The Azov Regiment of Ukraine is alleged to be far-right Neo-Nazi sympathizers that Vladimir Putin mentioned as the reason for the special operation.
There are 900 known members of the infantry unit that espouses White Supremacist ideologies, according to sources. This is known about this controversial Ukrainian unit engaging Russians in the conflict.
What is Azov?
The Azov is a volunteer group banded together in May 2014 by the ultra-nationalist Patriot of Ukraine gang and the neo-Nazi Social, national assembly (SNA) group, noted Al Jazeera.
They are charged with activities steeped in xenophobia and Nazism, engaged in attacking non-Ukrainian immigrants and any group who would oppose their view, reported Wion News.
The battalion of neo-Nazis would be fighting on the front against Donetsk pro-Russian separatists in the East part of their country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the independence of DPR and LPR; under rebel control when the special operation was done. When the strategic port city of Mariupol got occupied by separatists a few months later, they drove them out.
Soon after the unit was decreed to be part of the National Guard of Ukraine on November 12, 2014, then-President Petro Poroshenko praised them. He added they are the best warriors during a 2014 awards ceremony.
Who founded Azov?
Andriy Biletsky, the leader of the pro-Ukraine paramilitary group, leads the Patriots of Ukraine and the SNA. Attacks on minorities in Ukraine were supposed to be their handiwork but not proven.
According to the Azov leader in 2010, the goal of their group was to lead white supremacists against Jews leading inferior races.
He won as a parliament member in 2014 but had to leave the unit because elected officials are prohibited from serving in either military or police. He was an MP until 2019.
Azov's Fundings
In 2014, Kyiv's interior minister endorsed the unit, understanding that the nation's military was too weak to confront pro-Russian separatists and depended on paramilitary volunteer troops.
These soldiers were funded privately by oligarchs. The most well-known of them is Igor Kolomoisky, a billionaire energy entrepreneur and former governor of the Dnipropetrovska region, cited the Vox.
Kolomoisky also backed the Dnipro 1 and Dnipro 2 militia groups, including the Aidar and Donbas groups. Early funding and assistance for the neo-Nazi groups were through Serhiy Taruta, billionaire governor of the Donetsk region.
Nazi Ideologies
In 2015, Andriy Diachenko, the brigade's spokesman at the time, estimated that 10% to 20% of Azov's recruits were Nazis.
No one is a follower of Nazism as an ideology, although symbolism like the Hakenkreuz and SS regalia on the group's uniforms. For restoring order in Kyiv, a street patrol from the same unit called the National Druzhyna allegedly attacked the Roma and LGBTQ communities.
According to the Human rights violations and war crimes, the nation's office of the high commissioner for Human Rights (OCHA) was committed by the unit in Donbas with other atrocities, including rape and torture.
Azov Regiment of Ukraine is supposed to have Nazi sympathizers but is denied by the group despite suspicions raised by those concerned.
