Azov is a neo-Nazi militia that preaches a white-supremacist ideology, and was officially incorporated into Ukraine’s National Guard after a violent US-sponsored coup in 2014.
A member of parliament, Kenny MacAskill, from the Alba Party, a Scottish pro-independence party, formally asked the British Ministry of Defence on March 21 “whether any members of Ukraine’s Azov movement have access to UK-supplied anti-aircraft weapons.”
The British parliamentary under-secretary of defence, James Heappey, a member of parliament from the Conservative Party, replied on March 24 confirming that the Ukrainian extremists have indeed received these weapons.
“The UK is taking a lead role in coordinating the humanitarian and military support to Ukraine,” he boasted. “This includes lethal aid in the form of defensive weapons, and non-lethal aid such as body armour.”
Heappey said that Britain is specifically sending Starstreak anti-aircraft weapons to the Ukrainian military.
“Under the current circumstances, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence is likely to have operational command of the National Guard, which also includes the Azov battalion,” Heappey acknowledged.
The British official’s response was indirect, but its meaning was clear: as part of the Ukrainian National Guard, yes, the neo-Nazi Azov regiment has indeed received anti-aircraft weapons from the UK.
