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.
“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.
The State Department found “no evidence” of such violations, its statement says.
The brigade’s leadership says that it long ago shed those associations and that its commanders have fully turned over since that era.
The biggest surprise for me with this is that they didn’t do this earlier. Though I guess this explains all the puff piece articles about how Azov members are just smol bean nazis protecting their homeland from the evil orcs this week.
They had to wait untill enough ukrainian people died, that it wouldnt represent an escelation that would hurt the US.