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‘Leo the Leak’ campaigner claims Christchurch killer trained with Ukraine’s Azov Battalion

‘In his manifesto the shooter claimed he had trained with the Azov battalion in Ukraine and he routinely wore a neo Nazi symbol associated with them’

Today at 10:02

‘Leo the leak’ campaigner Chay Bowes has claimed the New Zealand mass killer Brenton Tarrant was trained by Ukraine’s “infamous” Azov Battalion, on Russian TV.

Bowes is a co-founder of the website The Ditch which published stories that triggered the resignations of two junior ministers and led to a major probe of An Bord Pleanála.

Bowes also helped reveal how then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar had leaked a confidential agreement between his Government and the Irish Medical Organisation about a new GP contract to a rival group.

While Bowes is no longer a shareholder of The Ditch, he has become an outspoken supporter of Russia.

Just last month, Tánaiste Michael Martin said he was alarmed to see the Russia embassy praising businessman Bowes for his work for the TV channel Russia Today.

Now, in a video, Bowe has linked Australian white supremacist killer Tarrant who killed 51 people in the Christchurch massacre in 2019 with the controversial Ukraine military unit.

The Azov Battalion is a far-right, all-volunteer infantry military unit who have been branded as Nazis by the Russian Government.

In the clip, which has been posted on the official Twitter account of the Russian Embassy of New Zealand, Bowes claims to have photographs of Tarrant with Azov members.

The tweet claims the “Worst Mass Shooter In New Zealand History Trained By Ukrainian Neo-Nazis”.

“Newly surfaced evidence points to Ukraine’s infamous Azov Battalion as a breeding ground for white supremacist ideas – possibly directly influencing the racially motivated mass killing in Christchurch,” it adds, over the video of Bowes.

He then begins the clip by stating: “51 innocent Muslims were massacred by white supremacist Brenton Tarrant.

“An image that emerged only days ago confirms what many believe (that) the mass killer was trained and indoctrinated by none other than Ukraine’s infamous Azov Battalion.

“The image showing Tarrant’s attendance at an Azov training camp appeared on the social media pages of dedicated Azov member Constantine Zelensky who confirmed the killer had indeed trained with the neo Nazi group prior to 2019.”

Bowes further claims: “Even in his sinister manifesto, Tarrant mentioned that he had visited Ukraine, however, he apparently didn’t find it wide enough to de radicalise and settle there.”

The piece then quotes Tarrant as saying: “You will find no reprieve, not in Iceland, not in Poland, not in New Zealand, not in Argentina, not in Ukraine, not anywhere in the world. I know because I’ve been there.”

Bowes then continues: “Tarrant also wore a neo-Nazi black sun symbol on his flak jacket during the attack. Interestingly the black sun has only recently been removed from the Azov unit’s crest and flags.

“These links were enough for US congressman to raise the alarm about any support Washington might provide to Azov.

“Soon after the Christchurch attack 40 American politicians signed a letter to the US Secretary of State asking why Azov hadn’t been designated as a terrorist organisation.

“The letter echoed a 2017 warning by the FBI that Asov were aligned with American white supremacists eager to get the group’s unhindered access to weapons and military training.”

The Russian government have repeatedly used the existence of Azov unit to justify the war in Ukraine.

They have claimed they want to ‘de-Nazify’ the Ukraine

However, the think-tank, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, have previously said the Russian government are using the far-right group as an excuse for the war.

“The New Zealand Government’s commission into the Christchurch attack found no evidence of ties to the group.

“It is also important to note that the Azov Battalion are a small minority subsumed into the Ukrainian military forces.

“However, they receive media attention because of their associations with neo-Nazism.

“These associations are used as a narrative to besmirch the Ukrainian resistance to Russia, with pro-Kremlin propaganda claiming that Russia’s invasion was partly intended to ‘denazify’ the country.”

After the Christchurch shooting it was revealed how Tarrant had covered his arsenal with symbols and names before he attacked two mosques in the city.

Some were references to Adolf Hitler, while in others he invoked the names of other mass shooters.

There were other, more obscure references that medieval historians nonetheless picked up on as a pattern they had seen repeated by white supremacists, white nationalists and neo-Nazis.

Paul B Sturtevant, author of ‘The Middle Ages in Popular Imagination’ and editor in chief of the Public Medievalist said far-right groups were using their “messed-up concept of the Middle Ages as a recruitment tool”.

Sturtevant counted 18 references to the Middle Ages in the markings and writing on the arsenal that belonged to Tarrant, who was 28 when he carried out his attacks.

Sturtevant noted the sun wheel, or black sun, symbols seen in photos Tarrant allegedly posted to the Internet before the shooting and which Bowed referred to in his video.

The symbol became associated with the Third Reich after Heinrich Himmler decorated a castle with it.