Azov Regiment

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Азов (Azov)

Lineup May 2014
Type regiment
Strength > 2,500 (2017)
Commanders
Current
commander 		Andrij Bilezkyj
insignia
Badge of

Azov Regiment

AZOV logo.svg

The Azov Regiment ( Ukrainian Полк Азов ) is one of around 80 paramilitary volunteer battalions that are fighting against pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country in the Ukraine conflict and are subordinate to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry. The association, founded by nationalist politicians, is highly controversial because of the sometimes openly right-wing extremist political positions of many of its leaders and relatives and the use of corresponding symbols. In 2014, the Azov regiment numbered around 850 soldiers.

history

Lineup

The militia was set up in the spring of 2014 by the nationalist politicians Oleh Lyaschko and Dmytro Korchynskyj as the Azov battalion to provide military support to the Ukrainian army in the fight against the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine . During the summer, the battalion grew and was expanded into the "Azov Special Operations Regiment" by order of Interior Minister Arsen Avakov in September 2014. In October 2014, Avakov announced the decision to incorporate the regiment into the National Guard.

The regiment is based in Berdyansk in the south of Zaporizhia Oblast on the Azov Sea , from which the troop name is derived.

Calls

On June 13, 2014, the battalion took part in the battle for Mariupol . In early August 2014, the unit was involved in battles in Marjinka in Donetsk Oblast .

structure

The commander of the unit is the leader of the right-wing Social-National Assembly ( Соціал-Національна Асамблея , SNA) Andrij Bilezkyj ; Volodymyr Schpara and Ihor Mossijtschuk are considered to be other leading figures. In addition to the headquarters in Berdyansk, there is a base in Ursuf in Donetsk Oblast , around 35 kilometers southwest of the strategically important port city of Mariupol .

Like other Ukrainian paramilitary units, the regiment is subordinate to the Interior Ministry of Ukraine or the National Guard and is therefore not part of the Ukrainian army . In the spring of 2014, the members of the then battalion received a salary of around 150 US dollars a month.

Members

The leaders and many members of the militia are members of the right-wing extremist organization Patriot of Ukraine ( Ukrainian Патріот України ), the SNA or the Pravyj sector . According to 20 Minuten , not a few of the men are self - confessed neo-Nazis and anti-Semites , many are considered ultra-right nationalists . The regiment is financially supported by the Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomojskyj . According to its own information, the unit had around 600 members in June 2014. More than half of them come from eastern Ukraine and are Russian native speakers. Although the regiment is often said to have anti-Semitic traits, professing members of the Jewish community also serve in it. One of the most prominent examples is Natan Hasin, who led the unity of the Jewish Hundred during the Euromaidan and who counts himself among the founders of the Azov regiment. In November 2014, the strength of the unit was given as 850 fighters, including at least 85 foreigners.

At the beginning of November 2014, Vadim Trojan, a right-wing commander of the regiment, was appointed police chief of Kiev Oblast by Interior Minister Arsen Avakov . In December 2014, the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko awarded a Belarusian unity fighter, Serhiy Korotkich, Ukrainian citizenship as an award. Korotkich has belonged to neo-Nazi movements in Belarus and Russia since the late 1990s.

The battalion commander declared on August 29, 2014 that the Ukrainian government's blitzkrieg tactic had failed and declared: “Without enough equipment, we should liberate as many cities as possible in a few weeks. The material destroyed in the process or the dead were not replaced. The Ukrainian flag could be hoisted in numerous cities, but we could not secure the places. "

The right-wing extremist group Misanthropic Division is integrated into the Azov regiment . She also has groups in Russia and Belarus, in several Western European countries as well as in North America.

Foreign support

Of the 850 fighters in 2014, around 85 came from abroad. They came from countries like Greece , Ireland , Italy , Sweden and Russia . A French veteran of the Croatian War , Gaston Besson, is active as the coordinator of the recruitment of foreigners .

In 2017, observers assume a troop strength of more than 2500 mercenaries, including Germans, who may have been recruited at right-wing rock events.

According to research by Belltower.News magazine , the Azov Regiment and the Misanthropic Division are recruiting members from the international National Socialist Black Metal scene. The neo-Nazi Hendrik Möbus , convicted of murder , Alexey Levkin, singer of the band M8l8th and organizer of the NSBM festival Åsgårdsrei , and Famine, singer of the French black metal band Peste Noire , are the liaison persons . There are further connections to the Identitarian Movement and to the right-wing extremist party The III. Way . The activities of Levkin and Möbus were already mentioned in 2019 by the weekly newspaper Der Freitag .

