As the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches its 40th day, a Ukrainian far-right military regiment has made headlines once again.
The presence of such units within the Ukrainian military was cited by Russian President Vladimir Putin as one of the reasons for beginning his so-called “special military operation… to de-militarize and de-Nazify Ukraine.”
So, what exactly is the Azov regiment?
Azov is an ultra-nationalist all-volunteer infantry military unit with an estimated 900 soldiers who are accused of harbouring neo-Nazi and white supremacist beliefs.
The Patriot of Ukraine gang and the neo-Nazi Social-National Assembly (SNA) organisation initially organised the unit as a volunteer group in May 2014. Both groups promoted xenophobic and neo-Nazi ideologies and violently assaulted migrants, the Roma population, and anybody who disagreed with them.
The squad fought as a battalion on the front lines against pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, Ukraine’s eastern region. Putin acknowledged the independence of two rebel-held districts of Donbas just before commencing the attack.
On November 12, 2014, a few months after retaking the vital port city of Mariupol from Russian-backed rebels, the unit was officially absorbed into Ukraine’s National Guard, earning high plaudits from then-President Petro Poroshenko.
“These are our best fighters,” he stated in 2014 at an awards ceremony. “Our most dedicated volunteers.”
Azov was founded by whom?
Andriy Biletsky, the leader of both the Patriot of Ukraine (formed in 2005) and the SNA, led the unit (founded in 2008). The SNA is reported to have attacked minority communities in Ukraine.
Biletsky stated in 2010 that Ukraine’s national goal was to “lead the white races of the globe in a last crusade… against Semite-led Untermenschen [inferior races].”
Biletsky was elected to the Russian parliament in 2014. He left Azov because elected officials are not permitted to serve in the military or police force. He was a member of the House of Commons until 2019.
Bely Vozd – or White Ruler – is the nickname given to the 42-year-old by his followers. In October 2016, he founded the far-right National Corps party, whose primary members are Azov veterans.
Who supported Azov before he joined Ukraine’s military forces?
The unit gained support from Ukraine’s interior minister in 2014, as the government recognised that its own military was too weak to combat pro-Russian separatists and instead depended on paramilitary volunteer forces.
These soldiers were privately supported by billionaires, the most well-known of whom was Igor Kolomoisky, a billionaire energy mogul and then-governor of the Dnipropetrovska region.
Kolomoisky also supported other volunteer battalions, including Dnipro 1 and Dnipro 2, Aidar, and Donbas.
Serhiy Taruta, the millionaire governor of the Donetsk province, provided Azov with early finance and assistance.
The ideology of the Neo-Nazis
Andriy Diachenko, the regiment’s spokesperson at the time, stated in 2015 that 10 to 20% of Azov’s recruits were Nazis.
The force has denied that it follows Nazi doctrine as a whole, yet Nazi insignia such as the swastika and SS regalia can be found on Azov members’ uniforms and bodies.
The uniform, for example, bears the neo-Nazi Wolfsangel insignia, which resembles a black swastika on a yellow background. According to the group, it is simply an amalgamation of the letters “N” and “I,” which stand for “national idea.”
Individual members have declared themselves to be neo-Nazis, and hardline far-right ultra-nationalism is widespread among members.
Azov launched its National Druzhyna street policing squad in January 2018 to “restore” order in Kyiv. Instead, the unit carried out pogroms against the Roma minority and targeted LGBTQ people.
“Ukraine is the world’s only nation with a neo-Nazi unit in its military forces,” stated a journalist for the Nation, a US-based magazine, in 2019.
Violations of human rights and war crimes
The Azov regiment was accused of breaking international humanitarian law in a 2016 report by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHA).
In October 2019, 40 members of the US Congress, led by Representative Max Rose, signed an unsuccessful letter requesting that the US State Department label Azov as a “foreign terrorist organisation” (FTO). Last April, Representative Elissa Slotkin renewed the request to the Biden administration, which included other white nationalist groups.
Transnational support for Azov has been widespread, and Ukraine has emerged as a new global centre for the far right. Men from three continents have been documented as joining Azov training units to gain military experience and engage in similar ideas.
Facebook’s erratic behaviour
The Azov regiment was initially labelled a “dangerous organisation” by Facebook in 2016.
Azov was barred from the company’s platforms in 2019 under the company’s Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy. The group was placed in Facebook’s Tier 1 category, which includes organisations such as the Ku Klux Klan and ISIL (ISIS). Users who promote, support, or represent Tier 1 groups are likewise prohibited.
However, on February 24, the day Russia launched its assault, Facebook lifted its prohibition, stating that support for Azov would be permitted.
“For the time being, we are providing a small exception for appreciation of the Azov regiment solely in the context of defending Ukraine, or as part of the Ukraine national guard,” a spokeswoman for Facebook’s parent company, Meta, told Business Insider.
“However, we will continue to prohibit all hate speech, hate symbolism, glorification of violence, generic praise, support, or representation of the Azov regiment, and any other content that violates our community standards,” the statement continued.
According to the Intercept, a US-based publication, the policy change will be a huge headache for Facebook administrators.
“While Facebook users may now celebrate any future military activity by Azov warriors against Russia,” the Intercept noted, “the new policy emphasises that ‘any endorsement of violence’ perpetrated by the group is still prohibited; it’s unclear what kind of peaceful combat the corporation anticipates.”
