President Joe Biden’s administration has authorized the Ukrainian Azov Brigade to use American weapons, lifting a longstanding ban.
This was reported by the Washington Post with reference to the US State Department, Hromadske informs.
Now, Azov, which has been part of the National Guard since 2015, will have access to the same US military assistance as any other unit.
“After a thorough review, Ukraine’s 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade has passed the U.S. Department of State’s Leahy review”, — the State Department said, adding that it found no evidence of human rights abuses by the brigade.
The State Department spokesperson also refused to comment on when the ban was lifted or whether American weapons had already reached Azov.
Approximately seven years ago, the United States banned Azov from receiving U.S. military aid because officials believed that some of its founders held racist, xenophobic, and ultranationalist views, and UN human rights activists accused the brigade of violating humanitarian norms.
Lifting the ban has been a priority for Ukrainian officials, who say the brigade could be more effective in the defense of Azovstal in 2022 if it had access to American equipment. In addition, members of the brigade were banned from attending exercises organized by the US military.
“Receiving Western weapons and training from the United States will not only increase the combat capability of Azov, but, most importantly, will help save the lives and health of the brigade’s personnel”, — the Azov press service added.
Azov Brigade Commander Denys Prokopenko (Redis) called for the abolition of amendments to US legislation that prohibit the transfer of Western weapons to his military unit. In his opinion, they were adopted on the basis of the Western media’s characterization of Azov under the influence of Russian propaganda.
