Gauging A Possible Future Threat Of Neo-Nazi Foreign Fighters Returning To The West After Performing Combat In The Ukraine-Russia War

 

Within two weeks of the start of the Ukraine-Russia war, it was reported that 6,000 Americans had contacted the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington to inquire about joining the fight against Russia.[1] Ukraine's military attaché in the U.S., Maj. Gen. Borys Kremenetskyi, said in early March that the would-be foreign fighters "really feel that this war is unfair... This is not mercenaries who are coming to earn money. This is people of goodwill who are coming to assist Ukraine to fight for freedom."

Days after the February 24 Russia invasion, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted a call for volunteers. He wrote: "Foreigners willing to defend Ukraine and world order as part of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, I invite you to contact foreign diplomatic missions of Ukraine in your respective countries."

According to Kremenetskyi, half the would-be volunteers were quickly rejected and did not even make it as far as the initial Zoom interview screening. They either lacked the required military experience, had a criminal background, or were unsuitable for other reasons. He added that of the others, only 100 U.S. citizens had made the cut, as of March 10. They included combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's office announced days earlier on March 5, 2022 that it had launched a recruitment website for foreign volunteers for the International Legion, stating that "foreigners who want to help Ukraine can find a detailed, step-by-step instruction on the website on how to join the just fight with the aggressor." Visa-free entran­ce to Ukraine for foreign volunteers came into effect on March 1.

Some 20,000 foreign fighters were on route to Ukraine by March 6, many of them ideologically inspired. Their return to their homes across the U.S. and Europe will be difficult to track. Some counterterrorism officials have expressed concern that extremists among them could use their experience in this conflict to train, recruit, and plan violence back home.  (more...)

Gauging A Possible Future Threat Of Neo-Nazi Foreign Fighters Returning To The West After Performing Combat In The Ukraine-Russia War