"At no point has Canada's mandate included training members of the Azov Battalion."

"We have reinforced our policy to prevent any recurrence and remain firmly opposed to Nazism, racism, and all forms of extremism while promoting human rights, and the rule of law in all international engagements."

Canada's Defence Minister David McGuinty 

 

"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."

Soufan Center

A member of the Azov Brigade (far right) takes a break during Canadian military leadership training at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean in Quebec. The training ran from Jan. 13 to Feb. 5, 2026. Photo by SUPPLIED

 

It would appear that a member of the Azov Brigade had been in training at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean in Quebec from January 13 to February 5, 2026 for leadership training, according to Canadian military personnel who had made contact with an Ottawa journalist specializing in military affairs. The Azov soldier's presence raised objections by Canadian Forces personnel who immediately on realizing the situation, relayed their objections to Canadian military officials. Their objections were ignored.

 

According to Kened Sadiku, a spokesperson for the Department of National Defence, Ukraine had been told explicitly not to forward members of the Azov Brigade to Canadian military training. Despite which, while identifying the presence of  the Azov soldier among the non-commissioned member leadership training program, authorities in the Canadian Forces allowed the man to continue his training.  "Given that fewer than seven days remained in the course and the individual had effectively completed the training, it was determined that the individual would be permitted to graduate."

 

A new report from an American university says far-right extremists in Ukraine’s military have bragged they received training from the Canadian Forces and other NATO nations. Photo by ANATOLII STEPANOV /GETTY

 

Because of its links to the far-right and neo-Nazis, the United States Congress in 2018 banned the use of U.S. funds in providing arms, training and other assistance to the Azov Brigade. Then-U.S. President Biden in 2024 lifted the ban for Azov, considered highly effective on the battlefield, defending Ukraine from President Putin's 'special military operation'.  In recognition of the unit's far-right associations, however, the Canadian Forces had a strict policy distancing itself from the Azov Brigade.

 

DND spokesperson Nick Drescher Brown a year ago noted that First Corps Azov was an established unit incorporated within the National Guard of Ukraine under the Ministry of the Interior. "It is important to note that such meetings [as when Azov personnel met with Canadian military personnel for a "friendly and open dialogue"] do not constitute endorsement of a particular individual or organization's position or values". Previously, Canadian military officers and senior DND personnel warned of Azov's neo-Nazi links. 

 

Canadian links to Azov had "dogged us for years", noted Lt. Col. Andrew Salloum, in 2022. "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."  Canada's Joint Task Force Ukraine produced a briefing on the Azov in 2017 that acknowledged its links to Nazi ideology. "Multiple members of Azov have described themselves as Nazis", warned the Canadian officers in their briefing.

 

In 2020 in Ukraine, it was reported that Canadian military personnel trained both members of the Azov unit and at least one Ukrainian soldier wearing the crest of a Nazi SS unit from the Second World War. Despite that the Azov Battalion was formally incorporated into the Ukrainian military, the battalion is known to have cultivated a relationship with members of the Atomwaffen Division, a U.S.-based neo-Nazi terrorist network. 

 

A news broadcast by German ZDF station showed soldiers of the Ukraine Azov Battalion with Nazi symbols on their helmets. Photo by Files /ZDF station

 

"This  unit has a history of affiliations with the far right and Nazi [elements]. What doesn't the Canadian military understand about that?"

"It's not Russian propaganda, far from it. These people are neo-Nazis."

"There is an element of the ultra-right in Ukraine and it's absurd to ignore it."

Efraim Zuroff, Israeli historian