Canada’s defence attaché in Kyiv, Ukraine, met with representatives from the fundraising arm of the notorious Azov Brigade last year, newly uncensored documents show.
Last year, The Maple revealed that Canada’s embassy in the Ukrainian capital had hosted a meeting with representatives of the far-right military formation for what one Azov contact called a “friendly and open dialogue.”
The Maple obtained records of the meeting through an access to information request with Global Affairs Canada (GAC). The department initially censored details about which part of Azov’s operations the representatives belonged to.
However, The Maple appealed GAC’s censorship with the federal Office of the Information Commissioner, and GAC subsequently revealed that the Azov contacts wrote from email addresses belonging to “Azov One,” the military formation’s official fundraising arm.
Azov One is a registered non-profit in Ukraine, according to filings on the organization’s website.
Details about which Azov representatives attended the meeting and what was discussed with then-defence attaché brigadier-general Serge Ménard remained censored.
The Maple contacted the Department of National Defence (DND) asking if it promised the Azov One representatives any funding during the meeting.
In an email, DND spokesperson Suzanne Lalande replied: “Representatives of the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine requested the meeting with the Canadian Defence Attaché’s (CDA) Office to discuss the recent Armed Forces of Ukraine-wide shift to a Corps concept of operations.”
She added: “It is important to note that such meetings do not constitute endorsement of a particular individual or organization’s position or values.”
The Maple followed up asking why Azov One representatives were involved in such discussions, and again asked if funding for the Azov Brigade was discussed at any point during the meeting.
The Maple received a response from a different DND spokesperson, Kened Sadiku, who wrote: “Canadian donations of military aid are provided exclusively to the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
The Maple also contacted Azov One and the Azov Brigade’s media line asking for information about what was discussed during the meeting, but did not receive any responses.
According to the organization’s website, Azov One was launched in February 2023 and has since raised funds for thousands of drones, communications and tactical equipment, and 17 armoured personnel carriers for the Azov Brigade.
Azov One states: “Since the beginning, our activities have been aimed at a single goal – to provide the brigade with everything necessary.”
The organization is named as Azov’s “official fundraising department” on the Brigade’s main website.
Canada’s military for years claimed it will not support Azov or any of its affiliates due to their far-right ideology and neo-Nazi links.
Despite this, the Ottawa Citizen revealed in April that an Azov Brigade soldier received training at Royal Military College Saint-Jean earlier this year.
Defenders of Azov frequently claim that concerns about the formation’s far-right political ties are overblown and simply a product of Russian state propaganda.
Extensive evidence, however, shows that Azov maintains close ties with far-right political leaders and neo-Nazis.
In 2024, The Maple obtained documents showing that DND’s own NATO directorate warned that Azov members continued to be far-right “fanatics” despite their integration into the Ukrainian National Guard.
Alex Cosh
Azov Brigade was originally formed as a “Batallion” in 2014 by neo-Nazi gang members to combat pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
After it was integrated into Ukraine’s National Guard the same year, it was renamed “Azov Regiment.” It was then expanded as a brigade in February 2023 in the midst of Russia’s ongoing invasion.
In June 2024, the Joe Biden administration in the United States announced it had lifted a six-year-old ban on military transfers to Azov. However, DND told The Maple it would not follow suit.
In a recent article for Responsible Statecraft, Ukrainian scholar Marta Havryshko wrote:
“Neo-Nazi networks are deeply embedded in parts of Ukraine’s military structure. Their presence is visible in units such as Azov, the Third Assault Brigade, the Russian Volunteer Corps, Bratstvo, the German Volunteer Corps, Karpatska Sich, and others.”
“Yet Ukraine’s Western backers continue to arm, fund, and train these units without meaningful scrutiny.”
Photographs posted to social media in February 2023 appeared to show Azov recruits training with Canadian-made rifles and optics. It remains unclear, however, who supplied Azov with the weapons.
The Azov Brigade website lists the Canadian Colt C7 and Colt C8 assault rifles as being among its “key types of armament.”
