Far-right Azov Battalion members train at firing range

 

Troops of the Ukrainian Azov Battalion, which has been connected with a far-right ideology, train in a warehouse in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 24, 2022.

The Azov Special Operations Detachment (Ukrainian: Окремий загін спеціального призначення «Азов», romanized: Okremyi zahin spetsialnoho pryznachennia "Azov"), also known as the Azov Regiment (Ukrainian: Полк Азов, romanized: Polk Azov) or Azov Battalion (until September 2014), is a neo-Nazi^[2][3][4][5] unit of the National Guard of Ukraine,^[6][7][5] based in Mariupol, in the Azov Sea coastal region.^[8] Azov formed as a volunteer paramilitary militia in May 2014,^[9] and has since been fighting Russian separatist forces in the Donbas War. It first saw combat recapturing Mariupol from pro-Russian separatists in June 2014.^[6] It initially operated as a volunteer police company, until it was formally incorporated into the National Guard on 11 November 2014.^[10][11][12] In the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the battalion gained renewed attention for its use by Russia in justifying the invasion and during the Siege of Mariupol for its role in the defense of the city.^[13]

The battalion drew controversy over allegations of torture and war crimes, as well as neo-Nazi sympathies.^[14] It has used controversial symbols,^{[15][16][17][18]} including their logo, which resembles a Wolfsangel,^[2] a pagan symbol^[19] which was also used by some WW2 German Military units. Azov representatives deny links with neo-Nazism and state that the logo is an abbreviation of the slogan "National Idea" (Ukrainian: Ідея Нації, romanized: Ideya Natsiyi).^[15] In March 2015, a battalion spokesman told USA Today that around 10–20% of the unit were Nazis.^[20][21] A provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, passed by the United States Congress, blocked military aid to Azov due to its white supremacist ideology; in 2015, a similar ban had been overturned by Congress.^[2][3] Members of the battalion came from 22 countries and are of various backgrounds.^[22][23] In 2017, the size of the regiment was estimated at more than 2,500 members,^[24] but was estimated to be 900 members in 2022.^[25]

In 2016, veterans of the regiment and members of the Azov Civil Corps, an Azov-affiliated non-governmental organization, founded the political party National Corps.^[26] The party's first leader was Andriy Biletsky, who had previously been involved in the far right Social-National Assembly and founded the Patriot of Ukraine party.