Azov: US lifts ban on sending weapons to Ukrainian brigades

CNN
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The United States has lifted a ban on sending weapons and training to Ukraine's Azov Brigade, which played a vital role in defending the port city of Mariupol but had a controversial past.

The ban, called the “Leahy Act,” prohibits any military assistance or training from being provided to foreign units held responsible for human rights violations, according to the U.S. State Department.

The battalion, named the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade, was integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard in 2023, after the initial formation was disbanded. The unit was praised for its role in the fight against Russian occupation in the Mariupol region.

The unit welcomed the lifting of the ban on receiving security assistance from the United States, saying in a statement Tuesday: “This is a new page in the history of our unit.”

“Eligibility for American assistance will not only increase the combat effectiveness of Azov, but, more importantly, help save the lives and health of the brigade's personnel,” the unit said. “Azov becomes more professional and more effective in defending Ukraine against invaders. »

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned the US decision on Tuesday, saying the US was “ready even to flirt with neo-Nazis”, according to Russia's official TASS news agency.

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Founded as a militia to defend Ukraine against the Russian invasion in 2014, the unit was initially called “Azov Battalion”, active around the Mariupol region. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry at the time encouraged volunteer battalions to assist the army and resistance efforts.

Later that year, the Azov Battalion was “reorganized and expanded into the Azov Special Police Regiment of the Ministry of Interior,” before becoming part of the National Guard, according to its website.

In 2015, Azov fighters liberated Mariupol and its surrounding areas from occupation, pushing Russian forces away from the city. They took part in several major battles in the Donetsk region.

The battalion said it repeatedly denied “allegations of fascism, Nazism and racism,” in response to claims it had ties to white supremacists and neo-Nazi ideology.

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday that Russian disinformation “actively contributed to discrediting” the unit. “They have long tried to confuse the Ukrainian National Guard unit of the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade with a militia formed to defend Ukraine against the Russian invasion in 2014, called the 'Azov Battalion,' a door said – State Department spokesperson. “This militia was disbanded in 2015 and the Azov Special Forces Brigade has no connection with this militia. »

After applying Leahy's vetting process, the State Department “found no evidence of gross human rights violations” committed by the Azov 12th Special Forces Brigade.

Russia's Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, said Tuesday that Washington's measures “can only cause extreme indignation.” He called the brigade an “openly nationalist formation” and said Moscow was concerned about “American approaches to counterterrorism.”

After the 2022 bombing of a theater in Mariupol that housed civilians and where the word “children” was written in Russian on the ground on each side of the building, the Russian Defense Ministry blamed “activists of the nationalist 'Azov Battalion ' » for carrying out the attack. At the time, local Ukrainian officials blamed Russia for the attack, which reportedly killed hundreds of people sheltering in the theater amid intense bombardment in the early days of the Russian invasion.

The city of Mariupol became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, after Ukrainian soldiers, including members of the Azov unit, and residents took refuge for weeks underground in the city's massive Azovstal steel plant, refusing to surrender to Russian forces.

CNN's Mariya Knight and Claire Colbert contributed to this report.