MMP: Azov Battalion

• Azov Special Operations Detachment
• Azov Regiment

• March 2014: 50 men (Gomza and Zajaczkowski)[1]
• June 2014: 200 men  (Gomza and Zajaczkowski)[2]
• July 2014: 300 men (BBC, Al Jazeera America)[3]
• August 2014: 500 (Foreign Policy)[4]
• March 2015: 1000 men (Reuters)[5]
• 2019: 10,000 followers (Foreign Policy)[6]
• 2019: 22,500 followers (20,000 National Corps members, 1500 Azov Regiment, 1000 National Militia) (Gomza and Zajaczkowski)[7]

The group initially received funding from Ukrainian oligarch and governor of Donetsk, Serhiy Taruta.[1] Taruta was a billionaire who was appointed to the Donestk region in March 2014 shortly before a separatist insurgency broke out.[2]

The founder of the Azov Battalion, Andriy Biletsky, allegedly had close ties with Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov starting in 2008.[3] Avakov was a patron and government protector of the Azov Battalion, prior to his resignation in 2021.[4] The Azov Battalion was incorporated into the Ukrainian National Guard while Avakov was the Interior Minister.[5] A direct relationship between Avakov and Andriy Biletsky predates the formation of Azov though. From 2005-2010 Patriot Ukraine, Biletsky’s precursor to the Azov Battalion, was active in the city of Kharkiv, where Avakov was governor. During this time Patriot Ukraine coordinated closely with local police and authorities, particularly in monitoring migrants and raiding kiosks, whose owners were not loyal to Avakov’s government.[6] Biletsky, first with Patriot Ukraine and subsequently with Azov, benefited from the patronage of Avakov for nearly a decade during Avakov’s time as governor and then as Minister of the Interior.[7]

In 2016, members of the Azov Battalion and National Corps traveled to Poland where they received special operations training from the European Security Academy.[8] The group also received funding from charity donations, diaspora funds, and other European far-right groups.[9]

The group has an active social media presence that it uses for recruitment, fundraising, and messaging. It previously used Facebook and Instagram before it was deplatformed in 2016 for being a “dangerous organization.”[10] There is suggestive evidence that the group may receive support from online goods advertised on Instagram and Facebook through the Misanthropic Division and Wolknvt shopfronts.[11] In 2022, it was using Telegram to broadcast messages about the fight in Mariupol.[12]

Azov runs an international outreach program, headed by Olena Semenyaka, which networks with other far-right organizations across the U.S. and Europe.[13] This has included running events and recruitment efforts out of European and American white supremacist and neo-nazi groups such as the Nordic Resistance Movement, Rise Above Movement, Casa Pound, and Atomwaffen Division.[14]

International recruitment efforts run through Azov’s international events, in particular mixed martial arts competitions.[15] Individual recruits from abroad are brought through the “Cossack House”, a social center run by the Azov Battalion in Kyiv. The Cossack House operates as a hub for arriving recruits.[16]

Disclaimer: This is a partial list of where the militant organization has bases and where it operates. This does not include information on where the group conducts major attacks or has external influences.

The Azov Battalion initially mobilized in eastern Ukraine and primarily operates around Mariupol.[1] In the spring of 2014, it had a training camp in Urzuf, Ukraine at a former presidential summer beach home.[2]

It fought in several major engagements outside Mariupol in 2014.[3] In February 2022, the group was fighting in Mariupol.[4] Azov attachments were also reportedly fighting in Kyiv and Kharkiv.[5]

In November 2008, Biletsky created the umbrella Social Nationalist Assembly (SNA)  movement.[1] The movement was a derivative of the earlier political party Social-National Party of Ukraine (SNPU), which later became known as Svoboda. The SNA contained members from a collection of nationalist and extreme-right groups in Ukraine which promoted a neo-Nazi ideology.[2] Members from the SNA later joined Azov.

In 2016, the Azov Battalion created a political party known as the National Corps.[3] Biletsky became the de facto political leader of the National Corps although he did not have an official position. Olena Semenyaka was the head and spokesperson for the National Corps.[4] The National Corps did not have substantial political support and only had 2 members in Parliament as of 2019. In 2019, the National Corps ran in Parliamentary elections with a larger far-right coalition including the Right Sector and Svoboda to try to hit the minimum 5 percent electoral threshold for representation. However, the coalition only garnered 2.3% of the vote and failed to gain any seats.[5] Some scholars suggested the group did not have ambitions to command large political power, but to to radicalize the population and help normalize extreme-right, neo-Nazi ideas in Ukrainian politics.[6]

The Azov Battalion is predominantly a light infantry force, but does possess heavier equipment including armored personnel carriers, artillery and tanks.[1] From 2014-2022 Azov conducted patrols around Mariupol in search of pro-Russian forces, dug trenches and defensive positions, and organized cells around Mariupol to fortify the city’s defenses.[2]

In 2014 and 2015, the Azov Battalion reportedly engaged in the detention, interrogations, and torture of a Mariupol resident.[3] In 2016, members of the Azov Battalion forcibly obstructed the entrance to a Ukrainian TV channel station after the TV channel broadcast a Russian journalist.[4] In 2018, the National Militia targeted Roma and LGBT minorities in Ukraine.[5] The National Militia publicized their attacks through livestreams on Facebook.

