A video posted on Twitter by the National Guard of Ukraine appears to show Azov fighters greasing bullets with pig fat, ostensibly to be used against Muslim Chechens deployed to their country as Russia steps up its military assault on Ukraine.
Azov, a far-right all-volunteer infantry military unit, are ultra-nationalists who are accused of harbouring neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideology.
They first fought alongside the Ukrainian army in the east of the country in 2014 against pro-Russia separatists and have since been incorporated into the regular armed forces.
He says: ¡°Dear Muslim brothers. In our country, you will not go to heaven. You will not be allowed into heaven. Go home, please. Here, you will encounter trouble. Thank you for your attention, goodbye.¡±
Russian President Vladimir Putin has referenced the presence of such units within the Ukrainian military as a reason for launching his so-called ¡°special military operation ¡ to de-militarise and de-Nazify Ukraine¡±.
The Russian military in a press briefing has also claimed that ¡°Nazi Battalions¡± form a significant part of the resistance to their offensive.
A short video published by the state-backed Russian news channel RT, which it said was from Friday, showed thousands of Chechen fighters gathered in the main square of the region¡¯s capital Grozny in a show of readiness to fight in Ukraine.
Latest satellite images taken show a Russian military convoy north of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv that stretches for about 64 km, substantially longer than the 27 km reported earlier in the day, said a Reuters report quoting Maxar Technologies.?
This follows Moscow¡¯s shelling of Ukraine¡¯s second-largest city Monday, rocking a residential neighbourhood, and closed in on the capital, Kyiv, as talks aimed at stopping the fighting yielded only an agreement to keep talking.??
Amid ever-growing international condemnation, Russia found itself increasingly isolated five days into its invasion, while also facing unexpectedly fierce resistance on the ground in Ukraine and economic havoc at home.
The UN has said that at least 102 civilians, including seven children, have died in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. Meanwhile, an embattled Ukraine moved to solidify its ties to the West by applying to join the European Union, a largely symbolic move for now.
For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.