Azov Brigade

Azov Special Operations Detachment
Підрозділ спеціального призначення «Азов»
Logo of the Azov Regiment
Active	5 May 2014–present
Country	Ukraine
Branch	National Guard of Ukraine
Type	Infantry
Role	Gendarmerie, national security.
Size	900–2500 members
Part of	Ministry of Internal Affairs
Nickname(s)	"Men in Black"
Colours	Blue and gold
Anniversaries	5 May
Engagements	War in Donbas Battle of Mariupol Battle in Shakhtarsk Raion Battle of Ilovaisk Battle of Novoazovsk Offensive on Mariupol Second Battle of Donetsk Airport Shyrokyne standoff Battle of Marinka 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Eastern Ukraine offensive Siege of Mariupol Battle of Volnovakha Kyiv offensive Battle of Brovary
Website	https://azov.org.ua/
Commanders
Current commander	Denys Prokopenko (Sept 2017-)
Notable commanders	Andriy Biletsky (May–October 2014) Ihor Mosiychuk Vadym Troyan
Insignia
Banner

The Azov Special Operations Detachment (Ukrainian: Окремий загін спеціального призначення «Азов», romanized: Okremyi zahin spetsialnoho pryznachennia "Azov"), until September 2014 also known as the Azov Regiment (Ukrainian: Полк Азов, romanized: Polk Azov) or Azov Battalion (Ukrainian: батальйон «Азов», romanized: Bataliyon "Azov"), is a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine based in Mariupol in the coastal region of the Sea of Azov, from where it derives its name. Azov formed as a volunteer paramilitary militia in May 2014, and has since been fighting Russian forces in the Donbas War. It first saw combat recapturing Mariupol from Russian forces and pro-Russian separatists in June 2014. It initially operated as a volunteer police company, until it was formally incorporated into the National Guard on 11 November 2014. In the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the battalion gained renewed attention for its use by Russia in justifying the invasion and during the Siege of Mariupol for its role in the defense of the city.

The battalion drew controversy over allegations of torture and war crimes, as well as association with neo-Nazi ideology. Azov uses controversial symbols, including the Wolfsangel insignia used by divisions of the Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht during World War II. One of the reasons given by Vladimir Putin for the 2022 invasion was the 'denazification' of Ukraine from allegedly far right forces, including Azov, who have been intensively discussed in Russian state media.

A provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, passed by the United States Congress, blocked military aid to Azov due to its white supremacist ideology; in 2015, a similar ban had been overturned by Congress. In March 2015, Andriy Diachenko, a spokesman for the Azov Batallion, told USA Today that 10% to 20% of the group's members are Nazis.

In 2017, the size of the regiment was estimated at more than 2,500 members, but was estimated to be 900 members in 2022. Members of the battalion came from 22 countries and are of various backgrounds.

History

Founding

The Azov Battalion has its roots in a group of ultras of FC Metalist Kharkiv named "Sect 82" (1982 is the year of the founding of the group). "Sect 82" was (at least until September 2013) allied with FC Spartak Moscow ultras. Late February 2014, during the 2014 Ukrainian crisis when a separatist movement was active in Kharkiv, "Sect 82" occupied the Kharkiv Oblast regional administration building in Kharkiv and served as a local "self-defense force." Soon after, a company of the Special Tasks Patrol Police called "Eastern Corps" was formed on the basis of "Sect 82".

The battalion was originally nicknamed by the Ukrainian media the "Men in Black" or "Black Corps" (Ukrainian: Чорний Корпус, romanized: Chorny Korpus). Touted as Ukraine's version of Russia's Little Green Men due their secrecy and mystery, as well their use of all-black fatigues and masks when raiding pro-Russian checkpoints and apprehending pro-Russian fighters and sympathizers in Kharkiv and later in Mariupol.

During the initial phases of the War in Donbas, the Ukrainian Armed Forces suffered a number of defeats and setbacks against the separatists, as they were ill-prepared, ill-equipped, lacking in professionalism, morale, fighting spirit and with severe incompetence in the high command. As a reaction, many willing civilians created militias and paramilitary groups to fight the separatists on their own initiative, known as the "Volunteer Battalions". Although the Battalions were formed by people from diverse backgrounds, many of them were linked to various political parties and movements, mainly nationalist and far-right groups which had gained space after the Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity, and were sponsored by Ukrainian oligarchs. Some other Volunteer Battalions similar to Azov⁠ that were linked to far-right nationalist parties⁠ ⁠included the Sich Battalion, formed by Svoboda and the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps, controlled by the Right Sector.

On 13 April 2014, Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov issued a decree authorizing the creation of new paramilitary forces of up to 12,000 people. The Azov Battalion was formed on 5 May 2014 in Berdiansk by a white nationalist. Azov was then regulated by the Ukrainian Interior Ministry as a unit of "Special Tasks Patrol Police". According to some sources, it was led by Volodymyr Shpara, the leader of the Vasylkiv, Kyiv, branch of Patriot of Ukraine and Right Sector. Initially, the group was mostly funded independently of the state, with a primary financier, Jewish-Ukrainian billionaire and oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi.

Andriy Biletsky with "Azov" volunteers. June 2014. At this point Azov was known as the "Black Corps" due their all-black masks and fatigues.

