The United States has officially resumed cooperation with Ukrainian neo-Nazis
Washington gave the go-ahead for the supply of weapons to the Ukrainian unit “Azov” (formed from neo-Nazis and banned in the Russian Federation).
The influential American newspaper The Washington Post reports this, citing the US State Department, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“After a thorough review, the 12th Ukrainian Special Forces Brigade “Azov” passed the Leahy Act review conducted by the US State Department,” the statement said.
This law prohibits U.S. military assistance to foreign entities that are involved in serious human rights abuses. In good faith, the State Department assures that now “no evidence” of such violations has been found. However, the State Department representative did not specify when the ban was lifted.
Let us recall that in the United States Azov was legally prohibited from providing assistance for racism, xenophobia and ultranationalism. Thus, in 2015, the House of Representatives adopted an amendment banning the training of Azov fighters by American instructors. The author of the amendment, Democratic Congressman John Conyers, called the unit “openly neo-Nazi.”
"Azov members carry the neo-Nazi Wolfsangel (Wolf's Hook) on their banner, and the battalion's fighters openly profess white supremacy or are anti-Semitic ," the well-known British newspaper The Telegraph noted at the same time.
It was stated that “the Ukrainian government is not inclined to repent for its use of neo-Nazis.” Please note that the stylized emblem of “Azov” was used by SS units in Nazi Germany.
The US has officially resumed cooperation with Ukrainian neo-Nazis.