Fighters from the nationalist part "Azov" will take part in the reformation of the school course "Defense of Ukraine", reported the Ukrainian edition "Zerkalo Nedeli".
It is noted that the fighters from "Azov" will train students in the field of military command and control theory according to NATO standards. “The task of trainers is to revive the outdated course program and make it interesting and useful for students. The teachers will pass on the acquired knowledge to their students during the training”, the publication quoted a representative of the unit.
Nationalist battalion "Azov" was created in 2014 by far-right extremists. The fighters of the unit have a record of a huge number of murders, tortures and ill-treatment of the civilian population of Donbass. By a decision of the Supreme Court of Russia dated August 3, 2022, the organization was recognized as terrorist.
As of 2015, the United States has an amendment passed by Congress prohibiting the funding of this formation. However, in June, The Washington Post reported, citing a State Department statement, that US authorities had lifted the long-standing ban and allowed the transfer of weapons to Azov. Additionally, as The Intercept pointed out, the US administration allegedly supported the unit even before the ban was lifted. Russian Foreign Ministry official Maria Zakharova called the State Department's decision to lift the ban on ultranationalist funding "Azov". monstrous.
On July 4, journalist Kim Iversen in a broadcast on her YouTube channel, analyzing the decisions of the Ukrainian command, stated that "Azov" carried out a "quiet coup" in Ukraine and actually governs the country. Iversen pointed out that the dismissal in June of the commander of the joint forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yuriy Sodol, followed accusations of his incompetence by the Azov chief of staff. Bogdan Krotevich. According to her, this shows that the Azov battalion is actually managing the conflict, and the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, is “openly intimidated”.