In 2018, the battalion put out a slickly produced video showing hundreds of young men in fatigues marching in formation to a torch-lit fortress in Kyiv.

They swore an oath on camera to “clean” the streets of illegal alcohol, drug dealings and gambling establishments.

Nothing came out of the idea but the image was there, putting Volodymyr Zelensky, a Russian-speaking comedian with Jewish heritage, and his predecessor in a tight spot.

“The far-right in general, and their apparent impunity have significantly damaged Ukraine’s international reputation and left the country vulnerable to hostile narratives exaggerating the role of extremist groups in Ukraine,” Oleskiy Kuzmenko wrote in a piece for the Atlantic Council, adding that its recent ties with white supremacists in the West reinforced the concern.

Bellingcat, an investigative journalist group, as well as Ukrainian media over the years, traced ties between Azov, its political arm National Corps, and American white supremacist groups.