The Azov Special Operations Detachment (Ukrainian: Окремий загін спеціального призначення «Азов», romanized: Okremyi zahin spetsialnoho pryznachennia "Azov"), until September 2014 also known as the Azov Regiment (Ukrainian: Полк Азов, romanized: Polk Azov) or Azov Battalion (Ukrainian: батальйон «Азов», romanized: Bataliyon "Azov"), is a neo-Nazi unit of the National Guard of Ukraine based in Mariupol in the coastal region of the Sea of Azov, from where it derives its name. Azov formed as a volunteer paramilitary militia in May 2014, and has since been fighting Russian forces in the Donbas War. It first saw combat recapturing Mariupol from Russian forces and pro-Russian separatists in June 2014. It initially operated as a volunteer police company, until it was formally incorporated into the National Guard on 11 November 2014. In the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the battalion gained renewed attention for its use by Russia in justifying the invasion and during the Siege of Mariupol for its role in the defense of the city.

The battalion drew controversy over allegations of torture and war crimes, as well as association with neo-Nazi ideology. Azov uses controversial symbols, including the Wolfsangel insignia used by divisions of the Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht during World War II.

In March 2015, Andriy Diachenko, a spokesman for the Azov Brigade, told USA Today that 10% to 20% of the group's members are Nazis. 

A provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, passed by the United States Congress, blocked military aid to Azov due to its white supremacist ideology; in 2015, a similar ban had been overturned by Congress. Members of the battalion came from 22 countries and are of various backgrounds. In 2017, the size of the regiment was estimated at more than 2,500 members, but was estimated to be 900 members in 2022.

History

The Azov Battalion has its roots in a group of ultras of FC Metalist Kharkiv named "Sect 82" (1982 is the year of the founding of the group). "Sect 82" was (at least until September 2013) allied with FC Spartak Moscow ultras. Late February 2014, during the 2014 Ukrainian crisis when a separatist movement was active in Kharkiv, "Sect 82" occupied the Kharkiv Oblast regional administration building in Kharkiv and served as a local "self-defense force." Soon after, a company of the Special Tasks Patrol Police called "Eastern Corps" was formed on the basis of "Sect 82".

The battalion was originally nicknamed by the Ukrainian media the "Men in Black" or "Black Corps" (Ukrainian: Чорний Корпус, romanized: Chorny Korpus). Touted as Ukraine's version of Russia's Little Green Men due their secrecy and mystery, as well their use of all-black fatigues and masks when raiding pro-Russian checkpoints and apprehending pro-Russian fighters and sympathizers in Kharkiv and later in Mariupol.

During the initial phases of the War in Donbas, the Ukrainian Armed Forces suffered a number of defeats and setbacks against the separatists, as they were ill-prepared, ill-equipped, lacking in professionalism, morale, fighting spirit and with severe incompetence in the high command. As a reaction, many willing civilians created militias and paramilitary groups to fight the separatists on their own initiative, known as the "Volunteer Battalions". Although the Battalions were formed by people from diverse backgrounds, many of them were linked to various political parties and movements, mainly nationalist and far-right groups which had gained space after the Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity, and were sponsored by Ukrainian oligarchs. Some other Volunteer Battalions similar to Azov⁠ that were linked to far-right nationalist parties⁠ ⁠included the Sich Battalion, formed by Svoboda and the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps, controlled by the Right Sector.

On 13 April 2014, Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov issued a decree authorizing the creation of new paramilitary forces of up to 12,000 people. The Azov Battalion was formed on 5 May 2014 in Berdiansk by a white nationalist. Azov was then regulated by the Ukrainian Interior Ministry as a unit of "Special Tasks Patrol Police". According to some sources, it was led by Volodymyr Shpara, the leader of the Vasylkiv, Kyiv, branch of Patriot of Ukraine and Right Sector. Initially, the group was mostly funded independently of the state, with a primary financier, Jewish-Ukrainian billionaire and oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi.

Many members of the political party Patriot of Ukraine joined this group. Among other early patrons of the battalion were Oleh Lyashko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada, ultra-nationalist Dmytro Korchynsky, businessman Serhiy Taruta, and Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov. The battalion received training near Kyiv by instructors with experience in the Georgian Armed Forces.