The elite Ukrainian unit that spearheaded the defence of Mariupol against Russian forces has been excluded from the United States’ latest military aid package because of its historical links to right-wing extremists.
Azov Regiment fighters held out against overwhelming odds for three months in 2022. Their ferocious defence of the southern port city, culminating in a last stand at the Azovstal steelworks, came to symbolise Ukraine’s determination to resist the Russian invasion.
The unit, since reconstituted as the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade, is now fighting on the front line in the Serebryansky forest outside Lyman, as Russia attacks Ukrainian positions across the east of the country.
Unlike regular Ukrainian troops, the Azov fighters will be deprived of supplies from the next US shipment of
