Previously, the sending of arms to the Azov Brigade was off limits because of the group's hateful ideologies, but the State Department under President Biden has decided that U.S. taxpayers should fund the arming of these rebels.
"After thorough review, Ukraine's 12th Special Forces Azov Brigade passed Leahy vetting as carried out by the U.S. Department of State," the agency said in an announcement to the Washington Post this week, referring to legislation that previously banned the sending of military aid to units that are involved in human rights abuses.
According to the State Department, there is "no evidence" that Azov has committed any violations that would restrict it from receiving U.S. taxpayer-funded weapons from America.
Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, are excited about the change. They had long treated the lifting of this ban as "a top priority" during their lobbying efforts, which ultimately paid off at the expense of U.S. taxpayers.
(Related: Did you know that most of the U.S. tax dollars being shipped off to Ukraine are being used for wasteful excesses like subsidizing Ukrainian corporations, paying politicians' salaries and buying fertilizer for Ukrainian farmers?)
ADL, Democrats change views on Azov Brigade – suddenly it's no longer an "extremist" group
Founded in 2014, the Azov Brigade came into existence during the war that broke out at that time with the breakaway republics of Donbass. Said republics decided to secede from Ukraine following the Western-backed coup in Kiev, its core fighters being active and former members of ultranationalist and neo-Nazi groups.
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Unit co-founder Andrey Biletsky is one such individual who was a member of a "white supremacist" group in the 2000s. Since that time, Biletsky has toned down his neo-Nazi rhetoric, though Azov fighters continue to sport Nazi tattoos and other Third Reich insignias.
The Azov Brigade also flies banners bearing Nazi symbols such as the Wolfsangel, which was used by numerous German divisions during World War III, as well as the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.
In 2015, Azov was incorporated into Ukraine's National Guard. Since that time, it has grown significantly.
In 2018, the U.S. Congress issued a formal ban on the delivery or arms to Azov because of its neo-Nazi ties, with California Democrat Ro Khanna stating at the time that "white supremacy and neo-Nazism are unacceptable and have no place in our world."
One year later in 2019, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) described Azov as a "Ukrainian extremist group" with ties to the U.S.-based neo-Nazi organization Atomwaffen. Since then, the ADL has changed its views, writing a letter to The Grayzone in late 2022 after the war started stating that Azov is no longer the "far-right group it once was."
During the siege of Mariupol in 2022, many Azov fighters surrendered to Russian troops. Moscow has since accused the unit of all sorts of war crimes, including torture and the execution of civilians.
"Looks like the White House has become an extremist group," commented someone online about how this shift in support for the Azov Brigade is suspicious.
"It's been a rogue state for a long time," responded another.
"This isn't the first time the U.S. is funding terrorism," said someone else. "It's not that I love to see ordinary American people suffer when it will collapse economically, but for the world it is probably better if someone more responsible takes over the planet's leadership."
The latest news about the criminal activity taking place in Ukraine can be found at Corruption.news.
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