[rad-green] Ukrainian neo-Nazis flock to the Hong Kong protest movement

*https://thegrayzone.com/2019/12/04/ukrainian-nazis-hong-kong-protests/#more-17393*
<https://thegrayzone.com/2019/12/04/ukrainian-nazis-hong-kong-protests/#more-17393>

*Grayzone          December 4, 2019*

[image: Ukrainian Nazis in Hong Kong Victory or Valhalla]
CHINA <https://thegrayzone.com/category/china/>, HONG KONG
<https://thegrayzone.com/category/hong-kong/>, UKRAINE
<https://thegrayzone.com/category/ukraine/>
Ukrainian neo-Nazis flock to the Hong Kong protest movement
Ukrainian fascists who previously fought in a US-backed neo-Nazi militia
joined the anti-China protests in Hong Kong, sharing their tactics and
showing off their tattoos.By Ben Norton

Neo-Nazis from Ukraine have flown to Hong Kong to participate in the
anti-Chinese insurgency, which has been widely praised by Western corporate
media and portrayed as a peaceful pro-democracy movement.

Since March 2019, Hong Kong has been the site of often-violent protests
<https://thegrayzone.com/2019/08/17/hong-kong-protest-washington-nativism-violence/>
and
riots that have run the city’s economy into the ground. The US government
has funded <https://www.mintpressnews.com/hong-kong-protests/259202/> many
of the groups leading the pro-Western and anti-Beijing movement, and
opposition leaders have coordinated closely with conservative political
figures in Washington
<https://thegrayzone.com/2019/11/22/hong-kong-opposition-unites-washington-hardliners/>
like
Marco Rubio and Steve Bannon, lobbying for sanctions and other punitive
measures against China.

Numerous delegations of far-right groups from across the world have
traveled to Hong Kong to join the violent insurgency against Beijing, in
which secessionists have attacked police with bows
<https://time.com/5731192/hong-kong-protesters-police-arrows/> and arrows,
shot gasoline bombs out of catapults, and burned numerous people alive
<https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3037243/hong-kong-father-two-burned-alive-after-chasing>
.

With their flamboyant waving of US and British colonial flags and tendency
to belt out the American national anthem on megaphones, anti-China
separatists in Hong Kong have made themselves a magnet for the US
far-right. Staff of the website InfoWars
<http://web.archive.org/web/20191204035833/https://www.infowars.com/inside-hong-kong-and-the-fight-for-freedom-against-the-chicoms/>,
right-wing social media personality Paul Joseph Watson
<http://web.archive.org/web/20191204040206/https://www.therebel.media/paul-joseph-watson-the-truth-about-the-hong-kong-protests>,
and the ultra-conservative group Patriot Prayer
<https://thelibertarianrepublic.com/hong-kong-protesters-wave-american-flag-inspired-by-patriot-prayer/>
are
among those who have made pilgrimages to the protests.

The latest collection of extreme-right activists to reinforce the ranks of
the Hong Kong separatists are from Ukraine. They call themselves Gonor and
have tattoos on their upper torsos with undeniable symbols of white
supremacy and neo-Nazism.

These extremists previously fought in a notoriously brutal neo-Nazi militia
called the Azov Battalion <https://thegrayzone.com/tag/azov-battalion/>, in
Ukraine’s war against pro-Russian militants.

The Azov Battalion is an explicitly fascist paramilitary group that
organizes around neo-Nazi ideology. After a Western-backed 2014 coup
against Ukraine’s democratically elected government, Azov was incorporated
into the Ukrainian national guard. It has received support from the US
government
<https://thegrayzone.com/2018/04/07/the-us-is-arming-and-assisting-neo-nazis-in-ukraine-while-congress-debates-prohibition/>,
which has armed and advised the neo-Nazis in their fight against Moscow.

Azov has also helped train American white supremacists
<https://thegrayzone.com/2018/11/15/blowback-how-us-funded-fascists-in-ukraine-mentor-us-white-supremacists/>,
who have plotted terrorist attacks
<https://thegrayzone.com/2019/09/25/ukraine-us-support-neo-nazis-ben-norton/>
back
at home in the United States.

While Western governments and corporate media outlets portray China as an
authoritarian regime that treats Hong Kong like a colony, these violent
Ukrainian fascists took advantage of the region’s autonomy to gain entry
through its borders. It is unlikely they would have been admitted to
mainland China, or to the Western European countries that routinely refuse
visas to political extremists.

The presence of Ukrainian regime-change activists in the Hong Kong protests
is further evidence of the alliances that anti-Chinese activists in Hong
Kong are building with other right-wing, US-backed movements around the
world, sharing tactics to weaken and destabilize countries targeted by NATO.

[image: Ukrainian Nazi in Hong Kong flag]
Ukrainian fascists join Hong Kong insurgency

On December 1, the far-right activist Serhii Filimonov posted photos on
Facebook <http://archive.ph/szB13> showing himself and three Ukrainian
friends upon their arrival in Hong Kong. The images were accompanied by the
anti-Beijing’s unofficial slogan: “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong
Kong!!”

