Because the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its sixth day, a Ukrainian far-right army regiment is again within the headlines.
Russian President Vladimir Putin referenced the presence of such models inside the Ukrainian army as one of many causes for launching his so-called “particular army operation … to de-militarise and de-Nazify Ukraine”.
On Monday, Ukraine’s nationwide guard tweeted a video displaying Azov fighters coating their bullets in pig fats for use allegedly in opposition to Muslim Chechens – allies of Russia – deployed of their nation.
Azov has additionally been concerned in coaching civilians via army workout routines within the run-up to Russia’s invasion.
So what’s the Azov regiment?
Azov is a far-right all-volunteer infantry army unit whose members – estimated at 900 – are ultra-nationalists and accused of harbouring neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideology.
The unit was initially fashioned as a volunteer group in Might 2014 out of the ultra-nationalist Patriot of Ukraine gang, and the neo-Nazi Social Nationwide Meeting (SNA) group. Each teams engaged in xenophobic and neo-Nazi beliefs and bodily assaulted migrants, the Roma group and other people opposing their views.
As a battalion, the group fought on the entrance strains in opposition to pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, the jap area of Ukraine. Simply earlier than launching the invasion, Putin recognised the independence of two rebel-held areas from Donbas.
A number of months after recapturing the strategic port metropolis of Mariupol from the Russian-backed separatists, the unit was formally built-in into the Nationwide Guard of Ukraine on November 12, 2014, and exacted excessive reward from then-President Petro Poroshenko.
“These are our greatest warriors,” he mentioned at an awards ceremony in 2014. “Our greatest volunteers.”
Who based Azov?
The unit was led by Andriy Biletsky, who served because the the chief of each the Patriot of Ukraine (based in 2005) and the SNA (based in 2008). The SNA is understood to have carried out assaults on minority teams in Ukraine.
In 2010, Biletsky mentioned Ukraine’s nationwide goal was to “lead the white races of the world in a last campaign … in opposition to Semite-led Untermenschen [inferior races]”.
Biletsky was elected to parliament in 2014. He left Azov as elected officers can’t be within the army or police drive. He remained an MP till 2019.
The 42-year-old is nicknamed Bely Vozd – or White Ruler – by his supporters. He established the far-right Nationwide Corps social gathering in October 2016, whose core base is veterans of Azov.
Earlier than turning into a part of Ukraine’s armed forces, who funded Azov?
The unit obtained backing from Ukraine’s inside minister in 2014, as the federal government had recognised its personal army was too weak to combat off the pro-Russian separatists and relied on paramilitary volunteer forces.
These forces had been privately funded by oligarchs – essentially the most recognized being Igor Kolomoisky, an vitality magnate billionaire and then-governor of the Dnipropetrovska area.
Along with Azov, Kolomoisky funded different volunteer battalions such because the Dnipro 1 and Dnipro 2, Aidar and Donbas models.
Azov obtained early funding and help from one other oligarch: Serhiy Taruta, the billionaire governor of Donetsk area.
Neo-Nazi ideology
In 2015, Andriy Diachenko, the spokesperson for the regiment on the time mentioned that 10 to twenty % of Azov’s recruits had been Nazis.
The unit has denied it adheres to Nazi ideology as a complete, however Nazi symbols such because the swastika and SS regalia are rife on the uniforms and our bodies of Azov members.
For instance, the uniform carries the neo-Nazi Wolfsangel image, which resembles a black swastika on a yellow background. The group mentioned it’s merely an amalgam of the letters “N” and “I” which signify “nationwide concept”.
Particular person members have professed to being neo-Nazis, and hardcore far-right ultra-nationalism is pervasive amongst members.
In January 2018, Azov rolled out its road patrol unit referred to as Nationwide Druzhyna to “restore” order within the capital, Kyiv. As a substitute, the unit carried out pogroms in opposition to the Roma group and attacked members of the LGBTQ group.
“Ukraine is the world’s solely nation to have a neo-Nazi formation in its armed forces,” a correspondent for the US-based journal, the Nation, wrote in 2019.
Human rights violations and battle crimes
A 2016 report by the United Nations Workplace of the Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHA) has accused the Azov regiment of violating worldwide humanitarian legislation.
The report detailed incidents over a interval from November 2015-February 2016 the place Azov had embedded their weapons and forces in used civilian buildings, and displaced residents after looting civilian properties. The report additionally accused the battalion of raping and torturing detainees within the Donbas area.
What has been the worldwide response to Azov?
In June 2015, each Canada and the USA introduced that their very own forces is not going to assist or practice the Azov regiment, citing its neo-Nazi connections.
The next 12 months, nevertheless, the US lifted the ban below stress from the Pentagon.
In October 2019, 40 members of the US Congress led by Consultant Max Rose signed a letter unsuccessfully calling for the US State Division to designate Azov as a “overseas terrorist organisation” (FTO). Final April, Consultant Elissa Slotkin repeated the request – which included different white supremacist teams – to the Biden administration.
Transnational assist for Azov has been broad, and Ukraine has emerged as a brand new hub for the far proper the world over. Males from throughout three continents have been documented to affix the Azov coaching models to be able to search fight expertise and interact in related ideology.
The oscillation of Fb
In 2016, Fb first designated the Azov regiment a “harmful organisation”.
Below the corporate’s Harmful People and Organizations coverage, Azov was banned from its platforms in 2019. The group was positioned below Fb’s Tier 1 designation, which incorporates teams such because the Ku Klux Klan and ISIL (ISIS). Customers partaking in reward, assist or illustration of Tier 1 teams are additionally banned.
Nevertheless, on February 24, the day Russia launched its invasion, Fb reversed its ban, saying it will permit reward for Azov.
“In the interim, we’re making a slender exception for reward of the Azov regiment strictly within the context of defending Ukraine, or of their position as a part of the Ukraine nationwide guard,” a spokesperson from Fb’s mum or dad firm, Meta, instructed Enterprise Insider.
“However we’re persevering with to ban all hate speech, hate symbolism, reward of violence, generic reward, assist, or illustration of the Azov regiment, and another content material that violates our group requirements,” it added.
The reversal of coverage will probably be an immense headache for Fb moderators, the Intercept, a US-based web site, mentioned.
“Whereas Fb customers might now reward any future battlefield motion by Azov troopers in opposition to Russia, the brand new coverage notes that ‘any reward of violence’ dedicated by the group remains to be forbidden; it’s unclear what kind of nonviolent warfare the corporate anticipates,” the Intercept wrote.
