The emblem of Azov Batallion.
The Azov Battalion is a volunteer unit of Ukraine's National Guard that consists mostly of Russian-speaking people from Luhansk and Donetsk. Andriy Biletsky led the battalion, and the battalion was funded by wealthy people such as Oleh Lyashko and Ihor Kolomoyskyi. Founded on 5 May 2014, it grew to approximately 1,000 men in various sub-units.
History[]
Azov Battalion troops in 2014
The Azov Battalion was formed on 5 May 2014 by volunteers, with a half of them being ethnic Russians from eastern Ukraine. Its leader Andriy Biletsky was a Ukrainian nationalist, calling for the expansion of Ukraine, the struggle for the "liberation of the white race", and punishing interracial contacts. The members ranged from believers in Nazism to liberals, with as many as 20% of the group being accused of being neo-Nazis. The group was diverse, attracting anyone from Arabs, Russians, and Americans to Christians, Muslims, and Jews. On 11 June 2015, the United States decided to block any training of the Azov Battalion due to some of their neo-Nazi views, and Canada also refused to train the group.
Later, the government of Ukraine decided to make the Azov Battalion an official part of the military as a part of the National Guard of Ukraine. Its base was Mariupol on the Azov Sea, which lent its name to the battalion. The Azov Battalion fought in the various battles for Mariupol against the Donetsk People's Republic and the other Russian separatists, who were allegedly assisted by the Russian Army during the Donbass War. Soon, they became the face of the Ukrainian volunteer units fighting the separatists.