Ukraine's Neo-Nazi Azov Fighters Accuse Russia of Chemical Weapons Attack

The founder of the Azov Regiment, a neo-Nazi militia formally integrated into the armed forces of Ukraine, accused Russia on Monday of using chemical weapons in Mariupol, a southern port city now the focal point of the war between the two countries.

Andriy Biletsky – described as “a white supremacist former football [soccer] hooligan” who founded and now leads the explicitly neo-Nazi fighters – accused Russia of dropping “warfare chemicals” on fighters in Mariupol but failing to do significant damage, reportedly injuring three people.

If true, the allegations present a major escalation in the eight-year-old war between Ukraine and Russian fighters, a war that began in 2014 against pro-Russian proxy forces in the eastern Donbas region but escalated nationwide in February. At the time, Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced that he would initiate a “special operation” to “de-Nazify” Ukraine in a speech in which he denied that the country had any “tradition” of statehood and its existence was the result of a mistake by Vladimir Lenin.

A senior British official said on Tuesday that, should the country receive proof that Russia used chemical weapons in Mariupol, “all possible options are on the table.”

The Ukrainian state media outlet Ukrinform reported on Monday, citing a post by Azov fighters on the social media application Telegram, that fighters in Mariupol had experienced illness as a product of exposure to unknown “poison.” Mariupol is located in Donetsk, one of two regions in Donbas.

Russia has recognized its proxy fighters in Donetsk as the leaders of a sovereign state, the “Donetsk People’s Republic.”

“About an hour ago, the Russian occupation forces used a poisonous substance of unknown origin against the Ukrainian military and civilians in the city of Mariupol, which was dropped from an enemy UAV,” Ukrinform claimed the Telegram post read. “The victims have respiratory failure, vestibular-atactic syndrome.”

The state outlet later quoted Biletsky, the Azov Regiment founder, who also posted a message on Telegram mocking the Russians.

“Talking of the practical side of the strike, it was small. Three persons are showing the clear signs of poisoning with warfare chemicals, but no catastrophic effects,” the message reportedly read. “These idiots [Russians – Ed.] cannot even use the weapons of mass destruction properly. Talking of the moral side, this indicates the cowardice of Russians only.”

“They understand this will be spread across the globe. The entire world will get to know they are terrorists who violate numerous conventions,” the message continued. “Hence, they are falling into despair, and they have nothing else to do but use indiscriminate prohibited weapons, as in World War I. But, nevertheless, Mariupol will win. Azov Regiment will win. Ukraine will win. Glory to Ukraine.”

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry appeared to support the Azov leader’s claims early Tuesday, accusing Russia of dropping phosphorus bombs on Mariupol.

“As of now, we are verifying this information. We are trying to understand what it was. But I can say from preliminary data that there are, rather, assumptions that phosphorus munitions could have been used,” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said in televised remarks. “The final official information will be released later. But we need to understand that the risk of using chemical weapons does exist, it is quite high.”

The Russian government has not, at press time, directly addressed the allegations, though state news outlet RT published the claims.

“All possible options are on the table in terms of how the West might respond,” Newsweek quoted Heappey as saying.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss similarly announced in a post on Twitter that London is “working diligently with partners to verify” the allegations and called any chemical weapons attack “an escalation.”

The Azov Regiment – formally the “Azov Special Operations Detachment” – is an openly white supremacist wing of the Ukrainian National Guard.

While, when confronted by Western journalists, some in their ranks deny being Nazis, many openly express antisemitic views and the militia uses Nazi insignia. Many members boast Nazi tattoos. In an interview with an Azov fighter in 2014, the Guardian narrated:

Dmitry claimed not to be a Nazi, but waxed lyrical about Adolf Hitler as a military leader, and believes the Holocaust never happened. Not everyone in the Azov battalion thinks like Dmitry, but after speaking with dozens of its fighters and embedding on several missions during the past week in and around the strategic port city of Mariupol, the Guardian found many of them to have disturbing political views, and almost all to be intent on “bringing the fight to Kiev” when the war in the east is over.

The U.K. Independent noted of the militia’s founder, Biletsky, that supporters refer to him as “White Ruler” and he himself as written of his fighters: “The historic mission of our nation in this critical moment is to lead the white races of the world in a final crusade for their survival. A crusade against the Semite-led untermenschen [inferior races].”

Prior to the current war escalation, Azov fighters have organized multiple protests against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky specifically objecting to his Jewish identity. During a 2020 event marking a year in power for Zelensky, protesters unfurled a banner in front of the president’s office reading “Celebrating the anniversary of the occupation and robbery of Ukraine by the Dnipro Jewish clan of Vova Zelensky.” The protesters also displayed the Nazi symbol used by the Azov Regiment.

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