US lifts weapons ban on controversial Ukrainian military unit

kyiv, Ukraine — The United States has lifted a ban on supplying American weapons and training to a controversial Ukrainian military unit critical to the defense of the main port city of Mariupol, the State Department announced Tuesday.

The Azov Brigade is one of Ukraine's most effective and popular fighting units, but it has been held back by its origins as a volunteer battalion that attracted fighters from far-right circles and by criticism for some of his tactics. The United States had banned the regiment from using American weapons, citing the neo-Nazi ideology of some of its founders.

Current members of the Azov Brigade, which was integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard as the 12th Special Forces Brigade, reject accusations of extremism and any links to far-right movements. But the Kremlin took inspiration from the regiment's origins to present the Russian invasion as a battle against Nazi influence in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had an “extremely negative” view of Washington’s decision. He described Azov as an “ultranationalist armed formation” and accused U.S. authorities of being “ready to flirt with neo-Nazis.”

U.S. law prohibits providing equipment and training to foreign military units or individuals suspected of committing serious human rights violations. The State Department said in a statement that it found “no evidence” of such violations.

“This is a new page in the history of our unit,” the Azov Brigade wrote in a statement on Instagram. “Azov becomes even more powerful, even more professional and even more dangerous for the occupiers.”

“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 the lives and health of personnel,” the statement said. communicated.

Until the State Department's decision, Azov was prohibited from sending fighters to Western military exercises or accessing weapons purchased with U.S. funds. Lifting the ban will likely strengthen the brigade's combat capability at a difficult time in the war against the Russian invasion. Ukraine suffers from a persistent shortage of ammunition and personnel.

Years before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Human Rights Watch raised concerns about Azov, writing that credible allegations of gross abuses had been made against its fighters.

Moscow has repeatedly portrayed Azov as a Nazi group and accused it of atrocities, but has publicly provided little evidence of the allegations. In 2022, Russia's highest court officially designated Azov as a terrorist group.

The brigade emerged from a group called the Azov Battalion, formed in 2014 as one of several volunteer regiments created to fight Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. It quickly became a separate official unit under the Ministry of the Interior, and then a unit of the National Guard.

Since the departure of its first commander in October 2014, the brigade states on its website, it has “cleansed” itself of undesirable elements. It could not be determined whether the brigade had achieved this objective. It has, however, attempted to repair its public image from the controversy surrounding its ultranationalist origins to that of an effective and competent fighting force, and has avoided relationships with controversial figures.

Azov's soldiers played a key role in the defense of Mariupol, withstanding siege and running out of ammunition for weeks at the southern port city's steelworks, despite devastating attacks by Russian forces in 2022.

They are hailed as heroes in Ukraine, known for defending the sprawling factory that has become a symbol of Ukrainian tenacity in the war against Russia, and people take to the streets for weekly rallies calling for the release of hundreds prisoners of war from Azov who remained in Russia. captivity.