Opinion | Ukraine's Nazi problem is real, even if Putin's 'denazification' claim isn't
Not acknowledging this threat means that little is being done to guard against it.
www.nbcnews.com
Nazi Symbols on Ukraine’s Front Lines Highlight Thorny Issues of History (Published 2023)
Troops’ use of patches bearing Nazi emblems risks fueling Russian propaganda and spreading imagery that the West has spent a half-century trying to eliminate.
Why Have So Many Neo-Nazis Rallied to Ukraine's Cause?
Many of those fighting for today's Ukraine also seem to be fighting for a Ukrainian past that is shameful.
www.newsweek.com
“My biggest concern is that these extremists get combat training with weapons and explosives and, because of the war experience, have a very low threshold for using weapons and lethal force,” said Stephan J. Kramer, the head of the domestic intelligence agency in the German state of Thuringia.
In Germany, the number of far-right extremists crossing into Ukraine is still minimal, according to Germany’s Interior Ministry. So far 33,300 far-right extremists estimated to be in the country, with 13,000 assessed to be inclined to violence. Authorities said there was no evidence any had seen combat.
But active online recruitment suggests that a drawn-out conflict could attract many more volunteer fighters, Kramer said. Readiness to take up arms, he added, reflects intensifying activity by right-wing extremists, including within the ranks of the German military.
For neo-Nazis and white supremacists, “Ukraine could become their version of what Afghanistan was for the jihadi movement in the 1980s,” said Steven Stalinsky, the executive director of the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute. “Being on the ground in a real-world fighting situation will allow them to gain valuable experience, as they further hone their skills in weapons, planning attacks, using technology in war including communications and encryption, and using cryptocurrency for clandestine funding of their activity.”
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