The Biden administration has lifted a long standing ban on Azov, an organization that Ukraine has used in its fight since 2014. The group has been designated by Russia as extremist and terrorist and has faced scrutiny from the United Nations over alleged humanitarian violations. With the ban lifted, Azov will be eligible to receive the same type of US military assistance as other units within the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Washington Post reported that the unit known as the 12th Special Forces Brigade within Ukraine was evaluated through a comprehensive review conducted by the State Department, which is part of the Leahy process. The Leahy Act prohibits providing military aid to foreign forces that have committed serious human rights abuses. The act carries the name of former Senator Patrick Leahy from Vermont, reflecting a long standing policy framework intended to safeguard human rights in arms assistance. The Washington Post noted that the State Department found no evidence of violations by Azov after a detailed assessment.
Azov began as a volunteer battalion in 2014 and has fought alongside Ukrainian forces during the war. Members of Azov participated in the spring 2022 battles for Mariupol, including the defense of the Azovstal steel plant. After surrendering in May 2022, 215 Azov fighters were exchanged for 55 Russian soldiers and Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk in September, a deal brokered with Turkey. Five Azov commanders were allowed to remain under the personal guarantee of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan until the end of the conflict before returning to Ukraine in July 2023. At that time Azov was reorganized into a brigade and integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard.
Officials in Kyiv have described the lifting of the ban as a high priority because it could enhance Azov’s effectiveness in possible future operations by enabling access to American weapons and training from U.S. instructors. The leadership of the brigade has asserted that it has severed ties with neo-Nazi networks and that its command structure has undergone significant changes since the unit’s inception. In the year prior to the decision, Azov expanded its footprint by leveraging its new brigade status to launch a nationwide recruitment drive that brought on more than five thousand new troops in a short period.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has long cited alleged racist and ultranationalist elements within the Azov Battalion as part of his broader argument labeling the Kyiv government as neo-Nazi. Washington Post coverage suggests that any shift in U.S. policy on this issue could feed into those longstanding criticisms.