Ukraine’s Azov Division: Everything You Wanted to Know
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- Опубліковано 14 тра 2024
- This is the inaugural episode of a series by Kyiv Post about the history of various Ukrainian divisions. We start with the Azov Brigade, perhaps the most renowned Ukrainian military division.
Beginning with the liberation of Mariupol in 2014 at the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine, to its heroic defense of Mariupol again, against overwhelming Russian numbers in 2022, Azov - named after the Sea of Azov where Mariupol is situated - has earned recognition among Ukrainians and in international military circles.
Russian propaganda has expended substantial resources attempting to portray Azov, like other defenders of Ukraine, as Nazis.
So, what is Azov? Kyiv Post met with members of the brigade to talk about the past decade.
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Thank you, Kyiv Post, for introducing us to Azov Battalion.
The Azov Battalions bravery is legendary.
*Fantastic documentary about the heroes of **_AZOV._* Greetings and admiration from Sweden.
Azov has an incredible story.
Stay strong and never give up
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I met a very strong man, excellent in speaking English Surgeon about 10 miles from Bakhmut on July 9, 2023. His hospital had been struck by russian missile and so he and the hospital had to relocate. He was an ordained Rabbi besides being a surgeon. He also was in the Azov division, with the Azov badge on his uniform, which he was very proud of. He is known as the "Rabbi." Rabbi, Slava Ukraine. I hope to see you again in June and July later this year in 2024.
Excellent short documentary.
Russia's iron fist is rusting away
Heroyam slava!
Slava Ukraine 🙏🇺🇦🪖🫡
Thank you very much for this interesting and informative report.
I met them in 2019 at Asgardsrei. They welcomed us with open arms. I hope we find whose responsible for getting them trapped
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You begin by stating the 3RD Brigade Infantry Team (Spec) is a Division. As a US military leader, a Brigade Military Intelligence Officer, previously trained as an Armor Officer, I am very sensitive to the looseness of media types in reporting. A NATO Brigade consists of 4 Battalions maneuver, 1 Battalion Artillery, and a HQ Battalion. A Division is slightly flexible by mission, but consists of 3-4 Brigades, 1 Regiment Artillery, and a HQ Brigade.
NATO HQ Elements start at Battalion Level. Every level battle plans their missions, hoping using the 1/3RD-2/3RDs time allocation method. Companies have an HQ Platoon but not to battle plan. It supports logistics and crew maintenance of weapons. Battalion and higher supports these too, but also vehicles maintenance, fire support, intelligence related issues, medical support, and food support. Air Defense and Specialty Teams are added at Brigade and Division Levels.
Military History has 2 components. Usually insignia are based on Regiments. In Ukraine, this seems to have been given to Battalions and Brigades. Combat history follows Units from Battalion and higher with most historians tracking only Divisions.
For example, my original Battalion during WW2 was reorganized into a slightly larger Regiment called an Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR). It used Light Tanks and 6 Wheeled Armored Cars with the same main gun as the Light Tank. My Unit was attached to 2ND Armor Division (Free French). The purpose of my ACR Unit was to ensure 2ND Armor Division had unobstructed roads, good bridges, and knew where German Unit concentrations were located.
When Paris was liberated, it was my Units Armored Cars which secured the Arch De Triumph in Paris on the news reels. It was my Units Light Tanks which passed through the Arch to pursue withdrawing Germans. It was the Sherman Tanks of 2ND Armored Division (Free French) which got all the credit and kisses from Paris women. My Unit just got Vichy wine they were going to throw away and after the war, a Unit citation from France, a Fleur De Lis. My Units motto however, is also in French, from when we fought with Washington in the French and Indian War: Fide Et Fortitudine. It comes from a Scottish Family Crest. Most of my State was settled early by Scots.
Because modern armies are smaller than in WW2. For example, the gentleman I met a few weeks ago was in the 7th Australian Division at Crete and El Alamein. Today you would rather say, I was in 2RAR, because the whole army has just 2 divisions in total.