In January and February 2022, the Azov Battalion conducted civilian training programs in Kyiv and Mariupol in preparation for a Russian invasion.[6] The Russian invasion led to a siege of Mariupol beginning in March 2022 where Azov forces once again resisted enemy forces using a combination of small arms, defensive maneuvers, and lightly-armed attacks.[7]

Azov operated an annual children’s camp in 2015 and 2017, where attendees were known as “Azovets.” The purpose of these camps is to instill in children a sense of patriotism, nationalist ideas, and promote support for Azov.[1] The camps involve mock military drills, instruction in nationalist beliefs, and other tutelage.[2]

Azov has a street wing faction known as the National Druzhyna or National Militia, which aims to promote law and order within local neighborhoods.[3]

The group held parades in Mariupol to commemorate the anniversary of the 2014 battle.[4]

Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Azov ran training session for civilians in Mariupol including medical care, survival and evacuation, and weapons training.[5] In Kyiv, roughly 350 civilians attended a paramilitary training event run by Azov.[6] 

European Far-Right and Identitarian Movement. Members of the Azov Battalion have met with members of other European far-right political parties including Italy’s CasaPound and Germany’s National Democratic Party.[1] In 2017, the Azov Battalion hosted a conference at which a CasaPound representative emphasized the far-right in Europe’s movement was about “redefining politics — language, symbolism and aesthetics.”[2] Other attendees at the conference included members from the French identitarian Union Defense Group (GUD), Alliansen – Alternativ for Norge, American white nationalist Greg Johnson.[3]

Olga Semenyaka is a prominent “diplomat” of the Azov Battalion. She has extensively traveled around Europe to network with other far-right nationalist and Identarian movements in Europe. She gave a lecture at an Identitarian Conference in 2019 where Jared Taylor and Kevin MacDonald were present. She also attended a Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond (EKRE)-sponsored celebration in 2019 and a Portuguese Identitarian conference with Escudo Identitario in 2019.[4] She has also engaged with the hate rock scene and met with members of Wotan Jugend as well as the German group Absurd, the French Peste Noire, and the Finnish Goatmoon.[5]

Right Sector. The Right Sector has been described as a “sister group” of the Azov Battalion.[6] Right Sector was one the most prominent far-right Ukrainian groups involved in the Euromaidan protests, which toppled president Yanukovych. Right Sector was an extreme-right, ultra-nationalist group which favored authoritarian politics and later opposed pro-Russian separatists.[7] Right Sector was described as an umbrella organization for other militant organizations including Trident, the Patriots of Ukraine, and the Social National Assembly.[8]

Misanthropic Division. Azov has a strong affiliation with the Misanthropic Division. The Misanthropic Division is a nihilistic neo-Nazi paramilitary organization with similar ideological views as Azov. It originally formed around 2014 and participated in the Euromaidan Protests. In 2015, the Misanthropic Division published a manifesto pledging “immediate support” for the Azov Battalion.[9] By 2021, Misanthropic had largely merged with the Azov Battalion and disavowed militant activities.[10] However, Misanthropic Division remained active on social media setting up various shopfronts for selling merchandise, advertising, and fundraising through the Walknvt platform.[11]

C14/S14.  C14 is a neo-Nazi nationalist group in Kyiv. It conducted an attack with Right Sector and Azov in 2016 against the left-wing Autonomous Resistance in Lviv.[12] The group typically attacks Roma and minority communities.[13]

Atomwaffen Division. AWD has made contact with the Azov Battalion, a unit of the Ukrainian National Guard that promotes white supremacy extremism and neo-Nazi beliefs. With the aid of foreign fighters recruited from around the world, the Azov Battalion has fought against pro-Russian separatists in the eastern half of the country. In 2015, AWD founder Brandon Russell reached out to an anonymous member of the Azov Battalion online. Presenting himself as “an avid supporter of the Azov Battalion” under the username “Odin,” Russell requested “some advice from you about my militia that I lead in the US.”[14] It is unclear what, if any, assistance he may have received from Azov Battalion members. In addition to Russell, the Azov Battalion is known to have made contact with at least one other member of AWD. In January 2016, Andrew Oneschuk, a roommate of Russell, served as a guest on the Azov Battalion’s podcast, which frequently hosts representatives of far-right organizations in Europe and North America. He spoke about challenges facing Americans who wish to join the Azov Battalion in Ukraine as foreign fighters and expressed interest in learning tips in boosting membership of the extreme right.[15] In October 2020, Ukraine deported two American Atomwaffen members who were allegedly trying to join the Azov Battalion in order to gain experience fighting.[16]

