The assertion that the Azov Battalion employed a Panzer SS 3rd Division emblem and had 60,000 Nazis to begin with the Ukraine war is false and cannot be verified by credible sources. It is indeed true that the Azov Battalion initially consisted of members with extremist right-wing ideologies and employed symbols such as the Wolfsangel, which carries Nazi iconographic associations. But the symbol has more extensive historical use in European heraldry, and context is key. Azov has been incorporated into Ukraine's National Guard since 2014 and is now a fully integrated part of that force, no longer an extremist militia. Major mainstream media sources such as Reuters and the New York Times reported on the transition. The figure "60,000 Nazis" is an outrageous exaggeration—credible sources such as the BBC estimate Azov's membership at the low thousands at most. In addition, the accusation that Ukrainian forces have "shelled Donbas round the clock" as ethnic cleansing resonates with propaganda typically released by Russian state media and is not endorsed by human rights organizations or impartial investigation. In general, this phrase has some basis and combines it with distortion, exaggeration, and propagandistic language.
