US lifts weapons ban on Ukrainian Azov brigade

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the State Department spokesperson told the BBC that Washington had applied a vetting process to the 12th Azov Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard Special Forces and “had not found no evidence of gross human rights violations committed.”

“Russian disinformation attempts to confuse the Ukrainian National Guard unit of the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade with a militia formed to defend Ukraine against the Russian invasion in 2014, called 'Azov Battalion,'” added the spokesperson.

Under the US “Leahy Act”, sponsored in 1997 by then-Senator Patrick Leahy, a finding that a foreign military unit has committed gross human rights violations means it can be deprived of American military assistance.

The U.S. government states that it considers torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and rape to be such types of violations when enforcing the law.

Reacting to the US decision, the Azov Brigade said in a statement: “The lies about Azov, which the Kremlin regime has been spreading in the West for years, were dealt a devastating blow today.

“Receiving Western weapons and training from the United States will not only increase Azov's combat capability, but most importantly will help preserve the life and health of the brigade's personnel.”

A volunteer militia battalion called Azov was initially created in May 2014 to combat Russian-backed forces in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region. Later that year it was briefly incorporated as a separate regiment in the Ukrainian Interior Ministry before being transferred to the National Guard.

Some members of the original battalion were said to have had links to far-right and ultranationalist groups at the time – but a number of them, including the first commander, later left the unit.

The United States has barred the regiment from receiving American weapons due to its alleged links to the far right.

In 2016, a UN report accused the Azov regiment of “looting of civilian property, leading to displacement” in eastern Ukraine.

The current leadership of the Azov Brigade claims that its members have no ties to far-right organizations or any other extremist groups – a claim that has not been independently verified.

The Azov fighters are seen by many in Ukraine as national heroes for defending the southern city of Mariupol for months against brutal Russian aggression.

The Azov Sea port was finally taken over by Moscow in May 2022.

Many Azov soldiers are still held by Russia as prisoners of war, amid accusations that Ukrainians were tortured in captivity.