What makes Azov “freedom fighters” and not terrorists?
1. They’ve never launched an attack outside Ukraine, to my knowledge.
2. They were formed in direct response to an invasion (namely, the start of Russia’s territorial aggression in 2014).
3. They are extremely motivated fighters against an illegal aggressor whose expansionism threatens not just Ukraine, but the rest of Eastern Europe as well.
Their symbolism is cringe, and I doubt I would agree with their ideology (whatever it is), and they could probably be credibly accused of war crimes (like every other belligerent in this war), but at the end of the day, they are more of a self-defense militia than an international terrorist organization.
If Russia invaded the U.S., then we’d have a dozen “Azov Battalions” springing into action — no question.
