The Ukrainian football ultras fighting Putin: Inside the elite ‘Kraken’ unit
The Ukrainian football ultras battle Putin: inside the elite ‘Kraken’ unit that has become Russia’s nightmare
Before Russia invaded Ukraine, they were a collection of football ultras, right-wing agitators and veterans of the infamous Azov Battalion.
Now they are crack soldiers and part of one of Ukraine’s best combat units called Kraken.
Putin’s propagandists call them neo-Nazis, and they have faced accusations of war crimes and harboring far-right zealots – all of which they deny.
But for ordinary citizens, this controversial unit is the ‘Defenders of Kharkiv’ who spearheaded Ukraine’s stunning counterattack last year to protect the city.
This is the story of Kraken’s rise from obscurity to one of Ukraine’s best-known combat units.
Watch the video here: