Supplying Any Weaponry and Funds to Azov Is Prohibited by Law

  •  The Leahy Law bans U.S. aid from going to groups when the Secretary of State has credible information that such a unit has committed gross violations of human rights. However, people who have been proponents of the ban, specifically on Azov, say that the Leahy law did not preclude it from getting aid. They say that the Secretary of State has never made such a determination about this group in particular. This is why they felt that it was necessary to include a special exception to the Azov battalion in the 2018 omnibus spending bill. Section 8129 specifically precludes Azov from assistance. It reads, “none of the funds made available by this act may be used to provide arms, training, or other assistance to the Azov Battalion.”
  •  According to reports published in USA TODAY in 2015 only 20% of the Azov battalion is associated with neo-Nazism. According to authorities familiar with this subject it is not the official ideology of Azov. Trump attempted to keep us out of this civil war between Putin separatists and Azov by signing the 2018 omnibus spending bill.