Many members of the political party Patriot of Ukraine joined this group. Among other early patrons of the battalion were Oleh Lyashko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada, ultra-nationalist Dmytro Korchynsky, businessman Serhiy Taruta, and Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov. The battalion received training near Kyiv by instructors with experience in the Georgian Armed Forces.

Special Tasks Patrol Police

The battalion had its baptism by fire in Mariupol where it was involved in combat during the Battle of Mariupol, as part of the counter-offensive to recapture the city from separatist hands. Together with fellow Special Tasks Patrol Police battalion Dnipro-1, they retook key buildings and strongholds occupied by separatists, killing at least 5 separatists destroying one enemy BRDM-2 armoured vehicle and one armored truck during battle. Azov remained for a time as a garrison in Mariupol and was briefly relocated to Berdiansk. On 10 June, the battalion dismissed deputy commander Yaroslav Honchar and distanced themselves from him after Honchar made statements critical of looting and debauchery in the Azov battalion. Igor Mosiychuk became deputy commander.

In June 2014, Anton Herashchenko (an advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs) said that it was planned that the Azov Battalion would have a strength of 400 personnel, and the salary for volunteers would be 4,300 hryvnias ($360) per month. Contract soldiers were paid 1,505 hryvnias per month.

Azov Battalion patrolling in an improvised armored vehicle, circa 2014.

In 10–11 August, the Azov Battalion, together with the Shakhtarsk Battalion, Dnipro-1 Battalion and the Ukrainian Army, supported an assault on the city of Ilovaisk spearheaded by the Donbas Battalion. The performance of Azov was criticized by fellow members of the Donbas Battalion and by a later report by the commission of the Verkhovna Rada on the failures of the Battle of Ilovaisk, which criticized Azov of arriving undermanned and late to the battle, and failing to cover the flanks of other forces. During the initial assault, Azov suffered heavy losses. The Azov Battalion helped to clear the city of separatists and reinforce Ukrainian positions. However, in late August they were redeployed to garrison Mariupol, as a detachment of troops from the Russian Armed Forces was spotted moving into Novoazovsk, 45 km of Mariupol. Later, the separatists forces in Ilovaisk were reinforced by troops from the Russian Armed Forces, which encircled the Ukrainian forces in the city and defeated them. The commander of the Donbas Battalion, Semen Semenchenko, later accused the Ukrainian military and government of deliberately abandoning them for political reasons, citing the withdrawing of Azov and Shakhtarsk battalions as trying to start infighting between the Volunteer Battalions.

In the Battle of Novoazovsk, fought from 25 to 28 August, the Azov Battalion and Ukrainian forces did not fare much better, as they were pushed back by superior firepower of the tanks and armored vehicles of the separatists and Russians.

On 11 August, another detachment of the Azov Battalion, backed by Ukrainian paratroopers, captured Marinka from pro-Russian rebels and entered the suburbs of Donetsk, clashing with Donetsk People's Republic fighters.

With Novoazovsk captured, the separatists began preparing a second offensive against Mariupol. In early September 2014, the Azov Battalion was engaged in the Second Battle of Mariupol. As the separatist forces closed in on the city, the Azov Battalion were in the vanguard of the defense, providing reconnaissance around the villages of Shyrokyne and Bezimenne, located a few kilometers east of Mariupol. At the same time, Azov started to train Mariupol citizens in self-defense and organize popular militias to defend the city. The Separatists were able to push far into Mariupol, reaching the outer suburbs and coming within five kilometers of the city. But an overnight counter-offensive on 4 September launched by Azov and the Armed Forces pushed the DPR forces away from the city. During the battle, Azov was able to capture a Russian tank, whose crew had abandoned it.

Azov Battalion soldiers take position near a BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle in 2014 during the War in Donbas.

Regarding the ceasefire agreed on 5 September, Azov commander Andriy Biletsky stated: "If it was a tactical move there is nothing wrong with it […] if it's an attempt to reach an agreement concerning Ukrainian soil with separatists then obviously it's a betrayal." At this time, Azov had 500 members.

National Guard

Background

In September 2014, the Azov Battalion underwent a reorganisation, and was upgraded from a battalion to a regiment and enrolled into the National Guard of Ukraine. This was part of larger policy changes by the Ukrainian government of integrating the independent volunteer battalions under either the Ukrainian Ground Forces or the National Guard into the formal chain-of-command of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO). The now-Azov Regiment was designated as "Military Unit 3057" and officially named the "Azov" Special Operations Detachment".

Following its official enrollment in the National Guard, Azov received official funding from the Ukrainian Interior Ministry and other sources (believed to be Ukrainian oligarchs). Around this time Azov started receiving increased supplies of heavy arms. Azov commander Andriy Biletsky claimed that while Azov volunteers were officially paid 6,000 hryvnias ($316) per month, they really received around 10,000 hryvnias ($526) per month.

Battle of Shyrokyne

Azov forces moving during the Battle of Shyrokyne in 2015.