Stand With Hong Kong is also the name of a Western-backed organization
<https://standwithhk.org/> that has been lobbying the governments of the
US, Britain, Germany, Canada, and Australia to impose sanctions
<https://petition.standwithhk.org/> and take punitive action against China.

In a video
<https://www.facebook.com/serhii.filimonov.98/videos/vb.100035976248323/160773771798497/>
they
posted on social media, the Ukrainian white supremacists revealed that they
had obtained a press pass, misleadingly portraying themselves as
journalists.

[image: Ukrainian Nazi in Hong Kong press pass]

Joining Filimonov on the trip to Hong Kong was a notorious extreme-right
Ukrainian activist who goes by the name Maliar. Maliar is popular on
Instagram, under the name xgadzillax <https://www.instagram.com/xgadzillax/>,
where he has more than 23,000 followers. (Maliar has a distinctive scar
<https://www.instagram.com/p/vBfTHRIMrW/> on the left side of the neck,
which makes him easy to recognize in photos.)

[image: Ukrainian Nazi Maliar swastika tattoo ears]

Besides the swastikas inked into his skull, Maliar had the Nazi symbols
tattooed on his right leg, next to an algiz rune
<https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/life-rune>, another
common white supremacist emblem.

[image: Ukrainian Nazi Maliar swastika tattoo leg]

Several photos show that at least two of the Ukrainian fascists in Hong
Kong have tattoos reading “Victory or Valhalla
<https://www.amazon.com/Victory-Valhalla-Final-Compilation-Writings/dp/1438285817>,”
the title of a compilation of writings by the notorious American white
supremacist David Lane, whose neo-fascist terrorist group The Order
murdered a liberal Jewish radio host and planned more assassinations of
left-wing Jews.

Lane, who was convicted to 190 years in a US prison for numerous crimes,
created the most famous white supremacist slogan, known as the 14 Words —
which inspired the name of another Ukrainian neo-Nazi group called C14
<https://thegrayzone.com/2018/10/30/c14-ukrainian-nazi-kiev-police-america-house/>
.

Filimonov, who also has a large following on Instagram, where he uses the
name Sunperuna <https://www.instagram.com/sunperuna/>, published a photo
showing the phrase “Victory or Valahalla” emblazoned on his chest.

[image: Serhii Filimonov Instagram victory or Valhalla]

The book “Victory or Valhalla” is dedicated to “Aryankind.” In its pages,
its author says he is committed to preventing the “imminent extinction
facing the White Race” and the “Judeo-American/Judeo-Christian murder of
the White race.” The screed is replete with homages to Nazis, and the back
cover shows a photo of Lane’s body in his coffin, wrapped in a Confederate
flag.

These Ukrainian fascists were such fans of the book that they permanently
tattooed its title on their bodies.

Maliar, the other member of Gonor who joined the Hong Kong protests, has
“Victory or Valhalla” inscribed conspicuously on his neck.

[image: Ukrainian Nazi in Hong Kong Victory or Valhalla neck]

Journalist Morgan Artyukhina
<https://sputniknews.com/asia/201912021077466396-why-are-ukrainian-neo-nazis-joining-the-hong-kong-protests/>
identified
another member of the far-right Ukrainian contingent in Hong Kong as Serhii
Sternenko. Artyukhina noted that Sternenko is a former leader of the
Ukrainian fascist group Right Sector, which burned down a trade union
building in Odessa during the 2014 coup, killing 42 people.
Neo-Nazis take campus

On December 2, the Ukrainian fascist visitors posted photos of themselves
on the campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), a site of
violent protests.

PolyU has been a crucial base of operation for the separatist uprising. A
total of 3,989 petrol bombs
<https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3040136/hong-kong-protests-more-petrol-bombs-and-offensive-weapons>,
1,339 pieces of explosives, and 601 bottles of corrosive liquid were
recovered at the school, as of December 2, according to reports.

[image: Ukrainian Nazis Hong Kong Polytechnic University]

Serhii Filimonov (the first on the left in the photo above) has faced legal
troubles in the past, appearing in court
<https://www.facebook.com/serhii.filimonov.98/posts/158774621998412> for
allegedly brawling with police.

The photos
<https://thegrayzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Serhii-Filimonov-Instagram-gun.jpg>
Filimonov
posts on social media make two things abundantly clear: He is a Nazi and
wants as many people as possible to see him shirtless while bearing heavy
<https://www.instagram.com/p/p6eQPUmjtl/> weapons.
<https://www.instagram.com/p/BIsirKfj8bq/>

[image: Serhii Filimonov Instagram gun 2]

Other members of Gonor have published photos on Instagram holding guns.

[image: Serhii Filimonov Instagram guns]

A video posted on Instagram in 2015 shows Maliar and a friend in a “White
Rebel” Confederate flag t-shirt surrounded by guns
<https://www.instagram.com/p/4XEPlloMru/> and tasers.

