2023-08-17 14:06:07
According to information from Kiev, the controversial Ukrainian national guard brigade “Azov” has been re-established and is once more deployed at the front once morest Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. “The legendary special brigade “Azov” has started combat operations in the area of the Serebryanka forest,” said Colonel Mykola Urshalovych, who is responsible for planning the National Guard, according to a statement on Thursday. Serebryanka is located in the Luhansk region.
The brigade also includes an artillery unit. The volunteer unit, founded by right-wing extremists in 2014, has long been used by Russian propaganda as an example of alleged “Nazi rule” in Ukraine. Moscow justified the invasion of the neighboring country more than 17 months ago with “denazification”. During the fighting for the port city of Mariupol, the “Azov” regiment was surrounded and the survivors were taken prisoner by the Russians. Above all, the seriously wounded were later exchanged for captured Russians.
Several “Azov” officers transferred to Turkey returned to their homeland in early July following a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the country. According to the original agreement, they were to remain in Turkey until the end of the war. Russia has criticized the fighters’ return to Ukraine as a breach of the agreement.
1692282326
#Newly #formed #Azov #brigade #eastern #Ukraine #frontline