Main article: Shyrokyne standoff

On 24 January 2015, Mariupol came under an indiscriminate rocket bombing by separatists, which left 31 dead and 108 injured. In 28 January, two Azov members were killed in a shelling of a checkpoint in the eastern part of Mariupol. Both attacks were conducted from an area near the village of Shyrokyne, 11 km east of Mariupol, where there was significant movement of separatist troops in the region, stoking fears of a third offensive against Mariupol.

As a response, the Azov Regiment spearheaded a surprise offensive against the separatists in Shyrokyne. The objective was to create a buffer zone to prevent more bombings of Mariupol and push the separatists forces back into Novoazovsk. The attack by the Azov Regiment was reinforced by the Ukrainian Army, and Air Assault Forces, as well the Donbas Battalion of the National Guard and the independent volunteer battalions Ukrainian Volunteer Corps and the Chechen Muslim Sheikh Mansur Battalion.

After breaking through DPR lines, the Azov Battalion managed to quickly capture the towns of Shyrokyne, Pavlopil, and Kominternove, and began to advance toward Novoazovsk. The Ukrainian forces were stopped in the town of Sakhanka, where the separatists held the line by using heavy artillery and armored vehicles. By 12 February, the separatists launched an all-out counter-offensive which resulted in heavy losses for Azov. Azov and the rest of the Ukrainian forces retreated from Sakhanka into Shyrokyne.

On the same day, the Minsk II ceasefire was signed by both parties of the conflict, and the territory around Shyrokyne was declared to be part of a proposed demilitarized buffer zone. However, the DPR rebels did not consider combat in the village itself as part of the ceasefire. The following weeks saw fighting continuing between Azov and the separatists, worrying some analysts that it could jeopardize the Minsk II agreement. The situation in Shyrokyne became a stalemate: both sides reinforced their positions and built trenches. In the following weeks, Azov and the DRP forces exchanged fire and artillery bombings with a back-and-forth on the control of the frontlines and villages. The village of Shyrokyne was almost completely destroyed as a result. On 1 July 2015, the separatists withdrew from the Shyrokyne. Separatist leader Denis Pushilin declared they were pulling back as an "act of good will" to conform to the Minsk II agreements. However, Andriy Biletsky claimed the action was a result of the separatists suffering heavy casualties and not being able to sustain their operation.

On 29 July, the Azov Regiment and the Donbas Battalion fighters in Shyrokyne were rotated out of the front and replaced with a unit of the Ukrainian Marines. The decision to pull them out from the village was met with protests from residents of nearby Mariupol, who feared that the withdrawal would lead to Russian separatists quickly retaking the village and shelling the city again.

Azov soldiers in a military parade in Mariupol, 2021.

Further dates and activities

• On 14 October 2014, Azov Battalion servicemen took part in a march to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) in Kyiv organized by the Right Sector.
• On 31 October 2014, deputy commander of the Azov Battalion Vadym Troyan was appointed head of Kyiv Oblast (province) police (this police force has no jurisdiction over the city of Kyiv).
• On 11 November 2014, the Azov Battalion was officially incorporated into the National Guard of Ukraine.
• As of late March 2015, after a February ceasefire agreement, the battalion continued to defend Mariupol and fight separatists in Shyrokyne. Biletsky saw the ceasefire as "appeasing the aggressor".
• In August 2015, the Ukrainian government pulled all volunteer battalions, including Azov, off the front lines around Mariupol, replacing them with regular military units. The primary base of the battalion became a seaside villa in Urzuf, a village in Donetsk Oblast.
• On 1 October 2015, the Azov Civil Corps joined the Blockade of Crimea. The action was started by the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People in 20 September as a massive Traffic obstruction of transport traffic going into Russian Crimea to protest the Russian annexation of Crimea. The Tartars were soon joined by other anti-Russian activist groups, such as the Azov Civil Corps. The Azov Regiment and the Right Sector's Ukrainian Volunteer Corps paramilitaries helped provide security for the activists.
• On 27 April 2016, 300 troops and light-armored vehicles from the regiment were assigned to Odessa to safeguard public order after Oblast Governor Mikheil Saakashvili wrote in social media about a rash of pro-Russian "titushki" attacks on civilians. In 2017, the size of the regiment was estimated at more than 2,500 members.
• In 2019 the Azov Battalion spent eight months on the frontline at Svitlodarsk arc, following more than three years of being withdrawn from the frontline.
• In June 2021, to commemorate the five years anniversary of Ukrainian victory in the Battle of Mariupol, there was a military parade composed by members of the Azov Regiment, National Guard of Ukraine, National Police of Ukraine and State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

Azov parading a KrAZ Shrek MRAP in 2021.

2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine

The Azov Regiment regained a lot of attention during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before the conflict, the Azov was the subject of a propaganda war, Russia used the Regiment's legitimization and officialization into the National Guard, as one of the proofs to paint the Ukrainian government and military as nazi-leaning or under nazi control, justifying the "denazification" casus belli. The Regiment on the other hand, was also noted for its own propaganda, producing well-produced drone videos and other media of its military activities. The Daily Telegraph called Azov a "well-oiled publicity machine", and outsiders have noted how their participation in the war and defense of Mariupol have increased national and international notoriety and popularity of the group.

Azov parading a BTR-80 armoured personnel carrier in 2021.

