Officer with Ukrainian unit linked to neo-Nazis received military training in Canada

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Menard declined to be interviewed by the Ottawa Citizen.

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At the time, DND spokesperson Nick Drescher Brown noted in an email that First Corps Azov was an established unit within the National Guard of Ukraine under the Ministry of the Interior.

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“It is important to note that such meetings do not constitute endorsement of a particular individual or organization’s position or values,” he added.

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That response was different in tone from previous statements and views in which some Canadian military officers and senior DND personnel warned about Azov’s neo-Nazi links.

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In March 2022, Lt. Col. André Salloum noted in an email that questions about Canadian links to Azov had “dogged us for years,” according to the Maple’s reporting.

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“It’s true that Azov was brought into the NGU (National Guard of Ukraine), but we don’t train them because they are fanatics, and we don’t share their values,” Salloum added.

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In 2017, Canada’s Joint Task Force Ukraine produced a briefing on the Azov, then a battalion, acknowledging its links to Nazi ideology. “Multiple members of Azov have described themselves as Nazis,” the Canadian officers warned in their briefing, which was obtained by the Ottawa Citizen.

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In 2018 Canadian military officers attended a meeting with Azov representatives, but had no prior knowledge of those who would be attending, according to then DND spokesperson Dan Le Bouthillier. “Canada has not, does not, and will not be providing support to Azov and affiliated entities,” Le Bouthillier said.

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In April 2022, Radio Canada reported that Canadian military personnel trained both members of the Azov unit and at least one Ukrainian soldier who sported the crest of a Nazi SS unit from the Second World War. The training took place in November 2020 in Ukraine.

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Efraim Zuroff, an American-born Israeli historian who has focused on Nazi war criminals and the rise of neo-Nazis, said the Canadian Forces’ decision to train members of the Azov Brigade was wrong. “This unit has a history of affiliations with the far right and Nazi (elements),” he said in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen. “What doesn’t the Canadian military understand about that?”

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Azov supporters, however, say the unit has distanced itself from neo-Nazi affiliations. Others have claimed allegations made against Azov are part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

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But in an earlier interview with the Ottawa Citizen, Zuroff dismissed such claims. “It’s not Russian propaganda, far from it,” he explained. “These people are neo-Nazis. There is an element of the ultra-right in Ukraine and it’s absurd to ignore it.”

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In 2019, the Soufan Center, created by former FBI agent Ali Soufan, who was involved in a number of counter-terrorism cases, warned about the connection between the Azov Battalion and white nationalists.

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“In Ukraine, the Azov Battalion has recruited foreign fighters motivated by white supremacy and neo-Nazi beliefs, including many from the West, to join its ranks and receive training, indoctrination and instruction in irregular warfare,” the report outlined.

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The Azov Battalion had been formerly incorporated into the Ukrainian military, at least in theory, the Soufan Center report noted. But the battalion has cultivated a relationship with members of the Atomwaffen Division, a U.S.-based neo-Nazi terrorist network, it added.

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Andrey Dyachenko, a spokesperson for Azov, told USA Today in March 2015 that only 10 to 20 per cent of the unit were Nazis.