Ukraine’s Azov Brigade, a one-time militia whose founders Washington deemed problematic, are now allowed to use U.S. weapons, the State Department said.
Ukrainian military recruits on a firing range at an Azov Brigade training camp outside Kyiv in March 2023. The Biden administration will allow a Ukrainian military unit with a checkered past to use U.S. weaponry, the State Department said Monday, having lifted a ban imposed years ago amid concerns in Washington about the group’s origins.
The Azov Brigade, known for its tenacious but ultimately unsuccessful defense of the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol early in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is regarded as. But it was barred about a decade ago from using American arms because U.S. officials determined that some of its founders espoused racist, xenophobic and ultranationalist views, and U.N. human rights officials accused the group of humanitarian violations.
Now the brigade, a one-time volunteer militia absorbed into the Ukrainian National Guard in 2015, will have access to the same U.S. military assistance as any other unit. The policy shift was disclosed as Kyiv starts the summer fighting season and faces down a Russian military that has intensified its pressure on objectives in eastern Ukraine and the country’s energy infrastructure.“After thorough review, Ukraine’s 12th Special Forces Azov Brigade passed Leahy vetting as carried out by the U.S.
Canceling the ban had been a top priority for Ukrainian officials, who say the brigade could have been more effective during its defense of Azovstal in 2022 if it had access to U.S. equipment. Members of the brigade also have been barred from attending training organized by the U.S. military.Russian President Vladimir Putin has long cited racist and ultranationalist elements of the Azov Battalion as an element of his accusation that Ukrainian fighters and their rulers in Kyiv are neo-Nazis.
The plight of the remaining Azov prisoners has captured the hearts and minds of Ukrainians and “Free Azov” has become a common rallying cry in protests in Kyiv.across the country that brought in more than 5,000 new troops in around two months. Survivors from Azovstal were among those interviewing and training the recruits, who were grilled on their motivations, background and physical fitness before selection.aid. U.S.
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