US lifts weapons ban on controversial Ukrainian military unit

KYIV, Ukraine — The U.S. has lifted a ban on providing American weapons and training to a controversial Ukrainian military unit that was key to the defense of the major port city of Mariupol , the State Department said on Tuesday.

The Azov Brigade is among Ukraine’s most effective and popular fighting units but it has been dogged by its origins as a volunteer battalion that drew fighters from far-right circles and criticism for some of its tactics. The U.S. had banned the regiment from using American weapons, citing the neo-Nazi ideology of some of its founders.

The current members of the Azov Brigade, which has been absorbed into Ukraine’s National Guard as the 12th Special Forces Brigade, reject accusations of extremism and any ties with far-right movements. But the Kremlin has seized on the regiment’s origins in its efforts to cast Russia’s invasion as a battle against Nazi influence in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow took an “extremely negative” view of Washington’s decision. He described Azov as an “ultranationalist armed formation” and accused U.S. authorities of being “ready to flirt with neo-Nazis.”

U.S. law prohibits providing equipment and training to foreign military units or individuals suspected of committing gross human rights violations. The State Department said in a statement that it found “no evidence” of such violations.

“This is a new page in our unit’s history,” the Azov Brigade wrote in a statement on Instagram. “Azov is becoming even more powerful, even more professional and even more dangerous for occupiers.”

“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,” the statement said.

Up until the State Department’s decision, Azov was prohibited from sending fighters to Western military exercises or accessing weapons bought with American funds. Lifting the ban will likely bolster the brigade’s fighting capacity at a difficult time during the war against Russia’s invasion. Ukraine suffers from persistent ammunition and personnel shortages.

Years before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Human Rights Watch raised concerns about Azov, writing that credible allegations of egregious abuses had been made against its fighters.

Moscow has repeatedly portrayed the Azov as a Nazi group and accused it of atrocities, but has publicly given little evidence of the allegations. In 2022, Russia’s top court officially designated Azov a terrorist group.

The brigade grew out of a group called the Azov Battalion, formed in 2014 as one of many volunteer regiments created to fight Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. It quickly became a separate official unit under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and later a unit of the National Guard.

Since its first commander left in October 2014, the brigade says on its website, it has been “cleansing itself” of undesirable elements. It wasn’t possible to ascertain whether the brigade has accomplished that. It has, however, tried to recast its public image away from the controversy surrounding its ultranationalist origins to that of an effective and skillful fighting force, and has shunned connections with controversial figures.

Azov soldiers played a key part in the defense of Mariupol , holding out in a siege and low on ammunition for weeks at the southern port city’s steel mill, despite devastating attacks from Russian forces in 2022.

They are hailed as heroes in Ukraine, remembered for defense of the sprawling plant that became a symbol of Ukrainian tenacity in the war against Russia, and people take to the streets for weekly rallies calling for the release of hundreds of Azov POWs who remain in Russian captivity .

乌克兰基辅——美国国务院周二表示，美国已解除对一个备受争议的乌克兰军事单位提供美国武器和训练的禁令，该单位在保卫主要港口城市马里乌波尔方面发挥了关键作用。

亚速旅是乌克兰最精锐、最受欢迎的作战部队之一，但其作为志愿营的起源一直困扰着它，该营的武装人员大多来自极右翼圈子，其部分战术也饱受诟病。美国曾禁止该团使用美制武器，理由是其部分创始人持有新纳粹意识形态。

现已并入乌克兰国民警卫队，成为第12特种部队旅的亚速旅现役成员否认存在极端主义倾向，也否认与极右翼运动有任何联系。但克里姆林宫却利用该部队的起源，试图将俄罗斯的入侵描绘成一场打击纳粹在乌克兰影响的战争。

克里姆林宫发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫表示，莫斯科对华盛顿的决定持“极其负面”态度。他将亚速营描述为“极端民族主义武装组织”，并指责美国当局“准备与新纳粹分子勾结”。

美国法律禁止向涉嫌犯有严重侵犯人权罪行的外国军事单位或个人提供装备和训练。美国国务院在一份声明中表示，他们“没有发现”此类侵犯人权行为的证据。

“这是我们部队历史上的新篇章，”亚速旅在Instagram上发表声明称。“亚速旅正变得更加强大、更加专业，对占领者来说也更加危险。”

声明称：“从美国获得西方武器和训练，不仅能提高亚速营的战斗力，更重要的是，有助于保障人员的生命和健康。”

在国务院做出决定之前，亚速营一直被禁止派遣战斗人员参加西方军事演习或使用美国资金购买的武器。解除禁令很可能在乌克兰对抗俄罗斯入侵的艰难时期增强该旅的战斗力。乌克兰长期面临弹药和人员短缺的问题。

早在俄罗斯于 2022 年全面入侵乌克兰之前，人权观察组织就对亚速营表示担忧，并指出有可信的指控称该营的战士犯下了令人发指的虐待行为。

莫斯科多次将亚速营描述为纳粹组织，并指控其犯下暴行，但鲜少公开提供证据支持这些指控。2022年，俄罗斯最高法院正式将亚速营认定为恐怖组织。

该旅的前身是成立于2014年的亚速营，它是当时为打击俄罗斯支持的乌克兰东部分裂分子而组建的众多志愿兵团之一。它很快成为内务部下属的一个独立正规部队，后来又成为国民警卫队的一个单位。

该旅在其网站上称，自2014年10月首任指挥官离任以来，一直在“清除内部不良分子”。目前尚无法确定该旅是否已完成这一目标。然而，该旅已努力重塑其公众形象，摆脱其极端民族主义起源所引发的争议，力图将自身打造为一支高效精锐的战斗力量，并刻意回避与争议人物的任何关联。

亚速营士兵在保卫马里乌波尔的战斗中发挥了关键作用，尽管在 2022 年遭受俄罗斯军队的毁灭性攻击，他们仍然在南部港口城市的钢铁厂被围困数周，弹药也所剩无几。

在乌克兰，他们被誉为英雄，人们铭记他们保卫了这座庞大的工厂，该工厂已成为乌克兰在抗俄战争中坚韧不拔的象征。人们每周都会走上街头举行集会，呼吁释放仍被俄罗斯囚禁的数百名亚速营战俘。