A council candidate for Alex Salmond’s Alba party has been accused of sharing “pro-Russian propaganda” on the invasion of Ukraine.
Andrew Coventry repeatedly linked Ukraine to the Nazis and claimed the West had pushed Russia “too far”.
Alba said he had now removed the tweets.
The pro-independence Alba has criticised the invasion, but party figures have been under the spotlight over their views on Russia and Coventry is the latest.
After Russia launched an attack on Ukraine in February, the Midlothian council candidate tweeted: “Am I the only one who believes that the West is playing a losing hand in #Ukraine The West has pushed #Russia too far and the #Ukrainian people are paying the price.”
He also wrote: “Just heard from my relatives in Mariupol that cuddly Ukrainian soldiers wearing balaclavas have looted and ransacked the Orthodox Cathedral in #Mariupol.”
Days later he amplified a line trotted out by the Kremlin about the Ukrainian state and Nazis.
Above a picture of fighters standing next to a swastika, he tweeted: “Here are some of our glorious #Ukrainian allies fighting for freedom against the barbaric Russians.”
He commented on another picture of soldiers: “Ukraine has integrated neo-Nazis who profess an ideology of white supremacy into its armed forces.”
He also wrote: “Here are our Ukrainian allies. A bunch of white supremacist Nazi’s.”
Coventry, a former SNP councillor and deputy provost, is standing in the Midlothian North ward in May.
SNP MP Stewart McDonald said: “The Alba party really are a grim bunch.
“As Scotland opens its heart and doors to Ukrainians fleeing their homeland this candidate in Midlothian is sharing pro-Russian propaganda.
“But perhaps it is hardly surprising given their leader had his own show on Russian state TV for the past four years.
“Salmond and his ragbag Alba gang will be rejected at the ballot box once again on May 5.”
Speaking to the Record, Coventry said Putin is “responsible” for the situation in Ukraine but claimed a neo-Nazi militia had been integrated into the military.
On his “too far” comment, he said of the West:
“I think they should have understood the sensitivities in that region. I don’t believe it’s completely black and white.”
He added: “I always felt that the best option for Ukraine [was] Ukraine to be an independent buffer state between the East and West.”
Asked whether NATO membership should be a matter for Ukraine, he said: “At the end of the day that’s their decision, but unfortunately it’s led to a situation that has put world peace at risk.”
He added: “All it [Ukraine] had to do was to try to keep good relationships with the superpower to the East, and to the powers to the West, that’s all it had to do. It has failed to do that.”
Despite Ukraine’s leadership being praised for standing up to Russia, Coventry said: “Somewhere along the line the leadership in Ukraine has to look at itself as well.”
A spokesperson for Alba said: "The Alba Party condemns the illegal invasion of Ukraine, just as the independence movement has condemned all illegal wars.
"We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and continue to call for renewed peace efforts. Mr Coventry has family in Ukraine and the plight of its people is therefore close to his heart. He has now removed the tweets lest they be misconstrued in any way and has committed to ensuring any future commentary is in line with Alba Party policy."
“At our Spring conference last weekend our members passed unanimously a motion expressing solidarity with the people of Ukraine and condemning the illegal invasion, and our young members raised funds for Ukrainian humanitarian aid.
“The upcoming local elections will be fought on ALBA’s plans for dealing with the cost of living crisis, securing energy justice for the Scottish people and key local issues in each ward. That will be the primary focus of Mr Coventry and all ALBA candidates over the next five weeks.”
It comes after Alba leader Salmond faced intense criticism for fronting a show on Russian-state backed propaganda station RT.
The programme started in 2017 but the former SNP First Minister agreed to suspend it in February after the invasion.
Slainte Media, which produced the show, released a statement in February stating that the show would not air until peace was re-established.
Salmond has since faced calls to donate any proceeds from the show to Ukrainian aid agencies.
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