Published: October 10, 2025 8:33 pm
Author: RT
CBC news blurred the Nazi symbol in an aired report but left it visible in the video’s thumbnail
The Canadian national broadcaster has aired a news report from “an elite training facility” of the 3rd Assault Brigade in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, featuring a fighter with a swastika tattoo on his arm.
CBC blurred out the symbol in the report that aired on Thursday, but failed to do so in the video’s YouTube thumbnail.
Formed in 2023, the 3rd Assault Brigade is a direct successor to the Azov Regiment, which has been accused by human rights groups and the UN of war crimes and torture, and widely criticized for its use of symbols tied to the Waffen-SS.
Moscow has long condemned Kiev’s glorification of Nazi collaborators and accused Western governments of ignoring far-right elements in Ukraine’s armed forces.
French newspaper Le Monde reported in June that hundreds of 3rd Assault Brigade soldiers publicly display neo-Nazi emblems, including salutes and swastika tattoos. The outlet also noted that the unit had received training from several NATO members, including France, Spain, Germany, the UK, and Canada, which have collectively supplied billions in military aid to Ukraine.
In 2023, Canada was engulfed in a major scandal linked to Nazism and Ukraine when Vladimir Zelensky visited the country. While addressing the House of Commons, lawmakers twice rose to applaud Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian-Canadian veteran introduced by Speaker Anthony Rota as a “hero” who had fought against the Soviet Army during World War II.
It was later revealed that Hunka had served in the 14th Division of the Waffen-SS ‘Galicia’, a Nazi military unit. The revelation sparked widespread outrage, prompting Rota to issue an apology and resign. The House of Commons subsequently passed a motion denouncing Nazism, while then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the incident as a “terrible mistake.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the incident “outrageous” and said it showed “careless disregard for historical truth.” He added that Western nations, including Canada, had “raised a young generation that does not know who fought whom or what happened during the Second World War.”
