The Biden administration has rescinded the ban on the Ukrainian National Guard’s 12th Special Purpose Azov Brigade from receiving US weapons.

by Saltyfish45

13 comments

  1. > 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 a particularly effective fighting force. 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. Department of State,” the agency said in a statement, referring to the “Leahy Law” that prevents U.S. military assistance from going to foreign units credibly found to have committed major human rights violations. It is named for former senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), who wrote the legislation.
    >
    > The State Department found “no evidence” of such violations, its statement says.
    >
    > A State Department spokesman declined to say when the ban was lifted and whether U.S. weaponry had already reached Azov personnel. Neither Azov leadership nor the Ukrainian government responded to requests for comment.
    >
    > 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 shift in U.S. policy is likely to reignite those Russian critiques.
    >
    > The brigade’s leadership says that it long ago shed those associations and that its commanders have fully turned over since that era.
    >
    > Within Ukraine, the brigade’s name has become synonymous with the country’s last stand in the besieged city of Mariupol. Ukraine eventually ordered the remaining troops in the steel factory to surrender to Russian forces to survive. As of early May, more than 900 remained in captivity.
    >
    > 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.
    >
    > Azov seized on its new status as a brigade last year and launched an intensive recruitment campaign 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.
    >
    > Separate from the State Department’s vetting process, U.S. appropriations laws have long prohibited the Azov Battalion from receiving American aid. U.S. officials say that because the Azov Battalion of 2014 is distinct structurally from the brigade that is now a part of the National Guard, those restrictions do not apply.

    There’s no information on the specifics of when then ban was lifted, but it was most likely within the past month or so as the commander of the Azov Brigade, Denys Prokopenko was requesting the ban to be lifted as recently as mid-April.
    https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/columns/2024/04/19/7451974/

  2. Слава батальйону Азов та його захисникам!

  3. Man, the random hardly-used low karma accounts are gonna be Concern Trolling it up a storm in here soon because of this.

  5. They should parachute onto the prison and break them out

  7. Maybe someone can ELI5 this for me? Clearly this is a good thing in so much as it gives Ukraine more flexibility and opportunities but what were the main things that couldn’t be done before but can be done now, and how likely is this to have a significant impact on the war?

  8. So, how much boost will UKR get from this?

    I thought Azov have already used American weapons, they just don’t announce it and America pretends they dont know about it. ehehehe

  9. That’s awesome. These guys have absolutely proven themselves as one of the bravest and toughest units out there. Now they will have some of the fiercest fighters with the best weapons at the tip of the spear. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of what they are bringing. 🇺🇦

  11. This group consist of far-right, Neo Nazis that joined the azov to fight against Russian backed rebel fighters who wanted to break away from Ukraine to be part of Russia these rebels were being backed by Putin for 8 years and once the group was disbanded all the far-right Neo Nazis left Ukraine and the ukrainian military decided to bring back the name Azov because of its long history so they had to make sure Azov wasn’t associated with any far-right groups that would give Putin a reason for his invasion

  12. “founders espoused racist, xenophobic and ultranationalist views” if only we could apply the same requirements to Senate or member of our own armed forces. Worked closed to a military base and I seen some very questionable tattoos.

  13. I kind of remember the Democrats trying to convince us they were against fascism, but I guess it’s full mask off at this point.

Leave a Reply