Stanford University's Mapping Militants Project (MMP), a U.S. Government-funded initiative that conducts research on "violent militant or extremist organizations," quietly removed their profile on the Azov Battalion early last month. The Azov Battalion (now known as the 12th Special Purpose Brigade "Azov") is a Ukrainian National Guard unit infamous for its use of neo-Nazi insignia, recruitment of far-right foreign fighters, and alleged war crimes. The Stanford MMP's mysterious removal of its Azov profile was followed about a month later by the U.S. State Department lifting its ban on military assistance to the unit, raising questions about the motives behind removal of the webpage.

MMP's removal of Azov is significant in that it could be used to guide U.S. foreign policy. Though MMP was created and has operated with funding from the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the papers written by its researchers are cited in academic research, reports and testimony to Congress, government-funded institutions and initiatives, and federal agencies. The website functions as an authoritative source for information on militant and extremist groups, and their interactions and connections over time. At the very least, Azov's removal means MMP's list no longer contradicts the State Department's decision allowing U.S. military assistance to the group, and therefore cannot be used to criticize it.

The Stanford MMP's takedown of its Azov profile also may have occurred in part due to pressure from Ukrainian diplomats. Late last week, Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova published a post on Facebook celebrating the MMP's removal of its Azov profile, with a screenshot of the "Page not found" message that appears if one navigates to the Azov MMP profile's URL. Curiously, Markarova thanked Stanford for its "response," and thanked her colleagues at the Ukrainian Embassy and the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders "for constantly drawing attention and joint fight against Russian propaganda and disinformation," according to Facebook's automatic translation of the post. Markarova's mention of Stanford's "response" and her diplomats' "constantly drawing attention" raises the possibility of a Ukrainian pressure campaign, spurred by Ukrainian diplomats, to get the MMP to remove its Azov profile.