Ex-member of Ukrainian neo-Nazi unit stars on Netflix

US veteran Bohdan Olinares served in the Azov Battalion before joining the ‘Love is Blind’ cast

A retired US Marine who served in Ukraine’s notorious nationalist Azov Battalion has been revealed as among the participants in the new season of Netflix reality dating show ‘Love is Blind’.

The streaming giant published the first six episodes of the seventh season of the franchise on Wednesday. The show’s premise involves single men and women deciding whether to commit to marriage with a chosen partner before seeing him or her in person.

Among the participants is Bohdan Olinares, introduced as a “proud immigrant and Ukrainian refugee” grateful to be living “the American dream.” He is looking for a partner who can “embrace his history and unique upbringing.”

“The former Marine was previously married for five years, which he considers the craziest thing he’s done for love,” according to the description. “Since then, Bohdan has become crystal clear about what he’s searching for thanks to the power of time and therapy.”

Olinares, 36, was interviewed last year by the US state-funded news outlet Voice of America (VOA) which reported how he had traveled back to Ukraine and joined the Azov Battalion – the notorious unit that originated as a neo-Nazi organization with extensive ties to far-right movements around the world.

He originally left Ukraine at the age of two with his parents. Days after the hostilities with Russia started in February 2022, Olinares contacted the Ukrainian Embassy and offered his services. In VOA footage, a patch of the Azov special operations branch can be seen among his memorabilia.

According to his former employer, the Virginia-based IT firm F5, the US military veteran spent six months in Ukraine. Its account of the tour says Olinares returned because Azov “had more than tripled in size” and had enough people willing to fight Russia.

Footage available online shows Olinares traveling with fellow Azov members, joking about his prowess as a lover interested in Ukrainian women.

Members of the Ukrainian unit have been implicated in multiple atrocities both before and after the conflict with Russia escalated into major hostilities. It has tried to rebrand itself as the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces, claiming it has left behind its neo-Nazi origins. Former and current Western officials have been helping the unit whitewash its reputation.

Russia considers Azov a terrorist organization whose members are fascists.