Most of the Azov Regiment was stationed in Mariupol at the beginning of the invasion. In March 2022, Deutsche Welle reported that the battalion was the primary unit defending Mariupol in the Siege of Mariupol. As the battle raged, Azov became notable for its fierce defense of the city. On 19 March 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded a Hero of Ukraine title to its commander in Mariupol, Lieutenant Colonel Denys Prokopenko. On 9 March Russia carried out an airstrike on a maternity hospital, killing multiple civilians, and justified the bombing by the alleged presence of Azov troops in the building; similarly, on 16 March, the Mariupol theatre, which was holding civilians, was bombed, Russia accused Azov of having perpetrated it instead, trying to frame Russia for it. As civilians fled the city, Russian checkpoints stopped men and stripped them, looking for tattoos identifying them as Azov. Refugees in "filtration centers" were interrogated if they had any affiliation with Azov or knew someone in the regiment. On 22 March, Azov's military headquarters in the northern Kalmiuskyi District were captured by Russian and DPR soldiers, although it was already abandoned.

By early April, Azov Regiment, together with other local Ukrainian forces, started to retreat into the Azovstal iron and steel works, a massive Soviet-era steel mill built to resist military attacks and bombing. Later in April, remaining pockets of Ukrainian resistance inside the city, consisting of Ukrainian Marines, non-Azov National Guard and Border Guards conducted operations to breakthrough into Azovstal, while members of Azov conducted support and rescue operations to assist them. By 21 April, most Ukrainians forces in Mariupol were based in Azovstal. In 21 April, President of Russia Vladimir Putin officially stated that Mariupol was "liberated" and placed an order for his forces to not storm of the complex, but instead blockade it. The following days saw bombing and shelling of Azovstal.

On 3 May, the Russian forces in Mariupol restarted their attacks on Azovstal. The following day it was reported that the Russians had broken into the plant.

The Azov Regiment was also present at the Kyiv offensive at the Battle of Brovary, where the regiment and the Ukrainian Army's 72nd Mechanized Brigade ambushed and destroyed a Russian tank regiment advancing into the town of Brovary.

In early May, protests took place in Kyiv, organised by the families of Azov troops, Ukrainian marines and other soldiers. Kateryna Prokopenko, the wife of Denys Prokopenko, the lead Azov commander, took a major role in these demonstrations, which were broken up by police. These protests accused the Ukrainian government and the international community of failing to do enough to assist wounded soldiers currently in the Azovstal steelworks. In a statement made to the press on 8 May from the steelworks, leading figures within the regiment stated that they would not surrender. They criticised the Ukrainian government for negotiating with Russia, as well as countries who refused to supply Azov with weapons in previous years.

In this news conference, Svyatoslav Palamar, second in command at Mariupol, accused Ukrainian politicians of cynicism for failing to visit Azovstal. He stated that the battalion could not be 100% sure all civilians had been evacuated due to lack of equipment and the fact they had not been assisted by specialist organisations. Palamar said that during the evacuation of civilians, 3 Azov soldiers had been killed and one wounded, and said that criticisms made towards the troops about the speed of the evacuation were 'extremely painful'.

Leadership and organization

Andriy Biletsky leads units of the battalion on a patrol near Mariupol in July 2014.

The regiment's first commander was Andriy Biletsky. Biletsky stayed out of the public spotlight working on expanding Azov to battalion size. In summer 2014, he took command of the unit. In August 2014, he was awarded the military decoration "Order For Courage" by Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Interior Ministry's police forces. After Biletsky was elected into the Ukrainian parliament in the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election he left the battalion in October 2016 (Ukrainian elected officials can not be in the military, nor the police).

File:Denys Prokopenko.jpg

Denys Prokopenko, current commander of the Azov Regiment in 2016.

A 16 July 2014 report placed the Azov Battalion's strength at 300. An earlier report stated that on 23 June almost 600 volunteers, including women, took oaths to join the "Donbas" and "Azov" battalions. The unit included 900 volunteers as of March 2015.

Commanders

The current leader of Azov is Lieutenant Colonel Denys Prokopenko

His predecessors were:

1. Andriy Biletsky
2. Ihor Mykhajlenko
3. Maksym Zhorin

Current status

Ukraine decided to turn all volunteer battalions—both the Territorial Defence Battalions associated with the armed forces, and the Special Tasks Patrol Police of the interior ministry—into regular units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the National Guard, respectively. Azov is one of the latter. The Ukrainian government also opted to deploy only volunteer units to the Donbas front, pledging that conscripts would not be sent into combat.

In January 2015, Azov Battalion was officially upgraded to a regiment and its structures took a definite shape. A mobilization center and a training facility were established in Kyiv, in the former industrial complex "ATEK" for selection and examination. The personnel, composed of volunteers from all over Ukraine, has to pass through a screening and vetting process, quite similar to army's mobilization procedures.

Recruits are then assigned to the combat units of the regiments, or to support and supply units, where they undertake intensive combat drills training. Reconnaissance and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units are considered the élite of Azov and are manned by the most experienced personnel (typically, former Ukrainian Army special forces or similar).

