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A German broadcaster’s video of a Ukrainian kids’ military boot camp featured a teenager wearing a uniform with what appeared to be a Nazi eagle patch.
A symbol reminiscent of Nazi imagery appeared in a report by DW, a German state-owned broadcaster, from inside a “secret military camp” for children in Ukraine.
DW aired the report on Thursday, which detailed Ukrainian children “being trained for war in military-style boot camps.” The video showed children as young as ten, possibly younger, learning to handle military weapons, administer first aid, and engage in hand-to-hand combat, ostensibly to prepare them for the conflict with Russia.
“Ukrainians realize the war may continue for many years – and they want to be prepared. Today’s children may just be tomorrow’s soldiers,” DW stated in the broadcast.
One teenager was seen wearing a patch on his shoulder that resembled Nazi Germany’s Imperial Eagle. However, instead of the swastika held in the claws of the original Reichsadler, the eagle on the patch appeared to be clutching the trident from the Ukrainian coat of arms.
In Germany, the original Reichsadler with the Nazi swastika is considered a symbol of “unconstitutional organizations,” and its display is illegal except in the contexts of “art or science, research or teaching.”
This symbol and similar variations have been prevalent among Ukrainian servicemen, even appearing in official propaganda before being quietly removed after criticism. Other controversial symbols, including patches of various SS units, neo-Pagan and neo-Nazi symbols, and outright Nazi swastikas, have also been observed on Ukrainian servicemen’s uniforms.
Moscow cited the need to “denazify” Ukraine as one of the primary objectives of its special military operation against Kiev, which began in February 2022. Kiev has consistently denied the presence of neo-Nazi elements within its military or any significant issues with such ideology in the country, dismissing these claims as “Russian propaganda.”
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