A kickboxing champion, Maksym Kagal, was reportedly killed in a battle in Ukraine on Friday. His coach told him in a Facebook post that Kagal died on March 25 in Mariupol. The coach added that he “died” as a member of the “Azov” Special Purpose Team.
Kickboxing champion Maksym Kagal was killed in a battle on Friday while defending Ukraine against an ongoing Russian invasion of the city of Mariupol. Kagal, 30, is said to have died as part of the controversial Azov Special Forces – a battalion of up to 1,500 members often hailed by The Guardian, MSNBC and Al-Jazeera as a far-right paramilitary group with some fighters emerging as neo-Nazi. . “Unfortunately, the war is getting better,” Kagal’s martial arts coach Oleh Skyrta said in a Facebook post. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 with Vladimir Putin trying to justify aggression for the purpose of “denationalizing” the country. In the weeks since then, more than 10 million people have been displaced as many cities and towns in Ukraine have been bombed by Russian aggression. Thousands have died. Skyrta said Kagal died on March 25 while defending the city of Mariupol as part of the Azov Special Destination Team. The kickboxing coach then listed Kagal’s achievements as the first world kickboxing champion from his gym. He called him “an honest and dignified man.” Skirta concluded by saying: “Rest in peace, brother; we will avenge you”. The Azov Special Operations Unit was established in 2014 as a volunteer militia. He joined the National Guard later that year. Although he denies links to neo-Nazism, he has used controversial images and symbols associated with Nazism. A battalion spokesman even told USA Today in 2015 that up to 20% of its members were Nazis. Read the original article in Insider
