The United States raises weapons and the prohibition of training on the Azov Brigade in Ukraine

The United States has raised restrictions on providing weapons and training for the prominent Ukrainian military unit in the Azov Brigade. The US State Department confirmed on Monday that the unit, which played an important role in Ukraine’s efforts to repel the continuous The invasion launched by Russia In February 2022, they can now be trained by American military personnel and the use of weapons from the United States.

Reflecting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs step by a decade of a decade of time on the AZOV forces under Lahi the lawWhich prevents the United States from providing weapons or financial assistance “to the units of foreign security forces, where reliable information is involved in the involvement of the total violations of human rights.”

The Foreign Ministry said that it had concluded that there is no “evidence of a serious violation of human rights committed by the twelfth Azov Brigade.”

The Azov Brigade was initially a voluntary force that rose to the lead in 2014, when Russian forces crossed the eastern border of Ukraine and began seizing the ground. The following year, he was incorporated into the National Guard of Ukraine. It will now have to reach the same thing American military assistance Like any other unit in the National Guard.

According to the Washington Post, the American assistance of the Azov unit under the law of Lehi was prevented for about a decade, due to concerns about its founder, national nationalism Andrei Belitsky, and other members who suffer from Nazi sympathy. Some members of what was then known as the Azov battalion were described as the far right and the foreign membrane-it was Recommended repeatedly by Russian propaganda Campaign to justify the invasion of Ukraine.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not say when the ban was lifted, but a spokesman for his name said on Monday that the original unit had been resolved years ago and that the examination of the current brigade did not find any evidence of total human rights violations, which led to a decrease in restrictions.

The publication of the Azov brigade a statement On social media, she welcomes a “new page in history” for the unit, saying that “obtaining Western weapons and training from the United States will not only increase the combat capacity of AZOV, but more importantly, contributing to preserving the lives of employees and the health of employees.”

In 2022, the Russian Supreme Court officially set the Azov A Group A Terrorist Group, and spoke on Tuesday in Moscow, and a spokesman for Kremlin Dimtry Peskov told reporters that “such a sudden change in Washington’s position indicates that he would do anything to suppress Russia … even flirting with the new Nazis,” in 2022.

Azov forces played a major role in defending the southern city MariolpolHe refused to surrender for 80 days as they were Baked in a sprawling steel mill With a little ammunition and under the Russian artillery fire, before ultimately Put on their weapons.

In Ukraine, Azov forces have become a strong symbol of the Ukrainian resistance in the war against Russia, and many remain in Russian families.

Camilla Chic

He contributed to this report.