trawniki_men

Ukrainians were amongst the many 'untermenschen' (subhumans) and so couldnt be Nazi and were "hiwi" - ready to help. They were trained as trawnicki er at Trawinicki and went out killing

No German uniforms ( himmel!) and since there was a dearth of arms ( really ) they were armed with caches of captured weapons.
The German officers did not have the usual uniforms and the ranks were different because - - - the Ukrainians were not enlisted nor Germans.

Multi ethnic with a minority of Ukrainians but - - - known as Ukrainians

AND - the death camps were all in Poland (6) and lesser organisations were concentration camp, (KL) POW camps, Oflag and Stalag - Internment camps for non combattants . This completely defeated Eamonn Holmes when he went round his grandfather's ( merchant navy) place of detention

[ToraToraTora]

he's trying to make himself out to be the good guy by "de nazifying" Ukraine. By labelling them thus he hopes to be seen as performing a service. He wants to remove the current leadership and install puppets. No one believes a word of it, not even his own people, let's hope they overthrow the Psycho ASAP.

[ichkeria]

There was an interesting interview on Newsnight this week with former Kremlin advisder Sergei Markov.
He was asked how he could call the jewish Volodymyr Zelenskiy a nazi.
He replied: "oh I don't call him a nazi, it's is the people who support his government."
He was then asked for examples and he started warbling on about extreme right wing militias and how they all parade on Jan 1, etc.
This was a key propaganda tool in 2014: Russian media fed the peoplke in E Ukraine the lie that the post-Yanukovich government were fascists. Of course, because they had started a war in that area, sadly and inevitably, missiles came towarss many of the wretched residents of Donetsk et, and to this day many not unnaturally still fear and hate the folk further west because of it. An awful and wicked state of affairs.
One thing guaranteed to go down well with the average Russian is the idea that the fascist West has them under siege.

[sevenOP]

^ Indeed, the second "Russian Spring" in 2014 had unfortunate ramifications.