Regiment organization

Regimental HQ	1st Commando Battalion	2nd Commando Battalion (formation stage)	5th Tank Battalion
Field Artillery Battery	Reconnaissance Company	Security Company	Engineer Company
Maintenance Company	Logistic Company	Signal Platoon	CBRN-defense Platoon
4th (Training) Battalion Regimental Depot Kyiv Regimental Depot Mariupol Regimental Depot Berdiansk

Azov movement

Street Exhibit of Azov Battalion – Kharkiv

The Azov Battalion has created its own civilian political movement, collectively known as the "Azov movement", made up of organizations formed by former Azov veterans or groups linked to Azov, and with roots in the fascist paramilitary Patriot of Ukraine group led by Azov founder Andriy Biletsky and the associated far right Social-National Assembly.

In 2017, according to Foreign Affairs magazine, "After the union [with the National Guard], the government's first act was to root out two groups within Azov, foreign fighters and neo-Nazis, by vetting group members with background checks, observations during training, and a law requiring all fighters to accept Ukrainian citizenship. Fighters who did not pass this screening were offered the chance to join civilian volunteer corps to help the war effort; these corps assisted police, cleared snow (a crucial task in Ukraine), and even worked on a public radio." According to Reuters, at this time, the unit worked to depoliticize itself: its far-right leadership left and founded the National Corps political party, which works with its associated activist organization, the Azov Civil Corps. The Patriot of Ukraine websites were shut down or put under restricted access.

However, Oleksiy Kuzmenko of Bellingcat in a 2020 article, notes that soldiers from the regiment appeared together with leaders of the "National Corps" political party in a 2020 video ad for a rally, and that a 2017 YouTube video appeared to show the émigré Russian neo-Nazi Alexey Levkin giving a lecture to the regiment. Both entities have admitted to being part of the wider "Azov Movement" led by Andriy Biletsky, who worked directly with Arsen Avakov (Minister of the Interior until 2021) on matters relating to the regiment. Similarly, Michael Colborne, journalist and researcher at Bellingcat, says that it "would be a mistake to claim...that the Azov regiment is somehow not a part of the broader Azov movement" and points to repeated description of the regiment as the "military wing" of the Azov movement by Olena Semenyaka, the main international representative of the movement.

Other experts take the view that that there is increasingly great separation between the Azov Movement and the Azov Battalion. Kacper Rękawek, a research fellow with the Center for Research on Extremism at the University of Oslo, told CNN that, "People always assume it [the Azov regiment and Azov movement] is one Death Star. Year by year, the connections [between the regiment and the movement] are looser." Anton Shekhovtsov, an expert on Russia's connections to Europe's far-right, told the Financial Times that though it was originally formed by leadership of a neo-nazi group, "It is certain that Azov [the battalion] has depoliticised itself. Its history linked to the far-right movement is pretty irrelevant today."

According to an expert in a 2022 article by Bayerischer Rundfunk, there is an "incompatibility resolution", where active fighters could not become members of the National Corps political party.

Logo of the Azov Civil Corps.

Azov Civil Corps

In spring of 2015, veterans of the Azov volunteer battalion created the core of a non-military non-governmental organization Azov Civil Corps (Tsyvilnyi Korpus "Azov"), for the purpose of "political and social struggle".

National Corps

In 2016, veterans of the regiment and members of the Azov Civil Corps founded the political party National Corps. The party's first leader was Andriy Biletsky.

Youth Corps

The Youth Corps (Yunatskyy Korpus) is a non-governmental organization engaged in the "patriotic upbringing" of children, and to take them once they grow up, to the National Militia of "Azov movement". Many members of the Youth Corps, beginning in 2015, organized summer camps where children and teenagers receive combat training mixed with lectures on Ukrainian nationalism.

National Militia

In 2017, a paramilitary group called the National Militia (Natsionalni Druzhyny), closely linked to the Azov movement, was formed. Its stated aim is to assist law enforcement agencies, which is allowed under Ukrainian law, and it has conducted street patrols. In March 2019, its membership was reportedly "in the low thousands". On 29 January 2018, members of the National Militia stormed a municipal council meeting in Cherkasy, and refused to let officials leave the building until they had approved the city's long-delayed budget.

Centuria

According to Oleksiy Kuzmenko, in a piece published for George Washington University's Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian studies, the leadership of Centuria – a self-described "European traditionalist" group of military officers that aims to "defend" the "cultural and ethnic identity" of European peoples against "Brussels' politicos and bureaucrats" — has ties to the Azov movement. The organization "has promoted Azov to [Hetman Petro Sahaidachny National Army Academy (NAA)] cadets, and credibly claimed that its members lectured in the Azov Regiment of the National Guard, the military wing of the Azov movement." Belltower.News similarly states that Centuria has "close connections with the Ukrainian neo-Nazi scene" while both Belltower and Colborne say that Centuria is the successor organization to the National Militia.

The Jerusalem Post carried an article in October 2021 that cited Kuzmenko's report on the group, which stated that it is "led by people with ties to" the Azov movement and that its members received training from Western countries while at the NAA.