Reception and criticism

Badge of the Azov Regiment until August 2015

The Azov regiment is considered to be ultra-nationalist. The symbol used by the regiment as a distinguishing mark is a blue wolf tang on a yellow background. The Wolfsangel was also used by the SS disposal division . In addition, the former logo of the unit, which was in use until August 11, 2015, featured a black sun , a symbol that was widespread in the right-wing scene. The commander Bilezkyj, however, denies connections between the symbolism used and National Socialism.

Media criticism surfaced when a video appeared on ZDF heute Nachrichten on September 8, 2014, on which two members of the unit wore National Socialist symbols such as the swastika and the SS victories on their steel helmets .

The tolerance of right-wing extremist combat groups by the Ukrainian government has been criticized. The Ukrainian political scientist Anton Schechowzow described the battalion as openly right-wing extremist. The current Ukrainian government remains an enemy to the members of the unit. Interior Minister Avakov confirmed in an interview in October 2014 that "most" of the Azov fighters had "their own worldview", but denied the National Socialist reference to the symbols they used and instead highlighted the services they had earned in defending the country against them pro-Russian separatists. He rejected fears that volunteer organizations could turn against the government. On June 20, 2014, in an interview, Bilezkyj described the unilateral ceasefire temporarily imposed by Ukrainian President Poroshenko as a “strategic error”.

The manner in which various paramilitary Ukrainian militias attacked and built house wars was described as "chaotic, violent and unrestrained" in an article in the New York Times.

On June 11, 2015, the US Congress decided to stop any aid to the Azov regiment. They cited the open wearing of right-wing extremist symbols (badges) and their neo-Nazi views as the reason .

