A controversial Ukrainian battalion associated with white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideologies will receive American weapons and training following a policy change by the Biden administration.
The move aims to support the Azov Brigade, one of Ukraine’s most effective and well-regarded fighting units, as it seeks to transform its image and enhance its capabilities.
Despite US laws prohibiting military aid to foreign units implicated in severe human rights abuses, the State Department reported finding “no evidence of Gross Violations of Human Rights committed” by the brigade.
The unit has been integral in defending strategic locations such as Mariupol.
“This is a new page in our unit’s history,” the Azov Brigade said in a statement. “Azov is becoming even more powerful, even more professional and even more dangerous for occupiers.”
They further stressed that “obtaining Western weapons and training from the United States will not only increase the combat ability of Azov, but most importantly, contribute to the preservation of the lives and the health of personnel.”
Moscow has persistently branded the Azov Brigade as a Nazi group and accused it of committing atrocities, although these claims lack substantiated evidence. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov labelled the US decision as “extremely negative.”
The Azov Brigade’s military and political branches formally split in 2016 when the far-right National Corps party was established. By this time, the Azov Battalion had been integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard.
Despite its official integration, remnants of its neo-Nazi past linger. Initially operating as an independent militia, the Azov Battalion was notorious for its activities around Mariupol in 2014 and 2015, displaying symbols and ideologies linked to White supremacy.
When the US Congress debated designating the Azov Movement as a foreign terrorist organisation, Ukraine’s then minister of internal affairs, Arsen Avakov, defended the brigade. In a 2019 interview with Ukrayinska Pravda, he said: “The shameful information campaign about the alleged spread of Nazi ideology (among Azov members) is a deliberate attempt to discredit the ‘Azov’ unit and the National Guard of Ukraine.”
Maintaining a degree of autonomy, the battalion has recently been at the forefront of Mariupol’s defence, earning accolades from Ukrainian government officials for its resistance efforts.
For Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has falsely depicted Ukraine’s government as controlled by “drug addicts and neo-Nazis,” the Azov Brigade serves as a prominent propaganda target. Moscow continues to amplify accusations of human rights abuses by the brigade, giving it an exaggerated role in the ongoing conflict.
