US lifts weapons ban on top Ukrainian military unit with checkered past

kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — The United States has lifted restrictions on the transfer of American weapons and training to a high-level Ukrainian military unit with a checkered past, the State Department announced Tuesday.

The move will help the Azov Brigade, one of Ukraine's most effective and popular fighting units, overcome its reputation as a far-right movement, a perception its commanders are trying to dispel with Russian propaganda.

The State Department applied Leahy's selection process to the Azov Brigade, which was absorbed into the Ukrainian National Guard as the 12th Special Forces Brigade. U.S. laws prohibit providing equipment and training to foreign military units or individuals suspected of committing serious human rights violations. The State Department found “no evidence of gross human rights violations (GVHR) committed by the 12th Azov Brigade,” according to a statement.

“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, a provision in the U.S. appropriations bill barred Azov 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.

In the years since the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022, the brigade has attempted to repair its public image, moving from the controversy surrounding its ultranationalist origins to that of an effective and competent fighting force.

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 Ukraine, they are hailed as heroes, 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 of prisoners of war from Azov who remained in Russia. captivity for two years now.

Moscow has repeatedly portrayed Azov as a Nazi group and accused it of atrocities, but has publicly provided no evidence. In 2022, Russia's highest court officially designated Azov as a terrorist group.

The brigade grew out of a group called the Azov Battalion, formed in 2014 as one of several volunteer brigades created to fight Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. The battalion recruited its first fighters from far-right circles.

While its current members reject accusations of extremism and any links to far-right movements, the Kremlin has drawn on the regiment's origins to present the Russian invasion as a battle against Nazi influence in Ukraine.

___

See more AP coverage at