Foreign membership

Swedish Azov volunteers Mikael Skillt and "Mikola"

According to The Daily Telegraph, the Azov Battalion's extremist politics and professional English social media pages have attracted foreign fighters, including people from Brazil, Italy, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Greece, Sweden, Spain, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Russia. About 50 Russian nationals are members of the Azov regiment. The group has used Facebook to recruit far-right individuals from other countries within Europe. In 2019, under Facebook's Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy, support for the group was not allowed, although this was temporarily relaxed during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Around 20 Croatians joined the Azov Battalion in January 2015, ranging in age from 20 to 45. After Croatia's foreign minister Vesna Pusić confirmed that there are Croatian volunteers in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry called Croatia to withdraw its citizens from armed conflict. Pusić replied that Croatia opposes any involvement of Croatian citizens in the war, and stated that they went on their private initiative and that Croatia is working on bringing them home. Interior minister Ranko Ostojić said that Croatian volunteers are fighting on the side of the legitimate Ukrainian government and are not committing any kind of crime according to Croatian law.

According to Adrian Karatnycky of the Atlantic Council, the 2015 Minsk Ceasefire Agreement speaks of the withdrawal of foreign fighters, but the agreement was never fully implemented. The regiment still included foreign fighters in August 2015, for example, these included an ex-British army serviceman Chris Garrett and a 33-year-old former soldier of the Greek army and French Foreign Legion known by the nom-de-guerre of "The Greek".

In late 2016, Brazilian investigators uncovered an alleged plot to recruit Brazilian far-right activists for the Azov Battalion. American white nationalists have unsuccessfully tried to join Azov. In 2016, Andrew Oneschuk, who later joined the neo-Nazi terrorist group Atomwaffen Division, joined an Azov podcast in 2016. In 2019, the FBI arrested a 24-year-old American soldier, for a bomb plot, who had wanted to travel to Ukraine to join the Regiment. And in 2020, Ukraine deported two American Atomwaffen members who wanted to join the Regiment.

According to the Counter Extremism Project, the Azov Battalion made clear in 2019 that it was no longer accepting foreigners, as foreigners could only serve in the Ukrainian Army as contractors. However, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has been actively recruiting foreign volunteers. Kacper Rękawek, an expert on foreign fighters at the University of Oslo, told CNN in a 30 March article that they had only been able to recruit 20 foreign fighters since the start of the invasion.

Human rights violations and war crimes

Reports published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have connected the Azov Battalion to war crimes such as mass looting, unlawful detention, and torture. An OHCHR report from March 2016 stated that the organization had "collected detailed information about the conduct of hostilities by Ukrainian armed forces and the Azov regiment in and around Shyrokyne (31km east of Mariupol), from the summer of 2014 to date. Mass looting of civilian homes was documented, as well as targeting of civilian areas between September 2014 and February 2015."

Another OHCHR report documented an instance of rape and torture, writing: "A man with a mental disability was subject to cruel treatment, rape and other forms of sexual violence by 8 to 10 members of the 'Azov' and 'Donbas' (another Ukrainian battalion) battalions in August–September 2014. The victim's health subsequently deteriorated and he was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital." A report from January 2015 stated that a Donetsk Republic supporter was detained and tortured with electricity and waterboarding and struck repeatedly on his genitals, which resulted in his confessing to spying for pro-Russian militants.

Ideology

Neo-Nazism

A former Azov emblem featuring a combination of a mirrored Wolfsangel and Black Sun, two symbols associated with the Wehrmacht and SS, over a small Tryzub. Since August 2015 it is no longer in use as a symbol of the regiment.

Flag of the Patriot of Ukraine party, whose members formed the core membership of Azov in 2014. The wolfsangel-like symbol supposedly represents the words "National Idea" (Ukrainian: Ідея Нації, Ideya Natsii), and has been used since 1991 by the Social-National Party of Ukraine.

The Azov Battalion has been described as a far-right militia, with connections to neo-Nazism and members wearing neo-Nazi and SS symbols and regalia, and expressing neo-Nazi views.

The group's insignia features the Wolfsangel (or a mirrored variation of it), a German heraldic charge inspired by historic wolf traps adopted by the Nazi Party and by WW2 German military units. Its insignia also used to feature the Black Sun, both of which remain two popular neo-Nazi symbols. Azov soldiers have worn fascist or Nazi-associated symbols on their uniforms, including swastikas and SS symbols. In 2014, the German ZDF television network showed images of Azov fighters wearing helmets with swastika symbols and "the SS runes of Hitler's infamous black-uniformed elite corps". In 2015, Marcin Ogdowski, a Polish war correspondent, gained access to one of Azov's bases located in the former holiday resort Majak; Azov fighters showed him Nazi tattoos as well as Nazi emblems on their uniforms. Members of the unit have stated that the inverted Wolfsangel, rather than connected to Nazism, represents the Ukrainian words for "united nation" or "national idea" (Ukrainian: Ідея Нації, Ideya Natsii). This symbol has been historically used by far-right Ukrainian groups: it was used by the 2005–14 Patriot of Ukraine party (many of whose members joined Azov in 2014), by the Social-National Assembly in 2014, by the Ukrainian National Union in 2009, until 2003 by Svoboda and until 2004 by the Social-National Party of Ukraine, a far-right party founded in 1991. In 2022 Andreas Umland, a scholar from the Stockholm Center for Eastern European Studies, told Deutsche Welle that though it had far-right connotations, the Wolfsangel was not considered a fascist symbol by the population in Ukraine.

