'Denazification' Is a Lie

What Is This Myth About?

On February 24, 2022, Putin announced the start of a “special military operation,” one of the official goals of which is the “denazification” of Ukraine. Russian propaganda systematically portrays Ukraine as a state ruled by Nazis and Ukrainians as “fascists” who need to be “liberated.”

This narrative is absurd from a factual standpoint and is a classic example of using propaganda to justify a war of aggression.

Facts That Debunk the Myth

A Jewish President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the sixth President of Ukraine, elected in 2019 with 73.22% of the vote in the second round. Zelenskyy:

• Is of Jewish descent — his native language is Russian, and his grandfather fought against the Nazis in World War II
• Three of his grandfather’s brothers perished in the Holocaust
• Was elected democratically in free elections recognized by international observers

If “Nazis ruled” Ukraine, they would hardly have elected a Jewish man president with 73% support.

The Far Right in Elections

Results of far-right parties in Ukrainian parliamentary elections:

Year	Party	Result
2012	Svoboda	10.44% (historical peak)
2014	Svoboda	4.71% (did not pass the threshold)
2014	Right Sector	1.80%
2019	United far-right coalition	2.15%

2.15% was the result of the combined list of all far-right forces in the 2019 election. For comparison:

• France: Marine Le Pen — 41.45% in the second round of the presidential election (2022)
• Italy: Fratelli d’Italia — 26% in the 2022 elections
• Sweden: Sweden Democrats — 20.5% (2022)
• Austria: FPO — 29% (2024)
• Germany: AfD — 20.8% (2025)

Ukraine has the lowest far-right support among all major European countries. No far-right party is represented in the current Verkhovna Rada.

Democracy Ratings

International organizations assess Ukraine as a partly free democracy:

• Freedom House (2022): Ukraine — “Partly Free” with a score of 61/100 (Russia — “Not Free,” 19/100)
• Economist Intelligence Unit (2021): Ukraine — “hybrid regime” with a score of 5.57 (Russia — “authoritarian regime,” 3.24)
• Reporters Without Borders (2021): Ukraine — 97th place (Russia — 150th place)

Ukraine is far from a perfect democracy, but it is significantly freer than Russia by all international rankings.

The Azov Regiment: Context

One of the Kremlin’s main arguments is the existence of the Azov Regiment, founded in 2014 with the participation of right-wing volunteers. What the propaganda conceals:

The Evolution of Azov

1. 2014 — created as a volunteer battalion to defend Mariupol from Russian occupiers. Among the founders, there were indeed people with far-right views
2. 2015 — integrated into the National Guard of Ukraine (subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs)
3. 2015–2022 — underwent systematic depoliticization: military personnel with extremist views were filtered out, command was replaced with career officers
4. By 2022, Azov numbered 900–2,500 personnel — less than 1% of Ukraine’s Armed Forces

Context: The Far Right in Russia

Russia, which claims to be “denazifying” Ukraine, itself:

• Finances far-right movements across Europe (research by Anton Shekhovtsov, “Russia and the Western Far Right,” 2018)
• Used Nazi mercenaries from the Wagner Group — founder Dmitry Utkin had Nazi tattoos and used a call sign honoring Hitler’s favorite composer
• Had a significant number of far-right organizations of its own (Russian National Unity, Russian Image, etc.)
• Uses Z-symbolism, which has become a fascist symbol of the 21st century

What Does “Nazism” Mean to the Kremlin?

An analysis of how the word “Nazism” is used in Russian propaganda shows it has nothing to do with actual Nazism:

For the Kremlin, a “Nazi” = anyone who:

• Supports Ukraine’s independence from Russia
• Speaks the Ukrainian language
• Seeks integration with Europe and NATO
• Does not consider themselves part of the “Russian world”

In other words, under the Kremlin’s logic, every conscious Ukrainian is a “Nazi.” This is a classic tactic of dehumanization of the enemy, which, ironically, is typical of fascist regimes.

Real Nazism: A Mirror for Russia

Russia’s actions in Ukraine meet the criteria typically associated with fascism:

1. Cult of the leader — Putin has been in power since 2000, effectively ruling for life
2. Aggressive imperial expansionism — Georgia (2008), Crimea (2014), Donbas (2014–), full-scale invasion (2022–)
3. Militarism — “Z” symbolism, cult of the “special operation,” militaristic propaganda in schools
4. Suppression of dissent — closure of independent media, persecution of the opposition (Navalny, Kara-Murza)
5. Ideology of the “special path” — “Russkiy Mir” as a messianic ideology
6. Genocidal rhetoric — systematic dehumanization of Ukrainians

As Timothy Snyder noted: “Russia is a fascist state that calls its victim fascist — this is a classic case of projection.”

Conclusion

“Denazification” is not a fight against Nazism. It is a propaganda pretext for the destruction of Ukrainian statehood and identity. Russia is not fighting “Nazis” — it is fighting the very fact of an independent Ukraine’s existence.