The Azov Brigade, known for its tenacious but ultimately unsuccessful defense of the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol early in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is regarded as a particularly effective fighting force. But it was barred about a decade ago from using American arms because U.S. officials determined that some of its founders espoused racist, xenophobic and ultranationalist views, and U.N. human rights officials accused the group of humanitarian violations.
“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 a statement, referring to the “Leahy Law” that prevents U.S. military assistance from going to foreign units credibly found to have committed major human rights violations.
The State Department found “no evidence” of such violations, its statement says.
The brigade’s leadership says that it long ago shed those associations and that its commanders have fully turned over since that era.
Not looking forward to the inevitable far right attacks on minorities with arms smuggled through Ukraine
The blowback from this thing is going to be massive. They’re pouring weapons into that place at a horrific rate, and many are going missing
Sure but the US has already learned it can ignore blowback because it can just lie about the cause. Same thing happened in Afghanistan. Taliban took over because the US armed them, and then the US just pretended like that never happened and invented an excuse to go to war with the Taliban.
Honestly at this point the blowback is probably considered a selling point. When this all dies down in a few years the US can just pretend like none of this happened and then invent an excuse to go to war with Azov. All in the name of shareholder value for arms manufacturing
Truly the great satan
Blowback is something a different administration has to deal with. Therefore, it’s not our problem!
Arms going missing? Sudden surge of right-wing groups in places like Germany and Italy getting busted with caches?
Surely this has no coincidence at all. Remember to vote blue.
I’m surprised they didn’t do this earlier. Though I guess this explains all the puff piece articles about how Azov members are just smol bean nazis protecting their homeland from the evil orcs this week.
They had to wait untill enough ukrainian people died, that it wouldnt represent an escelation that would hurt the US.
"The Azov Brigade, known for its tenacious but ultimately unsuccessful defense of the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol early in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is regarded as a particularly effective fighting force.
Literally known for losing
They have a very different definition of “particularly effective” than I do. I usually reserve it for military brigades that have successful operations, but maybe that’s just me.
Particularly effective at ethnic cleansing and having a huge political backing.
good at disurpting pride parades too
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-lgbt-event-disrupted-azov-chernivtsi/28062749.html
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-assault-on-kiev-pride
They also run like rats from Bakhmut and allegedly even refused to go in when sent there
Fuggit
Masks off
Who even gives a Kentucky fried shit anymore about US foreign policy it is absolute fascist murderspree flailing bulletspray against the world who gonna stopem
referring to the “Leahy Law” that prevents U.S. military assistance from going to foreign units credibly found to have committed major human rights violations.
If that were a legitimate thing, the US would have to cease giving funding to its own forces, much less its proxies.
This makes me think that Ukraine must be totally winning this war now! Heavily arming straight up nazis as well as the ”””””””””””””””” homeland of the Jewish people”””””””””””””””” is bliss.
Ukraine is starting to topple, and the US has to ensure the right sort of people maintain control of whatever is left.
Who would win in a coup, the depleted conscript armed forces, or well armed, ideological paramilitaries with outside funding and direction?
I don’t know why we were even pretending that we weren’t all in on arming the Nazi Militia.
What the actual fuck is Leahy vetting.
Is that just a commie-check?
It’s a whole lot of nothing. Technically it is supposed to check for torture, kidnappings, and murder of non-combatants. You know, all things we have evidence of Azov doing. They also passed “Israel” on the vetting.
Supposedly it prevents the US from providing aid to specific units of countries with oppressive regimes, which is the US’s favourite pasttime. It doesn’t even do that though, because the Secretary of Defense can just bypass it for “special circumstances” (read: anything he wants).
Even if it worked exactly like it was supposed to, it only prevents aid to specific brigades. Which means if the US gives aid to a different brigade and then it was passed to Azov, there are no violations.
Ukraine’s gonna have a race war soon. The sooner Donbas gets out the better
