Azov Battalion

The Azov Battalion, also known as the Azov Regiment, 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 Donbas, and was formally incorporated into the National Guard on 11 November 2014. Since 2014, criticism of the Azov Battalion has been a recurring theme of Russian politics.

The group's size was estimated 900 to 2,500 combatants in 2017–2022. Most of the unit members are Russian speakers and come from the Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine. President of Russia Vladimir Putin said in 2022 the invasion of Ukraine was the 'denazification' of Ukraine, to remove the alleged control of the country by forces such as Azov.

Initially, the group was mostly funded independently of the state, with a primary financier, Jewish-Ukrainian billionaire and oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi.

In 2022 the Jewish president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this about Azov: "The Azov Regiment is not a volunteer (formation), but part of the National Guard.,” Zelensky said. “They are (part of) the official army of our state. Anyone who wanted to get involved in politics, (left the Azov Regiment). Those who decided to serve in the National Guard of Ukraine became part of the National Guard of Ukraine."