Almost ten years later, 2000 Meters follows a platoon, evidently the “Hydra Group,” in the 2nd Mechanized Battalion of the 3rd Assault Brigade, which is led by Azov veterans. The Hydra unit takes its name and symbol from Marvel Comics’ fictional Nazi terrorist organization. The battalion’s openly neo-Nazi commander is Denis Sokur, or “Var,” the leader of the Azov movement in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine. He has a Black Sun tattooed on his elbow, and a vertical wolfsangel (not the Azov kind) on his ribcage. The Sumy branch of the militant Azovite organization “Centuria” formed a local special forces unit and later a company in his battalion, led by neo[fascist] “Legionnaires” who put “1488” in their social media handles.

Twitter/X user Dreznicagoat: “It’s funny how the 3rd assault brigade thought that Hydra logo from Marvel wasn’t Nazi enough and they need to add extra symbols just in case. Just so it’s clear what they represent.”

Chernov accompanied the Hydra platoon with an additional cameraman from the Associated Press, Alex Babenko. His name might sound familiar to some readers, because he came up before on this blog, when the Associated Press whitewashed the story of “Valkyrie” and “Berserk,” a pair of hardcore neo[fascists] from the 3rd Assault Brigade. More than once when making Instagram posts about Azov funerals, Babenko has used the hashtag “wbc,” apparently referring to the “White Boys Club” football hooligans. Last December, Babenko photographed a benefit concert for the 3rd Assault Brigade, which he described as “a unique moment” that “showed a new Ukrainian culture.”

Whereas Mariupol was the second-largest city in the Donetsk region, Andriivka was a tiny village. When the 3rd Assault Brigade finally took what remained of that place, one of its fighters planted an upside down Ukrainian flag on a bombed-out, one-story brick building.

20 Days in Mariupol, produced by Frontline PBS, provided the long-running documentary program its first Academy Award. Apparently they are going for gold again with a documentary that functions as a pro-Nazi propaganda film, which “captures small, poignant character sketches of the Ukrainian men putting their lives on the line to potentially win back one patch of land.” Frontline’s Michelle Mizner reprised her role as a producer and editor for 2000 Meters to Andriivka. The latter’s executive producers are Raney Aronson-Rath, the editor-in-chief of Frontline, and Derl McCrudden, a vice president of the Associated Press and head of global news production.

If and when this Frontline-AP production hits theaters, neo[fascists] from the 3rd Assault Brigade could have the red carpet rolled out for them, or at least another excuse to visit the United States and other countries. According to Darya Zorka, a translator for 20 Days and 2000 Meters, “Everyone from Azov battalion are heroes, no matter was russian propaganda wants you to believe.”