I can’t find any reliable source of numbers. From before the invasion I saw Al Jazeera claiming 900 members of Azov, since then they’ve been wiped out a number of times, like at Mariupol. And then they keep showing up again and again like the Moe/Barney meme.

  • OrnluWolfjarl@lemmygrad.ml
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    6 months ago

    We don’t really know their strength currently, as this is not published by any official channels, not just about Azov but about all formations. What’s worse, there seems to be corruption relating to drafted soldiers with many of them being signed on, but their pay is siphoned by their superior officers, while they are nowhere to be found (or as reported by the Military Summary youtube channel today, some of them are kept locked away in prison or confinement).

    We know Azov currently have at least 3 brigades on the frontline, and they have a bunch of foreign mercenaries in their ranks. Ukrainian brigades are supposed to have about 1000-2000 soldiers each, but these guys are probably operating right now at 300-500 people per brigade, considering the losses they’ve suffered.

    Since they use mercenaries (and prisoners as of a few weeks ago), they don’t really have the same issues with manpower as the rest of the Ukrainian forces but they have suffered very significant losses, especially after Mariupol. They are used very sparringly and most of the fighting is done by regular formations. They just come in as reinforcements and usually not in battles that are foregone conclusions as Russian victories or for minor villages.

    Currently there’s at least one brigade near Avdevka/Chasov Yar, one near Volchank (near Kharkov) and there was one near Zaporozhia, but they seem to have been moved, probably to the area near Kharkhov as well.

    The one near Avdevka was ordered to defend a village a few weeks ago, and they outright refused to take positions there. So that should tell you that their numbers aren’t that great. Also, this article was written a short while before they refused orders:

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/27/elite-force-bucks-trend-of-ukrainian-losses-on-eastern-front?ref=upstract.com