@@Adonnus100 I can understand how most Units from Division down got passed around to Corps and Army Groups in WW2 like a joint gets passed at a party. However, the Divisions, Brigades, and Battalions in WW2 would be real homes to their troops. In North Africa, you had trailers after the Unit number such as (AUS) for Australian, (NZ) for New Zealand, (SA) for South African, and (FJ) for Free Jews from Palestine. I have never seen RAR used in place of AUS.
@@stephensipe5405 Well yes. Nowadays that refers to 2nd Batn., Royal Australian Regiment.
Thank you Post keep up the good work . I appreciate it
Great video great story
That was really interesting!
My guys in #2014. Straight soldier's who were fearless. Museum needs to be built for holding the line all those years!
always leave a like and subscribe to channels that i regularly watch and comment for the algorithm thanks for your work
Im still waiting for a interview with Denys 'Reddis' Prokopenko about his time
in Russian captivity.
Today Ukrainian has an Azov Battalion and 3RD Brigade Infantry (Spec). As far as is published, the Azov Battalion is NOT part of the 4 Battalions of 3RD Brigade Infantry (Spec).
Has this changed?
How is the history of the Azov Battalion at Mariupol related to 3RD Brigade Infantry or the Azov Battalion?
Additionally, Ukraine used 3RD Brigade Infantry (Spec) during the Bahkmut South Flank Offensive, then to cover the withdrawal of the 114TH Brigade Infantry (Mech) from Avdiivka Defense Line East. Now I see them in the Kreminna Forest South Defense Line. Does 3RD Brigade Infantry (Spec) ever get 4R???
Shame on Russia
Slava Ukraini and Slava Azov!!!👍🏻💪🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇬🇧
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Слава Україні!
Героям слава!
There is no mention of the Right Sector's involvement, disappointed in th Kyiv Post reporting.
Oddly, it is not mentioned here that the sacrifice of the Azov and marines at Mariupol had a critical purpouse. The frontline from Zaporizhzha to Donetsk was virtually empty of Ukrainian defenders and the Russians were aiming to pour through that hole and cut the majority of the Ukrainian army then deployed to the Donbas basin off. But they got stuck and tied town in Mariupol long enough to establish a fragile - but adequate - defence. While simultaneously defeating the Northern Russian pincer in the equally epic battle of Izium (the one in 2022). The Azov didn’t simply stay behind as a matter of principle or display of courage, they stayed (alongside the marines) to save Ukraines Southern Front and thereby Ukraine. And didn’t lay down their arms until the President informed them, that their purpouse had been reached and the frontline was stabilised.
That said - this coverage doesn’t actually adress the topic of politics and sympathies within the original Azov battallion 2014-2022. It is not a clean slate, there were ties to Privy Sektor and extremists from around the world were attracted to the ranks. The emblem of the unit is the same as that used by rightist extremist groups in Ukraine. It does not make the unit a Nazi unit - at least not after the integration into the National Guard. But I fail to see why an agency like Kyiv Post would evade the debate entirely? Silence only leaves the Russians free to press home their narrative, using facts and photo’s taken out of context and blown out of proportions - unopposed. In their narrative Privy Sektor did not have 1% of the Ukrainian vote in 2014, but 100%. Why just leave it aside and mention only military feats?
Football fans.... cough cough, we all know what their favorite team is
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Very unjust war because Ukraine never invaded neighboring countries.
The best soldiers fight for Love (not hate) -- this is why Azov warriors are the best in the world! Ukraine is a nation of heroes especially the Azov. Courage, loyalty, patriotism, resilience, and decency at its best with Azov soldiers. As an American, I believe that every citizen in the West owes Ukrainians a huge debt of gratitude for standing up and fighting for all our democratic values. I pray that all Ukrainian soldiers/POWs return home safely soon and get to grow old in a free, independent and victorious/peaceful Ukraine. Ukraine deserves EU and NATO membership now; Ukraine will make NATO great again! Thank you for a fantastic, accurate and truthful report about Azov. They are like the Samarai of Imperial Japan and the Spartans of ancient Greece -- heroic people defending their homes, lands and families. Slava Ukraini. Slava Azov Heroes
Prior 2022 Azov were widely recognised as genuine Nazis as reported by Western msm. Then post 2022, magic, they are now saints
Garbage don’t believe all you read do your own research on what is true . Don’t be russian and except everything you read as the truth in other words don’t be a stupid follower
No one is saying they're saints. We're just saying they're not Nazis. Because they aren't.