Azov's founding member Andriy Biletsky, leader of the far right Social-National Assembly (SNA), had stated in 2010 that "the historic mission of our nation" was to lead the "white races of the world in a final crusade for their survival […] a crusade against the Semite-led Untermenschen", an ideology that political scientist Richard Sakwa traces to the National Integralism of 1920s and 1930s. In 2014, political science lecturer Ivan Katchanovski commented to Radio Sweden on the founder's origins as Patriot of Ukraine, saying: "The SNA/PU [Patriot of Ukraine] advocates a neo-Nazi ideology along with ultranationalism and racism. The same applies to […] members of the Azov battalion and many football ultras and others who serve in this formation."

The Guardian reported in 2014 that "many of [Azov's] members have links with neo-Nazi groups, and even those who laughed off the idea that they are neo-Nazis did not give the most convincing denials", citing swastika tattoos among the fighters and one who claimed to be a "national socialist".A spokesman for the unit said in 2015 that "only 10–20%" of its recruits are Nazis, with one commander attributing neo-Nazi ideology to misguided youth. According to The Daily Beast, some of the group's members are "neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and avowed anti-Semites", and (in 2017) "numerous swastika tattoos of different members and their tendency to go into battle with swastikas or SS insignias drawn on their helmets make it very difficult for other members of the group to plausibly deny any neo-Nazi affiliations." Bellingcat, an investigative journalist group, has traced ties between the Azov movement and American white supremacist groups.

Ukrainian affairs writer Lev Golinkin wrote in The Nation in 2019 that "Post-Maidan Ukraine is the world's only nation to have a neo-Nazi formation in its armed forces." Michael Colborne of Bellingcat, writing in Foreign Policy in 2019, called the Azov movement "a dangerous neo-Nazi-friendly extremist movement" with "global ambitions", citing similarities between the group's ideology and symbolism and that of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooter, along with efforts by the group to recruit American right-wing extremists. In a 2020 Atlantic Council article, Bellingcat's Oleskiy Kuzmenko wrote that the far right in general significantly damaged Ukraine's international reputation creating a vulnerability to hostile narratives that exaggerate its role.

Since 2017, the official position of the Ukrainian government is that the unit has depoliticized itself. The then Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov claimed that "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." In March 2022, in an open letter to Russia published through Russian journalist Alexander Nevzorov, Azov Battalion strongly denounced allegations of its neo-Nazi orientation, defining Nazism as a "tireless need to exterminate those who dared to be free" and noting that the Battalion incorporated people of many ethnicities and religions, including Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, Greeks, Georgians, Crimean Tatars and Belarusians. According to the letter, Nazism, as well Stalinism, were "despised" by the Battalion, since Ukraine greatly suffered from both.

Some commentators have agreed with this analysis. A 2015 Reuters report noted that after the unit's inclusion in the National Guard and receipt of heavier equipment, Andriy Biletsky toned down his usual rhetoric, while most of the extremist leadership had left to focus on political careers in the National Corps party or the Azov Civil Corps. An article published by Foreign Affairs in 2017 argued that the group was relatively depoliticized and deradicalized after it was brought into the fold of the National Guard of Ukraine. The government started a process with the objective of ferreting out neo-nazis and foreign fighters, with background checks, observations during training, and a law requiring all fighters to accept Ukrainian citizenship. A 2018 commentary in Reuters by a former USAID official also had a skeptical response, saying that the real danger was not the original paramilitary group, but the civil movement Azov had spawned. In February 2020, the Atlantic Council published an article by Anton Shekhovtsov, a scholar of right-wing extremism in Europe and expert on Russia's connections to Europe's far-right, who argued that Azov should not be designated a foreign terrorist organization, for reasons including that it was a regiment of the Ukrainian National Guard, and therefore was part of official structures and followed orders given by the Interior Ministry, and that some claimed extremist links to Brenton Tarrant, the Rise Above Movement, and American right-wing terrorists in general were poorly evidenced. He also told the Financial Times that though it was originally formed by leadership of a neo-nazi group, "It is certain that Azov [the battalion] has depoliticised itself. Its history linked to the far-right movement is pretty irrelevant today." In a 2020 article on the Atlantic Council's website, however, Oleksiy Kuzmenko of Bellingcat argued that "the Regiment has failed in its alleged attempts to 'depoliticize.'"

Following the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, The Washington Post painted a picture of a group aware of its origins, and still with a far-right adherent commander and some extremist members, but much changed from its origins. Many recruits joining the battalion are well aware of its Nazi past, but join up despite its history for various reasons, including Azov's positive reputation for training new recruits. While extremist elements remain, it is less driven by ideology than it was at its formation, and the chief motivation now is patriotism, and anger at Russian provocations and the attack on Ukraine. People come from all over the world driven by outrage against Putin, and not because of a particular ideology. The report also pointed out that while Ukraine does have a far-right movement, it is much smaller than in some other European countries. Michael Colborne, the author of a book about Azov, wrote that he "wouldn't call [Azov] explicitly a neo-Nazi movement" although there are "clearly neo-Nazis within its ranks". Similarly, Anton Shekhovtsov wrote that the Azov Regiment had become largely depoliticized and had lost most of its neo-Nazi and far-right views, describing it as "a highly professional detachment for specific operations. Neither a political organization, nor a militia, nor a far-right battalion". In a similar vein, Andreas Umland said in 2022, that "In 2014 this battalion had indeed a far-right background, these were far-right racists that founded the battalion" but it had since become "de-ideologised" and a regular fighting unit. Its recruits now join not because of ideology but because "it has the reputation of being a particularly tough fighting unit," Umland said.

