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Latvian Deputy Equates Ukrainian Soldiers to Nazi Legionnaires

© AP Photo / Efrem LukatskyUkrainian servicemen take position at the front line outside Kurahovo, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Ukrainian servicemen take position at the front line outside Kurahovo, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, Wednesday, March 11, 2015 - Sputnik International
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A Latvian right-wing parliamentarian equated Ukrainian soldiers to Waffen SS legionnaires.

Antifascists hold an action protesting public events held on the occasion of the day of memory of the Latvian Legion Waffen-SS at the Freedom Monument in Riga - Sputnik International
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A Latvian parliamentarian has equated soldiers of Ukraine's Armed Forces to the Waffen SS legionnaires.

Ukrainian military forces are currently fighting against Russia, the same enemy Latvia's Waffen SS Legionnaires resisted during the Second World War, claimed Janis Dombrava, a member of Latvia's parliament, the Saeima, and a representative of the right-wing All for Latvia and For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK (VL-TB/LNNK) alliance.

In his address entitled "An Alternative View of History," Dombrava has drawn a parallel between the conflict in eastern Ukraine and historical events of 1940-1941 in Latvia. According to the MP, Ukraine needs military assistance to protect the country's territorial integrity and independence.

"In other words, Ukraine should be provided with weaponry to fight Russia," elaborated Dombrava.

An Abrams main battle tank, for U.S. troops deployed in the Baltics as part of NATO's Operation Atlantic Resolve, leaves Riga port March 9, 2015. - Sputnik International
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The politician drew a parallel between Ukraine's predicament and the way Latvia and other Baltic states needed military aid from Nazi Germany to launch their resistance against the Soviet Union. Referring to the memoirs of former Latvian volunteers of the Waffen SS, Dombrava claimed that the German Nazis were considered "temporary" allies of the Baltic states. Dombrava suggested that after the defeat of the Soviet Red Army, Latvian volunteers could have launched a full-scale war against Nazi Germany, backed by their Western allies.

The Latvian nationalist expressed his confidence that this year the West will finally comprehend why Latvia is commemorating its "national soldiers." Dombrava stressed that Latvia's Waffen SS legionnaires were true national heroes, who fought against Russia's totalitarian regime.

Latvian policy-makers should stop spreading "the Kremlin's propaganda" and blasting those who commemorate Latvia's Waffen SS legionnaires, claimed Janis Dombrava, calling upon the Speaker of the Saeima, the Latvian President and the Prime Minister to join the march of the Waffen SS veterans on March 16.

It is worth mentioning that every year on March 16, veterans of the Latvian Waffen SS and their supporters hold marches in Riga, Latvia's capital, to honor their counterparts who fought for Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Latvia's Waffen SS Legion was formed in 1943 on Adolf Hitler's orders, comprising about 150,000 volunteers. The legionnaires took part in numerous punitive operations directed against Latvia's Jews, Russians and members of the Communist party.

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