One of the most consistent falsehoods that Russian propaganda levels at Ukrainian nationalists is that they are “fascists” and “Nazi collaborators” who were responsible for the murder of Jews during the Holocaust. While there were individuals involved in crimes against humanity among Ukrainians, the proportion is not any bigger than that of any other European nation – in fact it is smaller than most. As for the number of people listed as “Righteous Among Nations,” the title bestowed by Israel on those who saved Jews during the Holocaust, Ukraine ranks fourth behind Poland, the Netherlands and France.
But Moscow does not care about any such details, instead tarring anybody and everybody who opposed the totalitarian Soviet Union in the past, and its successor regime, the Russian Federation, in the present with the brush of fascism. The objective is twofold: first, to drive wedges between the Ukrainian and Jewish communities; and second, to rationalize its own continued aggression against Ukraine. In this campaign Moscow often relies on various proxies and surrogates.