Counterterrorism officials are paying attention to the increased risks posed by volunteers from around the globe who are making their way to Ukraine. Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to later call on all “citizens of the world” to join the fight against the Russian army and help defend “peaceful coexistence.” Thousands appear to be taking up the cause, including dozens of Americans and Canadians. But among the well-meaning citizens lining up to fight for Ukraine are some global volunteers with links to white supremacist and far-right extremism. In recent years, global neo-Nazi and white supremacist extremist foreign fighters have sought training and combat experience by joining ultranationalist defense militias in Ukraine. A member of the U.S. neo-Nazi group The Base, an ex-Marine, joined the Ukrainian war effort in 2020 before he was expelled from the country. (…) Even among foreign fighters traveling to Ukraine, the vast majority have no ties to white supremacist extremism. And even within the far right, motivations for joining a foreign conflict vary. Previous research on extremist right-wing foreign fighters has found that some are “war junkies” and adventurers or joined because they sought career changes as fighters in a new country. But the conflict has clearly created an opportunity for extremists to recruit white supremacist foreign fighters who seek training and networks or seek to intensify their engagement to the cause in other ways. Far-right militia leaders in Europe have responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by raising funds online, recruiting fighters and planning travel to the front lines, activities the SITE Intelligence Group has described as an “outpouring of support for Ukraine” from “numerous far-right white nationalist and neo-Nazis groups” across Europe and North America.
via msnbc: Fighting Russia in Ukraine sadly appeals to racist, far-right extremists