AWD Ukraine. Ukraine allegedly hosts a group claiming to be an AWD affiliate, though the cell is not sanctioned by AWD central in the United States. Like AWD Russia, the official name of this organization is unclear; for ease of reference, this profile has adopted the term “self-declared AWD Ukraine.” Some sources have referred to this group by the name “AWD Galizien.”[17] “Galizien” is a reference to a unit of the Nazi Waffen-SS composed largely of ethnic Ukrainians during the Second World War. In December 2019, the self-declared AWD Ukraine released a video featuring five men wearing camouflage fatigues with AWD patches and threatening violence against Ukrainian politicians.[18] The men also wore blurred-out patches for two Ukrainian far-right organizations, the Azov Battalion and Right Sector.[19]

Rise Above Movement. In Ukraine, Olena Semenyaka, head of the National Corps hosted members of the U.S.-based extreme right Rise Above Movement (RAM).[20] Semenyaka later stated that the RAM’s leader Rundo and his compatriots “came to learn our ways” and “showed interest in learning how to create youth forces in the ways Azov has.”[21] During their visit, the RAM members joined the Azov Battalion for sparring at the Reconquista Club, an mixed martial arts (MMA) club affiliated with the group.[22] Rundo entered an MMA competition for white supremacists from across Europe, supposedly the first American to take part in the history of the event.[23] While in Kiev, Rundo also got a tattoo of the Viking warrior logo of White Rex, a clothing label founded by Russian MMA fighter and Azov Battalion associate Denis Nikitin.[24]

Russian Imperial Movement. The Russian Imperial Movement is an adversary of the Azov Battalion in the Ukrainian conflict.[25] In 2014 and 2015, RIM’s paramilitary force fought alongside pro-Russian separatists. Though Azov and RIM share some white supremacy extremist beliefs, they have fought on opposite sides in Ukraine’s civil war.

Brendon Tarrant. Press later reported a connection between the Christchurch shooting of a mosque in New Zealand and the Azov Battalion. Brendon Tarrant visited Ukraine and wore the “Wolfsangel” patch that Azov is associated with although no formal connection exists.[26]

Ukraine designated the Azov Battalion official volunteer battalion status in May 2014.[1] It became an official part of the Interior Ministry’s National Guard.[2]

Azov is notable for its recruitment of far-right foreign fighters from the U.S. and Europe as well as its extensive transnational ties with other far-right organizations. Azov recruits foreign fighters on the basis of its white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideology to fight against pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.  The group has recruited fighters from eastern Ukraine as well as Belarus, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Canada, France, and Russia.[3] The Soufan Center reported that between 2014-2019 approximately 50,000 people from 17 countries – including the United States – traveled to fight in Ukraine although it is hard to determine how many specifically fought with Azov.[4]  A report by the Counter Extremism Project estimates that western foreign fighters in Ukraine with previous ties to right wing extremism numbered in the hundreds, and that the Azov Battalion is the key hub for these extremists.[5]

American citizens have been amongst the extremists traveling to Ukraine with the expressed purpose of training with, or joining the Azov Battalion. American extremists traveling to Ukraine have included avowed neo-Nazis and white supremacists, as well as individuals subject to criminal investigation and arrest by American law enforcement. For example, four members of the violent white supremacist group, Rise Above Movement, were arrested by the FBI for violence at protests. In the FBI’s criminal complaint, the investigators noted the four arrestees had traveled to Ukraine with the expressed purpose of training with the Azov Battalion.[6] Two members of the U.S. based Atomwaffen Division, an accelerationist Neo-Nazi group, were deported by Ukrainian authorities in 2020 for attempting to join the Azov Battalion.[7] American military veterans have also joined Azov through their international recruitment program alongside far right European volunteers.[8]

Far right European volunteers have included veterans of European militaries, including the Swedish and Croatian militaries.[9] Russian dissidents have also joined the Azov Battalion. Unable to protest in Russia, these individuals traveled to Ukraine to directly join the fighting, and signed up for the Azov Battalion since it is predominantly a Russian speaking group.[10]

In 2016, members of the Azov Battalion and National Corps traveled to Poland where they received special operations training from the European Security Academy.[11] The group also received funding from charity donations, diaspora funds, and other European far-right groups.[12]

In early 2022, President Zelensky announced the formation of the International Legion, an organization specifically organized around foreign fighters travelling to Ukraine to fight against the Russian military.[13] As of March 6th, 2022, President Zelensky claimed 16,000 foreigners had already volunteered to fight, again though it is difficult to estimate how many of these are joining the Azov Battalion specifically.[14]