The footage had been acquired from the Associated Press (AP)
FILE PHOTO. A Ukrainian unit commander known as Kurt gives directions to an APC before firing on Russian positions. © AP Photo / Evgeniy Maloletka
A Danish television channel has aired footage from the Associated Press (AP) showing what the news agency had referred to as a Ukrainian frontline commander wearing a patch of the terrorist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS).
The clip was part of a story broadcast on Tuesday by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, a state-funded public service broadcaster, which was reporting on NATO efforts to boost weapons production to sustain the bloc’s support of Ukraine against Russia. Among other things, it showed Ukrainian troops, one of whom issued a plea to Western nations to supply fighter jets and missiles to his nation.
The Ukrainians were originally filmed a day earlier by AP at an undisclosed location in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The commander of the unit, whose nom-de-guerre is ‘Kurt’, according to the agency, was the one whose uniform bore the terrorist symbol.
A screenshot from the DR broadcast showing the AP footage © AP via DR
His shoulder patch, which was clearly shown by the Danish station, was the black-and-white flag of IS. Fellow EU member Germany banned use of the symbol in 2014.
“Kurt” was also the person who pleaded for weapons, “so that Ukrainian servicemen will not be killed, as is happening now”.
READ MORE: Ukrainian ‘commander’ pictured with ISIS patch
AP photos from the same day also include images of Kurt without a face mask wearing the same ISIS patch on his shoulder.
