For Russian propaganda, they are fascists and Nazis. They assure that they are not racists, but rather nationalists with pride galvanized by the incessant attacks against the sovereignty of Ukraine. Who are these militants of the nationalist right who are constantly denounced by Vladimir Putin? The duty spoke, before the Russian invasion, with Serhii Filimonov, the leader of the Ukrainian nationalist group Honor, whose members are today at the front to face the Russian invader.
Brush hair, square shoulders, the 27-year-old man is seated in a cafe in Kiev with, near him, two members of the Honor group – a civil militia defending social justice in the streets of Kiev – who ensure his safety. “Basically, the Honor group was a group of friends who had fought together [en 2014, contre les séparatistes prorusses dans la Donbass] », explains Serhii Filimonov.
A war in which he had enlisted as a volunteer in the Azov battalion, whose fierceness in combat and the ideology associated with the nationalist right resonated far beyond Ukrainian borders.
This battalion – of which several members, like Serhii Filimonov, were descended from the hooligans of the Dynamo soccer club in Kiev – notably acquired its fame by liberating in 2014 the city of Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, which was in the hands of the separatists. prorussians.
“I was then wounded in another battle,” said the young man, before recalling with emotion the massacre of Ukrainian forces that followed the siege of the city of Ilovaisk. “The pro-Russian forces had agreed to set up a humanitarian evacuation corridor. But they fired on our troops who were there. It was the bloodiest day. “The dead numbered in the hundreds…
Propaganda?
Information that abuses were also committed by the Azov battalion, some of whose members flirted with neo-Nazi ideology, has also circulated and is repeated today in the country of Vladimir Putin and in several Western media.
“It’s Russian propaganda that portrays us as fascists and repeats that pro-Russian forces must free Russian-speaking Ukrainians from the grip of the fascists,” responds Serhii Filimonov.
The man claims not to be racist. “In people’s perception, hooligans are right-wing extremists. And it’s true that I was in many street battles when I was younger, he says. But the only hatred I have is against the Russian soldiers who are invading us. »
The Honor Group — a product of the militant fervor born of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and the ensuing Russian invasion — does not, however, shy away from using physical deterrence to protect its values of social justice on the streets of Kiev. “Our mission is to protect civil society,” says Serhii Filimonov. In situations where activists face violence, we step in to protect them. »
The situations are multiple, but they often involve the defense of groups of citizens against promoters who seek “to destroy parks or even lakes” in the capital to erect real estate projects there. “It’s a criminal milieu in Kiev,” he says.
Honor has more than 150 members in Kyiv, with around 50 others scattered elsewhere in the country. “We are also trained to deal with a Russian invasion,” Serhii Filimonov had assured before Vladimir Putin launched the bloody assault on Ukraine. The group has since joined the defense of the country.
movie star
A few months before the start of this new war against Russia, the life of Serhii Filimonov had taken an unexpected turn, when the young man was offered the leading role in the feature film. Rhino by Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov (imprisoned for five years by Russia for participating in the Ukrainian resistance in Crimea in 2014).
The film tells the story of a young delinquent, nicknamed Rhino (played by Serhii Filimonovl), who makes his way through the Ukrainian underworld of the 1990s. A role that won him the Best Actor award at the International Film Festival from Stockholm. The feature film was awarded the title of best film in Stockholm, in addition to having been presented at the Venice Film Festival, among other things.
“This film marked a great turning point in my life, underlines Serhii Filimonov. Oleh Sentsov was looking for a football fan or someone with a military background to play the role. “A portrait that stuck to his skin, even if he had no experience as an actor.
While his star shines on the international cultural scene and his fame in the streets of Kiev is well established, Serhii Filimonov could well become one of the recognized faces of the Ukrainian resistance. A recognition that Russia is however seeking to take away from him, says the 27-year-old young man.
“Russian propaganda is doing everything to take this [la reconnaissance et le succès obtenus par Rhino] of me. But the Russians have no proof that I am a right-wing extremist or that I have done anything based on hate. »
Serhii Filimonov will however put his acting career on hold, the time to fight against the Russian invasion. “The only films I will make will be films of drone cameras dropping bombs. »
With Daniel Kovzhun
This report was financed thanks to the support of the Transat International Journalism Fund. The duty .