Last week, George Washington University’s Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies released a report claiming that far right associates of the neo-Nazi Azov movement are being trained by NATO instructors at the Ukrainian army’s National Academy of Ground Forces (NAA). The group, called Centuria, “led by individuals with ties to Ukraine’s internationally active far-right Azov movement, has attracted multiple members, including current and former officer cadets of the NAA now serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Apparent members have appeared in photos giving Nazi salutes and made seemingly extremist statements online,” the report’s summary says, according to Sept. 28 article in Ukraine’s 112 channel.
The 112 article also notes that in 2018, the U.S. Congress outlawed the use of U.S. funds to provide weapons, training services, or other kinds of assistance for Azov, a restriction that remains in effect. American lawmakers have repeatedly called on the Department of State to designate Azov as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), 112 notes. In the most recent such call, in April 2021, Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that “the Azov Battalion […] uses the internet to recruit new members and then radicalize them to use violence to pursue its white identity political agenda.” However, no Western government involved in training Ukrainian troops has called on the Kiev regime to sever its relationship with the Azov movement.
In Canada, the Ottawa Citizen reported yesterday on Canadian involvement, as the Canadian Armed Forces have instructors at the NAA. Canadian Forces spokeswoman Lt.-Cmdr. Julie McDonald told the Citizen that it was up to Ukraine to vet its own security forces. But, if Canadian military personnel saw first-hand evidence of extremist views, they could refuse to train those soldiers, she added. The Canadian Forces, however, does not proactively examine the backgrounds of those they train or look for signs of support for far-right causes. “The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces are strongly opposed to the glorification of Nazism and all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, intolerance and extremism,” McDonald added.
