Ukraine's Azov fighters were forced from Mariupol. Now they're hitting back
By Dan Peleschuk
The Azov Regiment's Resurgence and Retaliation
KYIV, June 18 (Reuters) - Four years after Ukraine's Azov Regiment surrendered the last corner of the devastated city of Mariupol to Russian forces, the rebuilt unit is setting its sights on making Moscow pay for its occupation.
That bitter defeat in May 2022 — when hundreds of its fighters were killed or captured — turned Azov into a symbol of endurance in Ukraine and paved the way for its return as a bigger and more powerful force. Now, it is once again focusing on its home city on the Azov Sea.
Recent Drone Operations Over Mariupol
Drones belonging to First Corps Azov streaked across the sky above the city's strategic seaport last week in an operation that targeted electrical substations, repair facilities and a sanctioned ship and plunged the port into a blackout, according to Kyiv's military.
Reuters was able to confirm the location of parts of a video of the attack posted by the corps.
The attack was part of Ukraine's expanding strike campaign targeting Russian military logistics deep behind the front line, in a bid to grind down Moscow's war machine and swing the war in Kyiv's favour.
Azov's Strategy and Long-Term Goals
Col. Arsen Dmytryk, First Corps Azov's chief of staff, told Reuters there would be dozens more such operations to showcase the unit's capabilities, technology and planning.
Driving Russia out of Mariupol, which lies 120 km (75 miles) behind front lines that are barely budging, is a "long game", he conceded.
"If it takes 20 years, we will spend 20 years planning, waiting, preparing," said Dmytryk, 32, who was among those captured by Russia then later freed. "But when the time comes, we must be ready. I believe we will return it (Mariupol).
"It's just a matter of time."
Russia's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
'More is Coming': Escalating Strikes and Mariupol's Transformation
The port strike, carried out with Ukraine's drone forces and the SBU security service, hit just a few miles from the ravaged steel mill where Azov fighters and other troops were ordered by Kyiv to end their defence after Moscow's three-month siege of the city.
It followed months of strikes on critical roadways across Russian-occupied parts of the eastern Donetsk region, including in Mariupol, in a systemic effort to disrupt Russian supply lines to the front.
Documenting the Campaign
Footage posted by the corps captures its operations: in an April 16 video, drones soar over broad fields and long highways around Donetsk, before careering into bulky army vehicles.
Another post on May 8 features drone-view footage sweeping over central Mariupol and the heavily damaged Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, the site of the Ukrainian garrison's last stand in 2022.
"Azov is already patrolling its home city of Mariupol. From the skies — for now," it said.
Russian Efforts to Cement Control
Today the city — whose population has fallen from more than 400,000 before the war — is home to new infrastructure projects, part of an effort by Russia to cement its grip on occupied southern Ukraine, a Reuters investigation earlier this year found.
In January, Kyiv's foreign intelligence service said Russia was expanding Mariupol's seaport as a key hub for its economy, while pursuing showcase construction projects in the city at the expense of ordinary residents.
Russian Response and Countermeasures
"That's obviously a lie," Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-installed head of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, told Reuters. "The fact that the city is transforming right before our eyes is something anyone can see."
He played down the extent of the damage caused by Azov's strike campaign around Mariupol and Donetsk, saying that repair crews and emergency services "work around the clock".
According to Pushilin, Russia's military was expanding its electronic warfare capabilities to counter the threat of drones and adding more mobile firing units.
Cutting Critical Supplies: The Middle Strike Campaign
Within Ukraine's "middle strike" campaign, Azov's primary aim is to choke enemy cargo - especially fuel - heading from Russia through key nodes like Mariupol and Donetsk city, said a corps drone officer.
The constant movement of supply trucks along vast, open roads makes them difficult to defend, he said: "There's no way to hide a tanker carrying fuel ... It's just impossible."
Key Routes and Strategic Targets
The routes under attack include the M14 linking Mariupol with the Russian city of Rostov to the east, the H20 heading north from Mariupol to Donetsk, and a ring road around Donetsk, he added.
Ukraine's military is also stepping up strikes on logistics across the Russian-occupied "land bridge" in southern Ukraine connecting Russia with Crimea, attacks which have sparked fuel shortages on the peninsula.
Future Plans and Broader Impact
Speaking to Reuters last week, Ukraine's top drone commander Robert Brovdi pledged to "isolate Crimea in the near future" through mounting strikes on the key P-280 highway.
Azov's strikes are "cumulative rather than decisive", said Franz-Stefan Gady, a Vienna-based expert with the Center for a New American Security, as they force Russia's army to disperse its vehicles through longer detours and resort to more night driving.
Over time, he added, that "degrades the offensive tempo Russia can generate" on the battlefield.
Russian Advances and Ukrainian Resilience
Russian forces are on the verge of capturing the city of Kostiantynivka, the southern anchor of the so-called "fortress belt" in the Donetsk region which Moscow has demanded Kyiv relinquish. Russian drone teams are also hammering Ukrainian battlefield logistics.
However, Russia's overall pace of advance has slowed to a crawl in recent months. Ukrainian forces have regained ground on parts of the front.
Potential for Ukrainian Counteroffensive
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, said Kyiv's mid-range strikes could "test the conditions" for Ukraine, and possibly Azov, to eventually go on the offensive.
"This is one of the big stories of this year: how does Russia deal with Uk