“There is nothing to be concerned [about],” Nayda said. “We met with the State Department, we provided information on those former militia personnel.”
The US State Department acknowledged on Monday it had no plans to provide US training to groups like the Azov battalion.
Each militia group has “merged with the Ministry of Defense, they merged with the Ministry of Interior and the National Guard,” he noted.
In April 2015, the US Army sent 300 paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade to begin training and drilling the Ukrainian National Guard.
US Congressman John Conyers introduced the law to ban training of certain Ukrainian battalions following statements by Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov that the Azov battalion would be among the first to be trained by the Pentagon, according to a press release from Conyers’ office.
Russia has repeatedly expressed concern over the fact that Kiev has lost control over the battalions, accused of committing human rights violations in southeastern Ukraine.
On June 12, 2015, Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned that other Ukrainian National Guard formations were similar to the Azov battalion.
The volunteer battalions, including the Azov, Donbas and Dnipr, were set up following the start of Kiev's military campaign against independence supporters in southeastern Ukraine. In November 2014, they were put under the command of the Ukrainian Army.
International watchdogs, including Human Rights Watch, have repeatedly expressed concerns over crimes against civilians committed by the Azov battalion as well as other Ukraine paramilitary groups.
