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US cancels ban on supplying weapons to Azov Brigade — online.ua

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

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President Biden's administration will authorize the Ukrainian National Guard's 12th “Azov” Brigade to use U.S. weapons.

Points of attention

The administration of US President Joe Biden has reversed the ban on supplying US weapons to the Ukrainian National Guard “Azov” brigade.
The Azov Brigade successfully passed a thorough inspection by the US State Department, as a result of which it was authorized to use American weapons.
The “Azov” Brigade was established in May 2014 as a regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU) and today constitutes the 12th Special Brigade.
In the Russian Federation, Azov is accused of alleged acts of Nazism and terrorism, but according to the US State Department, no evidence of violations committed by the brigade has been found.
Ukrainian servicemen from Azov actively participated in the defense of Mariupol and became a symbol of public resistance to Russian military aggression.

The United States authorized the delivery of weapons to the “Azov” brigade

This decision was made after the US State Department inspected the brigade, which is now part of the Ukrainian National Guard.

The publication notes that the military unit was banned from using U.S. weapons about a decade ago because U.S. officials decided that some of its founders held racist, xenophobic and ultranationalist views.

The ban is provided for by the so-called Leahy Act, which prohibits the provision of US military aid to foreign units that have committed serious human rights violations. Former U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy authored the bill.

After a thorough inspection, the 12th “Azov” Special Brigade successfully passed the inspection of the US State Department, the department said in a statement. The State Department found “no evidence” of such violations, writes the Washington Post.

Ukrainian soldiers patrol the territory affected by Russian military strikes, Zaporizhzhia region, May 20, 2024.

The State Department representative did not specify to the publication when exactly the ban would be lifted and the military could receive weapons.

The Azov leadership and the Ukrainian government have not commented on this information.

What do we know about the “Azov” Brigade?

The “Azov” battalion was established in May 2014 in Berdyansk as a unit of the special police patrol service. The first commander of Azov was Andrii Biletskyy. It ceased to exist in 2014. In September 2014, “Azov” was reorganized. It became a specialized police regiment of the Ministry of the Interior, then a specialized unit of the National Guard. From February 2023, it becomes the 12th Special Brigade of the NGU.

All Russian propaganda media were Ukrainian “fascist” and “Nazi” units, and some of this disinformation leaked to the West; it was notably repeated by certain American politicians.

In August 2022, the Russian Federation recognized “Azov” as a “terrorist organization”; his activities were prohibited in this country. According to Russian law, members of these organizations can be sentenced to 10 years to life in prison.

“Azov” was one of the central defense forces of Mariupol. As of February 24, 2024, according to the Association of Families of Defenders of Azovstal, approximately 900 Azov servicemen were in Russian captivity. Some of the fighters captured in Russia have already been convicted or are on trial for committing crimes against the civilian population.