Ukraine war briefing: Washington clears Azov brigade for US weapons and training

The US has lifted a ban on providing weapons and training to Ukraine’s Azov Brigade, which had far-right roots but proved key to the defence of the major port city of Mariupol. Azov was absorbed into Ukraine’s national guard as the 12th Special Forces Brigade and current members reject accusations of extremism and ties with far-right movements. The Russian government has seized on Azov’s origins in its efforts to cast Russia’s invasion as a battle against Nazi influence, though Vladimir Putin’s regime has not substantiated such claims.

US law prohibits providing equipment and training to foreign military units or individuals suspected of committing gross human rights violations. The state department said on Tuesday that it found “no evidence” of such violations by Azov. “This is a new page in our unit’s history,” the Azov Brigade said in a statement. “Obtaining western weapons and training from the United States will not only increase the combat ability of Azov, but most importantly, contribute to the preservation of the lives and the health of personnel.”

Azov held out in a siege and low on ammunition for weeks at Mariupol’s steel mill, despite devastating attacks from Russian forces in 2022. They are hailed as heroes in Ukraine, and people take to the streets for weekly rallies calling for the release of hundreds of Azov PoWs who remain in Russian captivity.

The US will send Ukraine another Patriot missile system, two US officials said on Tuesday, in a move approved by the president, Joe Biden. It would be the second Patriot system that the US has given directly to Ukraine along with an undisclosed number of the missiles it uses. Other allies, including Germany, also have provided air defence systems as well as ammunition for them. Speaking in Madrid recently, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Ukraine needed another seven Patriot systems to defend against Russian strikes.

Violence against children in war reached “extreme levels” in 2023, including in Ukraine, according to the UN’s annual report Children in Armed Conflict. The UN kept the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups on its blacklist for a second year over their killing and maiming of children and attacking schools and hospitals in Ukraine.

The White House has said steps to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s benefit will be announced at this week’s G7 summit in Italy, as well as new sanctions and export controls. National security council spokesman John Kirby predicted “unanimity” among G7 members who hope to agree a deal on using the profits from the interest on €300bn of frozen Russian central bank assets as collateral for a loan to Ukraine.

Ahead of the Swiss summit this weekend on peace in Ukraine, Zelenskiy’s office has said it wants Russia to attend a subsequent second summit, to receive an internationally agreed roadmap towards ending the war. Moscow has said it has no interest in joining this weekend’s meeting, and so was not invited by the hosts, Switzerland.

Andriy Yermak, head of Zelenskiy’s office, said the “bad experience” of previous negotiation formats involving Moscow meant the end to the war needed to be built on a broad platform of support from the outset and rooted in international law. “We are planning to prepare together the joint plan which will be supported by all these responsible countries. And we’re looking for the possibility, in the second summit, to invite a representative of Russia, and together present this joint plan.”

More than 90 countries have confirmed their attendance at this weekend’s summit and Yermak said he hoped abstainers like China would join the process sooner rather than later. “They have some days to change this position. We will be happy if a high-level representative of China will be in Switzerland.” The office of Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, has confirmed he will participate in the Swiss summit. Milei has a good relationship with Zelenskiy and has sought to strengthen ties with western countries.

Two Indian nationals drafted by the Russian army were killed in the war against Ukraine, the Indian foreign ministry said on Tuesday as it pressed for prompt repatriation of the remains and the release of other Indians who were duped into fighting for Russia. Indian police in May arrested four people allegedly linked to trafficking of dozens of young men to Russia with the promise of jobs or university places, only to be forced to fight against Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president and his allies used a major conference in Berlin on Tuesday to lobby international business for support in Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery, even as it continues to be bombarded by Russia, Kate Connolly writes. Russia had destroyed enough energy infrastructure to “power the cities of Berlin and Munich”, Zelenskiy told 2,000 participants.

Zelenskiy also addressed the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, in person for the first time. The event was boycotted by the far-right populist Alternative für Deutschland party, an opponent of supporting Ukraine’s war effort, and the far-left BSW bloc of Sahra Wagenknecht, who said the government should make more effort to negotiate with Putin.