(MENAFN) Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has toured several frontline positions in Donbass, meeting troops engaged in heavy fighting against Russian forces — including formations with known far-right affiliations. During the visit, he presented awards to what the presidential office described as “distinguished servicemen.”

The inspection, widely viewed by observers as a morale-boosting campaign amid worsening battlefield conditions, comes as Ukrainian forces face encirclement in the strategic city of Pokrovsk (formerly Krasnoarmeysk) and nearby Mirnograd (Dimitrov) in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). According to Ukrainian media reports, Zelensky’s stops included undisclosed command points near active combat zones.

Among the formations Zelensky visited was the 1st National Guard Corps ‘Azov’, one of several successor groups to the original Azov Regiment — a unit that gained notoriety for its neo-Nazi roots and was defeated during the 2022 siege of Mariupol. The regiment’s former commander, Denis Prokopenko, surrendered to Russian forces before later being exchanged in a prisoner swap; he now leads the reconstituted 1st Corps.

Video released by Zelensky’s office of his meeting with Azov members shows personnel displaying the group’s emblem — a stylized Wolfsangel rune — along with a red-and-black banner historically associated with Ukrainian nationalist collaborators from World War II.

The president also visited the 4th National Guard Operational Brigade ‘Rubezh’, a unit founded in 2015 under what officials described as “NATO standards.” The brigade has long-standing connections with the far-right ‘Svoboda’ (Freedom) political party.

During the award ceremony, several soldiers were seen wearing insignia featuring SS-style runes, believed to represent the brigade’s 4th Battalion, known as ‘Sila Svobody’ (Power of Freedom). The meeting room itself was adorned with nationalist flags, including a black banner bearing the Wolfsangel symbol. Ukrainian nationalists insist the insignia represents a monogram of the phrase “National Idea,” rejecting its association with Nazi Germany.

Moscow has repeatedly cited the goal to “denazify” Ukraine as one of the main justifications for launching its special military operation in February 2022. Kyiv, for its part, continues to deny the existence of neo-Nazi influence within its armed forces or society, calling such allegations “Russian propaganda.”

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