This video isn’t wrong, but isn’t totally honest either. There are really two AZOVS. The first from 2014, was more of a militia. As with all militias there were some sketchy people, but it was a very small minority. In addition they did use Nazi imaginary to troll Russia, which clearly worked, but was often misunderstood in the West, which is why you are repeating that. They were just using Russia’s own propaganda to make themselves look scary. The militia was disbanded, mostly because the US was leery of providing arms to a militia that no one controlled. The AZOV that exists today is an actual military unit, not a militia. They are really two totally different things, with a few similarities, including the name.
@@1midnightfishbut they clearly are Nazi. If they are not Nazi neither is WWII Germany.
@@tomk3732 You have just made one of the most stupid statements I have ever read on the internet. Have Azov built extermination camps for millions of people? Or even ever advocated doing that? Do you ever think before you type and click "reply"?
AZOV is defeated 😅😅😅😅
Joined 15 May 2024 - bot by any chance?
Seems like there are a lot of active armed ghosts then!
I just don’t understand why Russia keeps whining about them if that’s true. You make them sound like they are totally crazy
Remember that Nazi stands for National Socialism. Socialism covers almost anything that can be labeled bad, whereas nationalism makes you want to fight for your country. No coincidence that the word Azov only shares 50% of its characters with the word Nazi.
My understanding is that the latin alphabet "N" encoded in their emblem (which is not a nazi wolf's angel, as it's inverted) stands for "new" in New Idea. Azov has a comprehensive and decently written wikipedia page (in English) that is a good starting point for people wanting to find out more.
I'm grateful for this video but disappointed that they didn't talk about Azov's founder Biletsky - who is now a commander after failing as a far-right politician (in Ukraine, far-right politicians *fail* - that's something we should never tire of pointing out!): he has most certainly made white supremacist statements in the past, and frequent homophobic statements even more recently. Personally, as long as he does his job well and doesn't stir hatred, I don't mind him being there, and he does fulfill a very different role to the one of "founding father" and mouthpiece of Azov; but I believe that propaganda is best tackled head on, by unpicking the true details that it spins into poisonous fables.
@@1midnightfish Thanks for your reply. I still think the symbol is a "wolfsangel" (wolf's hook) someone could have taken a picture as an example using the selfie-camera on his/her/its phone and there you have it mirrored. And I don't care they are using it, it's become an almost ancient heraldic symbol derived from a hunting tool, and it looks agressive and therefore represents Azov perfectly. The explanation of "New Idea", as explained in a recent United24 video is BS if you ask me, but just made up to shut the mouths of some people, too woke to look further than their predefined opinion at what's happening and ffs why the entire world should make sure russia will be knocked out of Ukraine in a way that even these mindless zombies understand. If the symbol were a swastika however, my opinion would be much different.
@@basroos_snafu I too would feel differently about a swastika (itself derived from an ancient symbol, it has to be said), however I give the "New Idea" theory the benefit of the doubt because since I started learning Ukrainian I've noticed how speakers of Slavic languages will use Latin script to give certain things prominence, whether in slogans, band names, or acronyms - basically it's used in branding, in the broadest possible sense, which would include a symbol like the one we're discussing. Though I also agree with you that adopting that symbol could also have been a way of trolling russia - I think both these elements are at play on the symbol. I look forward to a more transparent, deeper analysis of this in future - I'm sure it will come.
So you are calling many current normal european political parties nazis?!
While true, that isn't exactly what Nazis are best known for, while also making it more of a semantics issue, which if we follow that logic, would probably also require that we consider North Korea to be Democratic, since it's in the name.