According to the Eurasia Center of the Atlantic Council, a partner of the Kyiv Security Forum, the ROK was “a democratic movement made up of distinguished diplomats and experts,” rather than an undemocratic nationalist campaign with the OUN-B pulling the strings. A year later at the 2020 Kyiv Security Forum, roughly two weeks before Election Day in the United States, the director of the Eurasia Center confidently said, “at the end of the day, Zelensky has a choice. He can bow down to Kremlin dictates, or he can pursue policies which ensure Western support, and when it’s that choice, the decision, I think, is almost inevitable.”

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Zelensky was caught on video getting upset with a veteran and representative of Azov’s National Corps in Zolote. “You want to formalize relations with me?” he asked incredulously. “What capitulation? What are you saying?”

I came and said, guys, pull back the weapons, and you are trying to shift the conversation… You can’t voice any ultimatums to me, you don’t understand… Should we go in and take the weapons or what? I will end this conversation… Listen, Denys, I’m the president of this country. I’m 41 years old. I’m not a loser. I came to you and told you: remove the weapons. Don’t shift the conversation to some protests.

Azov movement leader Andriy Biletsky threatened to escalate the situation in Zolote. “There will be thousands there instead of several dozen.” Instead, Azov capitulated, and removed their weapons from the frontline town. “Mr. President thinks he is immortal,” raged Sofia Fedyna, a singer and top-ranked member of European Solidarity in parliament. “A grenade may explode there, by chance. And it would be nicest if this happened during Moscow’s shelling when someone comes to the front line wearing a white or blue shirt.”