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The Azov Assault Brigade is a formation of the National Guard of Ukraine formerly based in Mariupol, in the coastal region of the Sea of Azov, from which it derives its name. It was founded in May 2014 as the Azov Battalion, a volunteer paramilitary militia under the command of Andriy Biletsky to fight pro-Russian forces in the war in Donbas. It was formally incorporated into the National Guard on 11 November 2014, and redesignated Special Operations Detachment, also known as the Azov Regiment. In February 2023, the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that Azov was to be expanded as a brigade of the new Offensive Guard.

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The unit has drawn controversy over its early and allegedly continuing association with far-right groups and neo-Nazi ideology, its use of controversial symbols linked to Nazism, and early allegations that members of the unit participated in human rights violations. Some experts have been critical of the regiment's role within the larger Azov Movement, a political umbrella group made up of veterans and organizations linked to Azov, and its possible far-right political ambitions, despite claims of the regiments depoliticization. Others argue that the regiment has evolved, tempering its neo-Nazi and far-right underpinnings as it became part of the National Guard. The Azov Regiment has been a recurring theme of Russian propaganda. The unit has been designated a terrorist group by Russia since August 2022.

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The regiment's size was estimated to be around 2,500 combatants in 2017, and around 900 in 2022. Most of the unit's members are Russian speakers from Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine. It also includes members from other countries. In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the regiment gained renewed attention, as one of the reasons given by Russian president Vladimir Putin for the invasion was the "denazification" of Ukraine, to remove the alleged control of the country by far-right forces such as Azov. During the Siege of Mariupol, the regiment played a prominent role in the city's defense, and made its final stand at the Azovstal steel plant. The siege ended when a significant number of the regiments fighters, including its commander, Denys Prokopenko, surrendered to Russian forces on orders from the Ukrainian high command.

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