by Evgeny Norin Much less than the heroic defenders they are made out to be, the extremist regiment’s many crimes are well documented Ukrainian propaganda has elevated the Azov Battalion’s protracted but ultimately doomed final stand in Mariupol to heroic proportions. Adding further pathos to this sentimental story were the desperate calls for help from the commanders of the units entrapped in the bowels of the Azovstal factory and the photogenic young wives of the besieged fighters pleading with Pope Francis at the Vatican. Yet, an observant eye could also wonder about the abundance of Nazi tattoos adorning the battalion’s POWs. The fighters of the Donetsk militia even came up with a joke about capturing “large numbers of pirates and electricians” in reference to the numerous individuals with the skull and crossbones and SS lightning bolts – the widely recognizable Totenkopf and Schutzstaffel symbols – emblazoned on their skin. Western media has been bending over backwards trying to e