Gonor’s symbol
<https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=147530219789519&set=ecnf.100035976248323&type=3&theater>
draws
on many of the same far-right ultra-nationalist themes, with three white
knives centered on a black flag.

Gonor’s Telegram channel <https://t.me/GonorKyiv> offers members a front
row seat to an orgy of violence. It has published dozens of videos of Hong
Kong insurgents, heroizing <https://t.me/GonorKyiv/94> them for shooting
arrows
<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/11/17/hong-kong-protesters-shoot-arrows-police-violence-intensifies/4222011002/>
and
carrying out brutal attacks on state security forces.

Both Filimonov and Maliar previously fought
<https://www.instagram.com/p/7AcECLGjiD/> in the US-backed neo-Nazi Azov
Battalion. Maliar has posted photos on Instagram showing the two
<https://thegrayzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ukrainian-Nazi-Serhii-Filimonov-Maliar-Azov-tagged.jpg>
armed
and in military uniform, wearing Azov patches
<https://www.instagram.com/p/rTE6P7oMoK/>.

[image: Ukrainian Nazi Serhii Filimonov Maliar Azov Battalion]

And Filimonov has published several
<https://thegrayzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ukrainian-Nazi-Serhii-Filimonov-Azov-shirt-3.jpg>
 photos
<https://thegrayzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ukrainian-Nazi-Serhii-Filimonov-Azov-shirt-2.jpg>
showing
him and his friends wearing <https://www.instagram.com/p/3M2HUmmjl5/> Azov
t-shirts
<https://thegrayzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ukrainian-Nazi-Serhii-Filimonov-Azov-shirt.jpg>
.

[image: Ukrainian Nazi Maliar Azov patch]
Ukrainian regime-changers build networks with Hong Kong secessionists

Despite all of this publicly available evidence demonstrating the open
fascism of the Ukrainian hooligans in Hong Kong, the Kiev-based Free Hong
Kong Center <http://archive.md/qExho> published a statement on Facebook
defending and whitewashing Gonor.

The organization confirmed that the extremists did indeed fight with Azov
“during the first period of the war” against pro-Russian separatists, but
claimed that they have been unaffiliated since 2015.

The Free Hong Kong Center described the neo-fascists as “activists of the
Revolution of Dignity and as well as veterans of the defending war with
Russia.” Absurdly, the center declared that they “assured us they are
really against nazism and another kind of alt-right ideology.”

“A lot of people were disappointed by the tattoos of these guys,” the Free
Hong Kong Center conceded. But they insisted “that all symbols are from
Slavic paganism.”

The Free Hong Kong Center is a project of an NGO called the Liberal
Democratic League of Ukraine. In addition to building links with
anti-Beijing forces in Hong Kong, the project says its mission is to “counter
Chinese threats <https://www.facebook.com/pg/ufhkc/about/?ref=page_internal> to
Ukraine.”

The Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine
<https://ldlu.org.ua/en/%d0%bf%d0%b0%d1%80%d1%82%d0%bd%d0%b5%d1%80%d0%b8> is
a pro-European Union advocacy organization which is a member of the European
Liberal Youth <https://www.lymec.eu/about/> and the International
Federation of Liberal Youth <http://www.iflry.com/about-us/our-partners/>,
both of which are funded by the EU.

The main coordinator of the Free Hong Kong Center is a Ukrainian activist
named Arthur Kharytonov, who is also the president of the Liberal
Democratic League of Ukraine. Kharytonov was deeply involved in the
Euromaidan protests in Ukraine, which led to the 2014 US-backed coup. He
then set up the league in 2015.

Kharytonov and his organization have been frequently amplified in US
government-funded Ukrainian media outlets such as Hromadske
<https://en.hromadske.ua/posts/free-hong-kong-center-coordinator-on-parallels-with-euromaidan>.
In these softball interviews with a highly sympathetic press, Kharytonov
likens the anti-Russia protests in Ukraine to the anti-China protests in
Hong Kong, and calls for closer bonds between them.

Kharytonov and these Western government-backed organizations are part of a
growing network of Ukrainian regime-change activists who are organizing
with secessionists in Hong Kong, holding and sharing
<https://time.com/5682003/winter-on-fire-hong-kong-protests-ukraine/>
insurgency
tactics.

As the US and NATO-led unipolar hegemonic order that has dominated the
world since the end of the Cold War begins to crumble, and as a rising
China and Russia seek to restore a multipolar global system, Washington and
European nations are constructing a latticework of movements to undermine
their adversaries on their frontiers.

This global network is marketed as the advance guard of global liberalism,
but as events from Ukraine to Hong Kong have revealed, fascism is festering
at its base.


Ben Norton is a journalist, writer, and filmmaker. He is the assistant
editor of The Grayzone, and the producer of the Moderate Rebels
<http://moderaterebelsradio.com/> podcast, which he co-hosts with editor
Max Blumenthal. His website is BenNorton.com <http://bennorton.com/> and he
tweets at @BenjaminNorton <https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton>.
https://bennorton.com

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