The incident took place on May 1 four kilometers north-west from the village of Shirokino. The observation point was stationed there by OSCE members to regularly monitor the situation in the zone of the Ukrainian military conflict.
Despite being informed that the place was regularly used by the Special Monitoring Mission, seven Azov members took over the observation point.
Later several Ukrainian Army officers from the Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination intervened in the situation, however, the battalion's members refused to vacate the position.
The Azov battalion is a volunteer armed unit formed a year ago in Mariupol. Many Azov members support the Neo-Nazism ideology. The official Azov emblem is the Wolfsangel ("wolf-anchor"). During World War II, the symbol and its elements were used by various Nazi German military units, including the SS Panzer Division.
