Latest news with #Azarov
United News of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- United News of India
Former Ukrainian PM Nikolai Azarov urges ‘de-Nazification' of Ukraine
Moscow/Kyiv, Aug 14 (UNI) Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov has said that along with ending the Russia-Ukraine war, another major issue that needs to be addressed is the 'de-nazification' of Kyiv, calling it a "pressing matter." According to Azarov, no one has ever done anything on this track in Ukraine, while speaking to Russian state media TASS. "It is carried out by way of an accomplished fact on the battlefield. The Azov battalion (outlawed in Russia as a terrorist association) was eliminated - that's about all that has been done on the denazification track. Of course, this is a pressing topic," he said. A far right group in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Azov Battalion has long been accused of being a 'neo-Nazi' militia, due to its use of symbols such as the 'Wolfsangel' rune, and making white supremacist and antisemitic comments during its early formation. The group's own history is of controversy, as its ties to a neo-Nazi ideology have polarised people, with some calling them Ukrainian nationalists, while others calling them an extremist group who wish to construct a Ukraine based on Nazi ideologies. According to Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, Ukraine can be 'de Nazified', only after the end of the war, be it via military or diplomacy. At a high-level meeting with Russian foreign ministry officials in mid-June 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined Moscow's preconditions for resolving the conflict. These included Ukraine withdrawing its forces from Donbass and Novorossia, abandoning aspirations to join NATO, and committing to a non-bloc, non-nuclear status. UNI ANV PRS
The Hindu
20-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
BRICS bloc increasingly seen as a vehicle for South-South cooperation: Sergey Azarov
Sergey Azarov, Senior Consul at the Russian Consulate General in Chennai, has said that the BRICS bloc is increasingly seen as a vehicle for South-South cooperation. Mr. Azarov was speaking after inaugurating a seminar on the subject 'BRICS Expansion and Strengthening Alliances Beyond the West' organised here the other day under the auspices of the Russian House in Thiruvananthapuram. The significant expansion of BRICS with the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates signals not just growth in membership, but a deliberate realignment of international alliances away from Western-centric institutions and towards a more representative global system, he said. Ratheesh C. Nair, Honorary Consul of Russia and Director of the Russian House, said BRICS is an ideal platform for promoting a multipolar world. P. Anilkumar, an expert on international relations, and Kavitha Nair, Deputy Director of the Russian House, also spoke.
Russia Today
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ex-Ukraine PM predicts Zelensky will flee country
Vladimir Zelensky will resign and leave Ukraine, former Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov has predicted, citing what he described as a US-backed effort to remove the country's leader. In a post on Telegram on Sunday, Azarov suggested that the decision to remove Zelensky from power 'has already been made in the US' and that Washington has given the 'go-ahead' for his ouster. He wrote that although the Ukrainian leader has support in Europe, it is unlikely to change anything and will 'hardly help' him. Azarov, who served as prime minister under ousted President Viktor Yanukovich, predicted that Zelensky would eventually step down, given that his mandate officially expired last year. He would then be replaced by parliamentary speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, who would serve as acting president and begin shaping 'a new political landscape' in Ukraine. 'I don't think Zelensky will remain in Ukraine after this,' Azarov said. 'He will request protection, most likely from special forces, but they will not make such sacrifices for him. The options for his future may vary,' he added. Last week, Azarov made a similar prediction and alleged that the United States had 'written off' Zelensky and was orchestrating a multi-stage process to force him out. He referred to the recent arrest of Leonid Mindich – described as a financial associate of both Zelensky and presidential chief of staff Andrey Yermak – as evidence of this effort. Azarov emphasized that the arrest was carried out not by the Prosecutor General's Office, but by Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office – institutions he described as 'created by the US, staffed by the US, and reporting only to the Americans.' 'This is a serious signal that the process of removing Zelensky has begun,' Azarov wrote, suggesting that if Zelensky does not step down voluntarily, he will be 'forced out.' He also claimed that US auditors had recently arrived in Kiev to examine the use of American taxpayer funds – a move he attributed to instructions from the White House. Zelensky's five-year term officially expired on May 20, 2024, and no election has been held due to martial law, which has been repeatedly extended. Moscow maintains that Zelensky has no legitimacy as the leader of Ukraine. Nevertheless, the Russian government has said it is open to negotiating with the current Kiev administration but warned that Zelensky's status could be an obstacle to signing any peace agreement. Russian officials have raised concern that documents endorsed by an illegitimate president could be legally contested by his successor.
