USA cancels ban on supply of weapons to Azov
The United States has lifted the ban on the supply of weapons of its production to the Ukrainian 12th Special Purpose Brigade Azov, reported the Washington Post with reference to the results of an inspection conducted by the US State Department. Later, this was confirmed by the brigade itself.
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Azov was vetted under former Sen. Patrick Leahy's law, which would prevent the transfer of American military aid to foreign units found to have committed serious human rights abuses.
The State Department noted that it did not find any evidence of such violations on the part of Azov.
A spokesman for the department refused to tell the publication when the ban was lifted and whether American weapons had reached the personnel of the brigade. Also, neither the management of Azov nor the Ukrainian government responded to requests for comments from the media.
In addition, Azov soldiers were forbidden to attend exercises organized by the American military.
On top of the State Department's vetting process, US appropriations laws have long barred Azov from receiving American aid.
Now US officials say that since the Azov battalion is structurally different from the current National Guard brigade, these restrictions do not apply, the WP notes. At the same time, it is not specified whether such restrictions on the battalion were really justified.
Employees of the US Embassy in Ukraine confirmed to Azov: the brigade has passed the inspection required by US law and has the right to receive assistance from the United States in the field of security. The military unit reported this on Telegram.
On April 19, Azov combatant Denys "Redis" Prokopenko asked the United States to cancel the ban on the transfer of weapons to the brigade, introduced in 2017.
According to him, the ban was the reason why, during the defense of Mariupol in 2022, Azov did not have the latest Western weapons, and the fighters had to restrain the overwhelming forces of the enemy, using extremely limited resources.
On May 8, Ukrainians called on the authorities to urgently hold negotiations with the United States regarding the cancellation of restrictions on the supply of weapons to Azov. The petition to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received the required number of votes.
