US lifts ban on sending weapons to Ukraine's controversial Azov Brigade | Russia-Ukraine War

Washington says there is “no evidence” of abuse within the unit, initially created as a volunteer force in 2014.

The United States has lifted a ban on supplying weapons and training to the Azov Brigade, a controversial Ukrainian military unit that played a central role in defending the southeastern city of Mariupol. , in 2022.

The US State Department said in a statement on Tuesday that there had been a “thorough review” of the current Azov brigade and that “no evidence” of human rights violations had been found.

Washington stressed that the current unit was different from the volunteer militia created in 2014, attracting fighters from far-right circles and criticism for some of its tactics. The United States had banned the regiment from using its weapons, citing the neo-Nazi ideology of some of its founders.

“This is a new page in the history of our brigade,” Azov said of the US decision in a statement posted on social media. “Obtaining Western weapons and training from the United States will not only increase Azov's combat capability, but, more importantly, contribute to the preservation of lives and health of personnel.”

The Azov Brigade, which was absorbed into the Ukrainian National Guard as the 12th Special Forces Brigade, is among the country's most effective and popular fighting units and its current members reject accusations of extremism and any links with far-right movements. Washington said the original militia was “disbanded in 2015” and a State Department spokesperson also highlighted Azov's “heroic role” in the 2022 Battle of Mariupol.

The lifting of the ban is likely to boost the brigade's combat capability at a difficult time in the war against the Russian invasion, with Ukraine grappling with a persistent shortage of ammunition and personnel.

Azov's soldiers played a key role in the defense of Mariupol, holding out for weeks in the Black Sea port city's vast steelworks despite shortages of ammunition and relentless attacks by Russian forces.

The city fell to Russia in May 2022, but Azov's soldiers were hailed as heroes, becoming a symbol of Ukrainian resistance to Russian aggression. Every week, rallies take place to demand the release of hundreds of Azov prisoners of war who remain in captivity in Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly portrayed Azov as a Nazi group and accused it of atrocities, but has provided little evidence to support its claims. It designated the unit as a terrorist group in 2022.

“Such a sudden change in Washington's position shows that it will do anything to suppress Russia… even flirting with neo-Nazis,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The brigade emerged from a group called the Azov Battalion, one of several volunteer regiments created to fight Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Years before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Human Rights Watch raised concerns about Azov, writing that credible allegations of egregious abuses had been made against its fighters.

Since the departure of its first commander in October 2014, Azov has “cleansed itself” of unwanted elements, according to its website. It has also attempted to burnish its public image as an effective and competent fighting force, and has avoided contact with controversial figures.