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During Thursday’s discussion on defense appropriations for this year the US House of Representatives approved bipartisan amendments to block the training of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi “Azov Battalion” and to prevent the transfer of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine.
The amendments were tabled by Democratic Congressman John Conyers, Jr., and his Republican colleague Ted Yoho.
“I am grateful that the House of Representatives unanimously passed my amendments last night to ensure that our military does not train members of the repulsive neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, along with my measures to keep the dangerous and easily trafficked MANPADs out of these unstable regions,” John Conyers said in a Congressional press release on Thursday.
According to Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, Azov battalion will be trained by the Pentagon in Operation Fearless Guardian.The Azov battalion is a notorious volunteer armed unit formed in the city of Mariupol in May 2014. It has been widely criticized as a magnet for those holding Neo-Nazi beliefs. The militia adopted Wolfsangel, also known as a wolf’s hook, as its emblem. During World War II, the symbol and its elements were used by various Nazi German military units, including the SS Panzer Division.
In May, Congressman John Conyers proposed an amendment cycle that would bar US aid going to neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine, but it was sidelined without action.
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