US lifts ban on guns for Ukraine's Azov Brigade, WP reports

The United States will authorize Ukraine's Azov Brigade to use U.S.-supplied weapons to fight Russia's full-scale invasion, the U.S. State Department announced June 10, reversing a long-standing policy. date.

“After a thorough review, the 12th Azov Brigade of Ukraine's special forces successfully passed the Leahy review conducted by the U.S. State Department,” the department said in a statement obtained by The Washington Post.

The statement refers to the “Leahy Act,” which prohibits the United States from providing aid to foreign military units suspected of human rights violations.

The Azov Brigade, part of the Ukrainian National Guard, became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance by defending the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol during the first three months of the full-scale war. Russian forces finally took Mariupol in May 2022, capturing the remaining defenders.

The brigade has also sparked controversy over its alleged association with far-right groups, a narrative often exploited in Russian propaganda campaigns.

The United States banned the Azov Brigade from using American weapons in 2014 due to the right-wing nationalist views of some of the regiment's founders. The unit has since been fully integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard and placed under new command.

Following the State Department's announcement, Azov fighters will now have the same access to American weapons as other Ukrainian units.

Read also: Why was the United States hesitant to allow Ukraine to strike Russia with American weapons?

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