was also reported to be close to Svoboda, and Yuriy Zbitnyev, the leader of the nationalist political party "Nova Syla" (New Force).

[5] In 2010, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union reported the S.N.A and "Patriot of Ukraine" attacks Vietnamese and other foreign market stalls in Vasylkiv.

[6][dead link‍] In August 2011, the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights warned about the growth of extremist organizations including the S.N.A and "Patriot of Ukraine", noting repeated attacks against foreigners and visible minorities.

This was also joined by openly radical anti-semitic groups including White Hammer and C14, then the neo-Nazi youth wing of Svoboda.

branch, its members started clashes with the police near the Presidential Administration Building (Kyiv) and also initiated the Hrushevskoho Street riots.

[13] At the end of April 2014, S.N.A members marched with burning torches to the Independence Square and came into conflict with the Self-defense of the Maidan units.

and Self-defense of the Maidan activists used rubber bullet guns and tear gas, and ambulances later arrived to treat wounded.

[16] On 6 May, the Azov Battalion captured Donetsk People's Republic defense minister Igor Khakimzyanov and several other separatist fighters.

[17] On 13 June, 2014 the Azov Battalion stormed separatists' barricades in Mariupol and seized control of the city center after a six-hour battle.

[3][6][7][8] In 2014, over half the membership of the Azov Battalion, a military group with close ties to the Social-National Assembly, was composed of Russian-speaking eastern Ukrainians,[25] as well as a small number of Russian nationals (estimated at 50 in 2015).