Connection to antisemitism

In 2018, more than 40 Israeli human rights activists signed a petition to stop arms sales to Ukraine arguing that Israel was selling military-style Tavor and Negev automatic weapons to the Ukrainian government, knowing that some of these arms end up in the hands of the right-wing Azov militia.

Some Ukrainian Jewish people support and serve in the Azov Battalion. A 2018 BBC report gave the example of one of its most prominent members, co-founder Nathan Khazin, a leader of the "Jewish hundreds" during the 2013 Euromaidan protests in Kyiv. Khazin and his supporters in the battalion often display the flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army with a Star of David added onto it. Jewish-Ukrainian billionaire Ihor Kolomoyskyi was the main source of Azov's funding before it was incorporated into the National Guard.

According to some researchers, Ukrainian far-right and ultra-nationalist groups are not necessarily anti-Semitic, as the term "far right" might more likely imply in the Western European context. The Ukrainian far-right and ultra-nationalist groups are characterized as anti-Russian instead, although anti-Semitism cannot be excluded in all cases.

In a 2018 interview, Andriy Biletsky explained that he regards Israel and Japan as role models for the development of Ukraine.

Other incidents

In late February as the Russians closed the siege around Mariupol, the National Guard released a video appearing to show an Azov fighter greasing bullets in pig fat to be used against Chechen troops as an insult (Chechens are mostly Muslims and pork consumption is forbidden by Islamic law). The video was made in response as the Chechens' deployment was touted as "psychological warfare against the Ukrainians".

International reception

U.S. arms and training

In March 2015, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced that the Azov Regiment would be among the first units to be trained by United States Army troops in the Operation Fearless Guardian training mission. US training however was withdrawn on 12 June 2015, as the US House of Representatives passed an amendment blocking any aid (including arms and training) to the battalion due to its neo-Nazi background. However, the amendment was later removed in November 2015, with James Carden writing in The Nation that an "official familiar with the debate" told him that the "House Defense Appropriations Committee came under pressure from the Pentagon to remove the Conyers-Yoho amendment from the text of the bill." The decision was opposed by the Simon Wiesenthal Center which stated that lifting the ban highlighted the danger of Holocaust distortion in Ukraine, and by a Likud MP, but supported by Ukraine's Jewish community.

In 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives again passed a provision blocking any training of Azov members by American forces, citing its neo-Nazi connections.

In October 2019, members of the US House of Representatives from the Democratic Party requested that the Azov Battalion and two other far-right groups be classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US State Department, citing recent acts of right-wing violence such as the Christchurch mosque shootings earlier that year. The request spurred protests by Azov's supporters in Ukraine.

Canada

In June 2015, the Canadian defense minister declared that Canadian forces would not provide training or support to Azov Battalion.

Use in Russian propaganda

In justifying the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Battalion has played a central role in claims of "denazifying" Ukraine, with Russian media inflating its presence and influence within Ukraine to paint a picture of the whole of the Ukrainian government and military as under Nazi control.

During the Siege of Mariupol, Russia was accused of using the presence of Azov in the battle as justification for war crimes. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov justified the Mariupol hospital airstrike claiming the Azov was using the hospital as a base and had previously evicted the patients and staff. On 16 March, the Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre, which was sheltering almost 1,300 civilians, was struck and largely destroyed by an airstrike. Russia denied the bombings and claimed that the Azov Battalion took civilians as hostages inside the building and bombed the theater themselves to frame Russia.

In a post on April 20, Russian journalist Dmitry Olshansky wrote on his Telegram page, Комиссар Исчезает (The Commissar Vanishes), that following the Russian occupation of Mariupol, Azov leaders such as Prokopenko should be publicly executed and their bodies left to hang 'as a reminder of who was in charge.'

Japan

In April 2022, Japan's Public Security Intelligence Agency reported that they had removed the Azov Battalion from their International Terrorism Handbook saying the information for the designation was dubious and they regretted the error.

See also

• Donbas Battalion
• Aidar Battalion
• Ukrainian volunteer battalions
• Right Sector
• Ukrainian Volunteer Corps
• Far-right politics in Ukraine
• Neo-Nazism in Ukraine

Further reading

• Media related to 12th Special Brigade of National Guard 'Azov' at Wikimedia Commons
• Umland, Andreas (2 January 2019). "Irregular Militias and Radical Nationalism in Post-Euromaydan Ukraine: The Prehistory and Emergence of the "Azov" Battalion in 2014". Terrorism and Political Violence. 31 (1). Informa UK Limited: 105–131. doi:10.1080/09546553.2018.1555974. ISSN 0954-6553.
• 2017 article by Margaret Klein for Swedish Defence Research Agency
• 2017 TV report by Deutsche Welle
• 2021 article by Kate Spencer at GeoHistory

External links

• Official website