literature

Heinemann-Grüder, Andreas: Hostage taker or savior of the state? Irregular battalions in Ukraine. In: Eastern Europe, 3-4, 2019, pp. 51-80. P. 58f.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Linda Wurster: Dirty Struggle in Ukraine. Neo-Nazis in the service of the government. In: Focus Online . August 1, 2014, accessed August 14, 2014 .
  2. ^ Azov Battalion Is Not Neo-Nazi, But Some People In Battalion Are - Umland. January 19, 2015, archived from the original on February 23, 2015 ; accessed on February 23, 2015 (English, political scientist and Eastern Europe expert Andreas Umland in an interview with hromadske.tv).
  3. ↑ "It's better when it bangs." Article in the Frankfurter Rundschau from November 18, 2014
  4. ↑ The Ukrainian partisans fighting against the separatists raise concerns. In: Financial Times . May 22, 2014, accessed on September 21, 2014 (English, original title: Ukraine partisans battling separatists raise concerns ).
  5. ↑ "Azov" expands and emphasizes that it does not take part in elections. In: Ukrajinska Pravda . September 18, 2014, accessed on February 11, 2015 (Ukrainian, original title: "Азов" розширився до полку і наголошує, що на вибори не йде ).
  6. ↑ Askold Krushelnycky: The Battle For Mariupol, in: Atlantic Council of June 16, 2014, accessed on February 17, 2015 (English)
  7. ^ Hal Foster: A special-forces unit, started from scratch, wins a key battle in Ukraine. Tengrinews.kz, June 21, 2014, archived from the original on August 20, 2014 ; accessed on September 21, 2014 (English).
  8. ^ Christian Esch: Neo-Nazis in urban warfare. In: Frankfurter Rundschau . August 10, 2014, accessed September 21, 2014 .
  9. ↑ Conflict in Eastern Ukraine - Holidays under Arms. In: FAZ . August 8, 2014, accessed September 21, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Christopher J. Miller: Donbass Volunteer Battalion takes up arms to defend Ukraine and defeat the separatists. In: Kyiv Post . May 14, 2014, accessed on September 21, 2014 (English, original title: Volunteer Donbass Battalion takes up arms to defend Ukraine, defeat separatists ).
  11. ↑ Askold Krushelnycky: A Ukrainian Victory. In: National Review . June 25, 2014, accessed on September 21, 2014 (English, original title: A Ukrainian Victory ).
  12. ↑ Ukraine uses neo-Nazis against separatists. In: 20 minutes . August 13, 2014, accessed September 28, 2014 .
  13. ↑ http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/06/24/ukraine-jewish-billionaires-batallion-sent-to-fight-pro-russian-militias/#
  14. ↑ Sabra Ayres: Driven by far-right ideology, Azov Battalion mans Ukraine's front line. In: Al Jazeera . July 24, 2014, accessed September 21, 2014 .
  15. ↑ New volunteer recruits head east to fight in Ukrainian army's Azov Battalion. In: Kyiv Post. June 24, 2014, accessed September 21, 2014 .
  16. ↑ Виталий Червоненко: Антисемитизм или манипуляция: усиливается ли притеснение евреев в Украине? , BBC . May 14, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2019. 
  17. ↑ "It's better when it bangs." Article in the Frankfurter Rundschau from November 18, 2014
  18. ↑ David Chater: Neo-fascists train to fight Ukrainian rebels. Volunteers believing in national socialism are joining a battalion raised by the interior ministry. In: Al Jazeera. June 9, 2014, accessed September 21, 2014 .
  19. ↑ Fausto Biloslavo: Gli Uomini Neri. Il Giornale , accessed September 21, 2014 (Italian).
  20. ^ Dina Newman: Ukraine conflict. 'White power' warrior from Sweden. In: BBC News. July 16, 2014, accessed September 21, 2014 .
  21. ↑ Right-wing extremist becomes police chief in Kiev. Die Welt from November 12, 2014
  22. ↑ Website of the Ukrainian President, December 5, 2014 ( Memento of December 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  23. ^ How nepotism benefits Ukrainian neo-Nazis , article by Anton Shekovtsov in Die Zeit, December 11, 2014
  24. ↑ Nina Jeglinski: Political leadership holds fast to military operations. In: Stuttgarter Zeitung . August 29, 2014, accessed September 21, 2014 .
  25. ↑ In Romands soutiennent of combattants en Ukraine , letemps.ch, February 8, 2015
  26. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/Europe/ukraine/11025137/Ukraine-crisis-the-neo-Nazi-brigade-fighting-pro-Russian-separatists.html
  27. ↑ http://www.aljazeera.com/video/europe/2014/06/neo-fascists-train-fight-ukrainian-rebels-20146916493486659.html
  28. ↑ https://www.fr.de/politik/doch-besser-wenn-knallt-11171028.html
  29. ↑ Germans join right-wing Ukrainian battalion , Spiegel Online from November 11, 2017, accessed on the same day
  30. ↑ Sabri Deniz Martin, Simon Hemmers: How a right-wing extremist volunteer regiment recruited offspring with Black Metal. In: Belltower.News . August 12, 2020, accessed August 13, 2020 .
  31. ↑ Andreas Förster: The insight comes late. In: Friday . 2019, accessed August 13, 2020 .
  32. ↑ Ukrainian rebels. Civilians flee from combat area. In: The Standard. June 3, 2014, accessed September 21, 2014 .
  33. ↑ http://lb.ua/news/2014/12/10/288683_andrey_biletskiy_polovina_azova.html ( Memento from January 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  34. ↑ Matthias Meisner : swastika and SS rune - protest by spectators. In: Der Tagesspiegel . September 9, 2014, accessed September 21, 2014 .
  35. ↑ Armand Presser: With Nazis against Putin - ZDF leaves swastikas on the helmets of the Azov battalion uncommented. In: Jüdische Allgemeine . September 18, 2014, accessed September 21, 2014 .
  36. ^ Judith Moser: The future of Eastern Ukraine depends on Russia. In: The Standard . August 23, 2014, accessed on September 21, 2014 (interview with Anton Schechowzow).
  37. ↑ Interview of Arsen Avakov with the Focus magazine: "We need peace, but not at any cost", from October 6, 2014, accessed on the website of the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior on February 17, 2015 (English)
  38. ↑ Russia increases the pressure on Ukraine. Deutsche Welle, June 21, 2014, accessed on September 21, 2014 .
  39. ^ Andrew E. Kramer: Ukraine Strategy Bets on Restraint by Russia. In: The New York Times. August 9, 2014, accessed on August 22, 2014 (English): “The regular army bombards separatist positions from afar, followed by chaotic, violent assaults by some of the half-dozen or so paramilitary groups surrounding Donetsk who are willing to plunge into urban combat. "
  40. ↑ US House Passes 3 Amendments By Rep. Conyers To Defense Spending Bill To Protect Civilians From Dangers Of Arming and Training Foreign Forces ( Memento from June 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

Commons : Azov Regiment  - Collection of images, videos and audio files