Russia Today
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Zelensky ‘would do anything' to recruit more troops
Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky would swiftly mandate the mobilization of 18-year-olds if not for concerns over a public backlash, former Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov has told RT. Kiev has been relying on compulsory conscription to bolster its military ranks during the conflict with Russia. Last year, it lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 as part of wider reforms. Azarov, who served as prime minister from 2010 to 2014 before being ousted in a Western-backed coup alongside President Viktor Yanukovych, anticipates that the current government will ultimately compel young adults to fight as well. 'Zelensky would do anything. The only restraint is public discontent,' he claimed in a Tuesday interview. 'People are already outraged by the way mobilization is conducted, where men aged 20 to 60 can be grabbed in the streets, beaten, and sent to the frontlines.' Azarov cited videos circulating online showing over 100 instances of forced conscription, which he characterized as criminal behavior by mobilization officials. .mediaplayer { min-height: 150px; } .jwplayer .jw-controls .jw-controlbar .jw-icon-cc { display: none; } .media__video_noscript { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; height: 100%; width: 100%; } .full_transcript_text { display: block; } Kiev recently initiated a program to entice young men to volunteer, offering 1 million hryvnia ($24,000) for a year of military service. However, due to the grim casualty rates, fewer than 500 have accepted the offer, even though the money is 'huge, by Ukraine's standards,' Azarov said. The government's desperation to increase enlistment is evident in its messaging, Azarov argued. Ukraine's commander-in-chief, Aleksandr Syrsky, has publicly set a goal of recruiting 30,000 soldiers per month. Additionally, the deputy head of the presidential administration, Col. Pavel Palisa, has called for mandatory military service for women, advocating for a model akin to Israel's. Read more Ukraine simplifies recruitment of mercenaries Azarov believes that if and when younger citizens are compelled to join the military, it will have little impact on the army's combat effectiveness. He condemned the treatment of conscripts today as abysmal. 'Imagine an 18-year-old fellow mobilized and sent to the frontlines after just three or four days of training. What's the point? What skills does he have? Can he even defend himself?' he asked. Even without factoring in military casualties, Ukraine's demographic situation is already 'critical,' with death rates far exceeding birth rates, Azarov warned. The hostilities with Russia will eventually cease, and Ukrainians should be concerned about 'who will rebuild the country and what its future demographic makeup will be.' 'Given the government's attitude towards its citizens, the outlook is indeed bleak,' he concluded.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine's fugitive ex-PM reportedly running for Russian Academy of Sciences
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, accused of high treason, is running for membership in the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), the T-Invariant academic community said on April 2. Azarov, who led the Ukrainian government under pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych between 2010 and 2014, is a candidate for the RAS membership in mining sciences. Despite this, Azarov has a zero Hirsch index, a key indicator of the quality of scientific activity. The fugitive ex-official has no academic publications, T-Invariant said, citing eLibrary, a Russian scientific electronic library integrated with the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI). Azarov was a corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NANU) until June 2022, when he was expelled. The Scopus database, which tracks academic article citations, also has no publications by Azarov. The Russian-born politician served as prime minister under Yanukovych's tenure before resigning amid the EuroMaidan Revolution in 2014. He now resides in Russia and makes regular anti-Ukrainian statements and promotes pro-Kremlin narratives on Russian state propaganda channels. In December 2022, Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation and the Prosecutor General's Office completed a pre-trial investigation into Yanukovych's and Azarov's high treason cases. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) pressed further treason charges against Azarov and his assistant in October 2023. Last January, the case was sent to court under the charges of "information activities" on Russia's behalf. Read also: Putin issued a decree. Now, millions of Ukrainians face an impossible decision We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
