Why NATO shuns the "Azov Battalion" of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry

Aljazeera English reports on a unit called the Azov Battalion, formerly a private militia that the Ukrainian government incorporated into their National Guard seven years ago. The National Guard is under the Interior Ministry, not part of the army. But NATO countries that are providing training to non-NATO member Ukraine have all along refused to provide training to the Azov brigade because of their far-right political leanings. Russia-Ukraine tension: NATO sidelines Kyiv’s far-right fighters 12/09/2021:

The existence and nature of the Azov Battalion is one set of data in a much larger and very complicated confrontation between Russia and Ukraine. But it is obviously a problem from NATO's point of view in this situation.

See also: Congress bans arms to Ukraine militia linked to neo-Nazis The Hill 03/27/2018:

“White supremacy and neo-Nazism are unacceptable and have no place in our world,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), an outspoken critic of providing lethal aid to Ukraine, said in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday. “I am very pleased that the recently passed omnibus prevents the U.S. from providing arms and training assistance to the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion fighting in Ukraine.”

The United States has been aiding and training Ukrainian forces in their fight against Russian-backed separatists since 2014, and recently expanded that aid to include arms. The omnibus includes about $620.7 million in aid for Ukraine, including $420.7 million in State Department and foreign operations funds and $200 million in Pentagon funds.

The Azov Battalion was founded in 2014, and its first commander was Andriy Biletsky, who previously headed the neo-Nazi group Patriot of Ukraine. Several members of the militia, which has been integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard, are self-avowed neo-Nazis.

Ben Makuch reports, "Some American neo-Nazi extremist groups see Azov as a future model for themselves in the U.S. once their fantasy race war takes place and the federal government collapses." (Ex-US Soldier Turned Influencer Criticized for Ukraine War Trip With Neo-Nazi Vice 05/14/2021)

So, if you hear about the group in polemics over Ukraine, its existence isn't a propaganda construction. But as always, claims over military confrontations always need to be subjected to critical scrutiny.