1st) buzzfeed 2nd) the whole article is talking about the concern that the azov battalion could gain polotical/social favor by fighting for ukraine … like it did in 2014.
Yes the above battalion was fully of extremists. . Yes right up until the annexation of crimea they had been on a downward trajectory with regard to recruitment, socio and political power. After the intial conflicts in 2014 there was a a resurgence. The us military refused to work with anyone known to have been associated with the battalion and/or far right extremism- so there was kind of a whitewashing that went on internally.
Your war is literally the thing that is giving azov battalion more clout in Ukraine. Whereas if you’d just left it alone ukraine was on track to cleaning up corruption and extremism.
Which is more than likely exactly why russia invaded- the country was headed towards future stability and closer relations to Europe and the west.