The State Department within the United States ruling class will now allow the delivery of U.S. weapons to Ukraine’s Azov Brigade. This unit’s members have openly espoused ultranationalist and neo-Nazi views. The flow of arms had previously been restricted due to the unit’s ties to Nazi ideology.

“After a thorough review, Ukraine’s 12th Special Forces Azov Brigade passed Leahy vetting as carried out by the US Department of State,” the agency said in a statement to the Washington Post on Monday, referring to legislation that bans military aid to units that are implicated in human rights violations.

Azov was founded as a volunteer battalion in 2014 and participated in the war with the breakaway republics of Donbas after they chose to secede from Ukraine in the wake of the Western-backed coup in Kiev. The unit’s core fighters were active and former members of ultranationalist and neo-Nazi groups, as well as “far-right” football troublemakers, according to a report by RT. 

The unit’s co-founder, Andrey Biletsky, was a member of a white supremacist organization in the 2000s. He has since toned down his rhetoric and denied ties to neo-Nazism. Nevertheless, many Azov fighters continue to sport Nazi tattoos and symbols associated with the Third Reich. The brigade continues to use banners with the Wolfsangel symbol, which was used by several German divisions during World War II, including the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich. –RT

The unit was incorporated into Ukraine’s National Guard in 2015 and has significantly grown over the past several years.

“After thorough review, Ukraine’s 12th Special Forces Azov Brigade passed Leahy vetting as carried out by the US Department of State,” the agency said in a statement to the Washington Post on Monday, referring to legislation that bans military aid to units that are implicated in human rights violations.

Russia: “We Can Shoot Down Anyone, Anywhere”

Many Azov fighters surrendered to Russian troops during the siege of the city of Mariupol in 2022. Moscow has accused the members of the unit of war crimes, including torture and the execution of civilians.

The U.S., however, doesn’t seem to care as long as groups are getting weapons and using them to kill others.