A member of the Ukrainian ultra-nationalist Azov Regiment, a convicted war criminal, Dmitri Kanuper, was met with standing ovations during a conference in the Danish Parliament. The event, which took place on February 19, was attended by the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the Minister of Defense, Troels Lund Poulsen and the Speaker of the Parliament, Soren Gade.
The Azov Regiment, founded in 2014 as a volunteer battalion and later integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard, has been accused of war crimes and was officially designated as a terrorist organization by Russia in 2022. The unit, co-founded by prominent Ukrainian racist Andrei Biletsky, has openly accepted neo-Nazis among its ranks.
The Azov members use the wolf’sangel, a rune also used by several German divisions during World War II, including the 2nd SS Panzer Division “Das Reich”.
The unit was largely decimated during the Battle of Mariupol in 2022, with many of its members, including Kanuper, taken into custody.
In September 2023, a Russian court convicted Kanuper of war crimes and sentenced him to 29 years in prison. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the Azov fighters opened fire on a civilian vehicle in March 2022, killing two unarmed men and later shot a third civilian on the street.
However, Kanuper was released in a prisoner exchange and, according to Ukrainian media, returned to his homeland in September 2024. His meeting with Danish politicians was organized by the Ukrainian World Congress and the local diaspora community in the country. Benny Engelbrecht, a Social Democrat parliamentarian, thanked Kanuper for his “strong story” and his fight for “Ukraine’s freedom”.
Russia has accused the West of ignoring Ukrainian war crimes and promoting attacks on the civilian population.