Members of a controversial Ukrainian far-right nationalist group that has battled pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country on Friday announced they were creating a political party. The Azoz battalion rose to prominence as a volunteer regiment fighting alongside Ukraine's army in the east of the country before being integrated into Kiev's official forces. The role of the group - which has reportedly attracted neo-Nazi fighters from Europe - stirred fears over the increasing influence of far-right nationalists in Ukraine during its stand-off with Russia.
"Today we become a party. And we must become the party of real action", Andriy Biletsky, a Ukrainian MP who heads the movement, told a meeting as they voted to create the new National Corps political bloc. "We want Ukraine to return to the ideas of Ukrainian patriotism, Ukrainian nationalism." Ukraine has seen a rise in nationalism since the ouster of Kremlin-backed leader Viktor Yanukovych by protesters in 2014 sparked Russia's take-over of Crimea. While the conflict in the east - which the West and Kiev blame squarely on Russia - drags on, the pro-Western political leadership in Kiev has failed to make good on pledges to reform the country's rotten political system. But despite pledges to eliminate rampant corruption going unheeded and the economy deep in trouble, far-right candidates have remained firmly on the fringes at elections.
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