Four years after the fall of Mariupol, Ukraine’s Azov Brigade has re-emerged as one of the country’s most capable military formations, shifting its focus to long-range strikes against Russian military infrastructure and supply routes linked to the occupied city.
According to the Ukrainian military, Azov drones recently struck targets in and around Mariupol, including electrical substations, repair facilities and a sanctioned vessel in the city’s port as part of a broader campaign to disrupt Russia’s military logistics. Chief of Staff Arsen Dmytryk said the brigade plans to continue similar operations, describing the liberation of Mariupol as “a long game.”
“If it takes 20 years, we will spend 20 years planning, waiting, preparing,” Dmytryk said. “But when the time comes, we must be ready. I believe we will get it (Mariupol) back. It’s only a matter of time.”
Military analysts say the strikes are gradually weakening Russia’s supply network by forcing its forces to reroute logistics and expend additional resources. The brigade, now expanded into a corps with multiple brigades and advanced drone units, has become one of Ukraine’s leading combat formations. Reflecting on Russia’s attempts to destroy the unit, Dmytryk added:
“When we were in captivity, the Muscovites told us they wanted to destroy us, destroy us, destroy us. But somehow their ‘destruction’ has instead continued to expand Azov.”
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