Azov Regiment

The Special Operations Detachment "Azov" (), also known as the Azov Regiment ( uk, Полк «Азов», translit=Polk "Azov") and formerly the Azov Battalion ( uk, батальйон «Азов», translit=Batalion "Azov"), is a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine formerly based in Mariupol, in the coastal region of the Sea of Azov, from which it derives its name. The unit was founded in May 2014 as a volunteer paramilitary militia under the command of Andriy Biletsky to fight pro-Russian forces in the Donbas War, and was formally incorporated into the National Guard on 11 November 2014.

The group has drawn controversy over its early and allegedly continuing association with far-right groups and neo-Nazi ideology, its use of controversial symbols linked to Nazism, and early allegations that members of the group participated in torture and war crimes. Some experts are critical of the regiment's role within the larger Azov Movement, a political umbrella group made up of veterans and organizations linked to Azov, and its possible far-right political ambitions, despite claims of the regiment's depoliticization. Others argue that the regiment has evolved beyond its origins as street militia, tempering its neo-Nazi and far-right underpinnings as it became part of the National Guard. Since 2014, criticism of the Azov Regiment has been a recurring theme of Russian propaganda, and the unit has been designated a terrorist group by Russia since August 2022.

The regiment's size was estimated to be around 900 to 2,500 combatants in 2017–2022. Most of the unit's members are Russian speakers and come from the Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine. It also includes members from other countries. In the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the regiment gained renewed attention, as one of the reasons given by Russian president Vladimir Putin for the invasion was the "denazification" of Ukraine, to remove the alleged control of the country by far-right forces such as Azov. During the Siege of Mariupol the regiment played a prominent role in the city's defense, and made its final stand at the Azovstal steel plant. Ending the siege a significant amount of regiment's fighters, including the regiment's commander since 2017, Denys Prokopenko, surrendered to Russian forces on orders from the Ukrainian high command.

History

Background and founding, February–April 2014

According to anti-fascist researcher Vyacheslav Likhachev, Azov had many roots. For example, Jewish activist Nathan Khazin has described forming a group of around 26 activists in the Automaidan movement in 2013 who he said formed the backbone of Azov, while other sources emphasise the presence of former Patriot of Ukraine activists.

According to Katerina Sergatskova in Hromadske, parts of the Azov Regiment had its roots in a group of ultras of FC Metalist Kharkiv named "Sect 82" (1982 is the year of the founding of the group)"We are trying to come to power through elections, but we have all sorts of possibilities" – as "Azov" becomes party
, Hromadske.TV (13 October 2016) accused of Nazi leanings. In late February 2014, during the 2014 Ukrainian crisis when a separatist movement was active in Kharkiv, Sect 82 occupied the Kharkiv Oblast regional administration building in Kharkiv