Ukraine: What is the Azov Battalion?

Since Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, Ukraine's Army has been trained by the British Armed Forces.

However, alongside these regular soldiers, a new militia was formed by volunteers to protect the Donbas region from Russian invaders - the Azov Battalion.

In the unit's early days, it had a reputation for harbouring neo-Nazi sympathisers, with Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly using Azov Battalion as a justification for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

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However, the Battalion has evolved into an elite unit, with its reconnaissance and bomb disposal specialists drawn from Ukraine's special forces.