Foreign fighters involved in the Ukrainian conflict who far-right connections constitute a credible concern in terms of regional and international security. They find themselves on both sides of the conflict and are driven by similar ideologies. Without proper intervention, these foreign fighters returning from Ukraine could strengthen already growing far-right movements around the world. Russia already uses some of these far-right groups. With the EU weakened, a US initiative to combat and deradicalize these far-right groups is necessary.
Far-right fighters on both sides in Ukraine
On March 10, the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina acquitted Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Stevic to join a pro-Russian separatist unit fighting in Ukraine. The Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina was expanded in 2014 to cover those who join “in any way whatsoever, foreign paramilitary and parapolice training. » So far, Bosnian authorities have convicted at least two dozen returned fighters for their participation in the Syrian conflict. Stevic’s was the first trial involving a Balkan fighter participating in the war in Ukraine.
Numerous reports and analyzes have been produced in recent years on the phenomenon of foreign fighters and the implications for returnees and their families. However, most research and policy work has focused on foreign fighters in Syria, while little attention has been paid to the implications of this situation. foreign fighters returning from Ukraine.
After the start of the conflict in Ukraine in 2013, a a large number of volunteers from Europe flocked to join both camps. Most Orthodox Christian volunteers sided with pro-Russian separatists, while Catholics and anti-Russians sided with Ukrainian forces. The common denominator of both camps is the significant presence of far-right extremists. For example, among the separatists was the Jovan Sevic Unit composed entirely of Serbs from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Most of these fighters are linked to the Chetnik movement, the Serbian far-right movement formed during World War II.
These volunteers and others from predominantly Orthodox Christian countries – Russia, Belarus and Serbia, for example – are examining the conflict in Ukraine. as a battle for Orthodox Christianity and a fight against Western European/NATO domination. On the other hand, Ukrainian forces were joined by large numbers of neo-Nazis and white supremacists, mainly from Western Europe. The most infamous unit among Ukrainians is the Azov Brigade, known for publicly displaying neo-Nazi symbolism.
Interestingly, neo-Nazis were on both sides of the front. A 2016 report documented pro-Russian separatist units with neo-Nazi ideologies and ties, but also claimed that “the importance of far-right groups on both sides has declined over time.”
A recent study on foreign fighters in Ukraine show that some “appear to have entered the conflict with the specific aim of acquiring the skills necessary to carry out acts of violence” and that most returnees “have remained in contact in one way or another ‘another with the people they met on the front line. This study also classifies foreign fighters into four categories: “experienced veterans coming to settle old scores with Ukraine or Russia”, “civilian men who are very ideologically committed”, dissatisfied militants “who have the feeling of having exhausted the means of political activism (through art). , literature and NGO work) in their home countries” and adventurous “battle hunters”. The study concludes that “disillusioned ideologues and adventurous civilian-type battle hunters are of greatest concern.”
The war in Ukraine has revealed another worrying fact: former foreign fighters who took part in the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s have re-emerged as recruiters and ideologues in Ukraine. A French who fought for Croatian forces in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina led the recruitment of the Azov Brigade. An old Russian volunteer Serb forces who fought in eastern Bosnia led the recruitment of pro-Russian separatists.
The wider danger
Additionally, some veterans and networks created during the war in Ukraine are strengthening far-right groups across Europe. Unlike returnees from Syria, veterans returning from Ukraine do not follow deradicalization and resocialization programs in their country of origin. On the contrary, there is examples veterans being used to spread influence and ideologies. For example, Russia uses some of these networks to expand its influence in the Balkans. In this specific casea connection between veterans of the Bosnian and Ukrainian wars and far-right Bosnian Serb and Russian political parties and social groups highlighted a common anti-NATO motivation.
Some radicalized individuals in Ukraine were planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Western Europe. In 2016, a A Frenchman was arrested on the Polish-Ukrainian border with explosives and weapons. He planned to carry out attacks on bridges, highways, a mosque and a synagogue during the UEFA European Football Championship.
Likewise, as we see in the case of golden twilight in Greece, some of these veterans often tend to get politically involved. The National Corps, the political wing of the Azov Battalion, began to profit growing support throughout Ukraine. The group has a presence at the Paneuropa conference, a gathering of far-right movements and political parties from around the world that has been held annually in Kyiv since 2017. The National Corps has also found allies in Croatia, where it has forged a alliance alliance with far-right parties. This far-right model from Eastern Europe is taking shape little by little. exported throughout Western Europe and North America.
Reply to the far right
Policies towards foreign fighters and their recruiters differ from country to country. Initially unaware of the phenomenon, some countries slowly changed their position. Italy, for example, has arrests for recruitment and participation in 2018. Croatia, on the other hand, called on its citizens to return from Ukraine in 2015, under pressure from Russia, but did not pursue them. Serbia held legal proceedings against 45 of their citizens but these generally ended with modest and lenient measuresunlike the verdicts handed down against foreign fighters returning from Syria.
The Ukrainian conflict provided an opportunity for veterans and ideologies from previous wars to re-emerge in Europe. These re-emerging far-right ideologies have strengthened and spread not only in Europe but also in the United States. Several reports found that far-right groups have increased in the United States in recent years. What’s more 2019 report shows that since the start of the Ukrainian conflict, far-right movements in Ukraine have attempted to connect with far-right individuals and organizations in the United States.
Thus, the issue of foreign fighters and far-right movements calls for a more decisive approach from the United States. First, the rise of the far right will affect security in Europe, particularly for vulnerable U.S. allies in Eastern Europe. Veterans radicalized within extremist groups could pose a threat to the national and regional security of NATO member states. Second, Russia uses these foreign fighters to weaken the European Union and NATO. Unlike other countries, Russia has an active role to involve fighters in the conflict, since the Russian objective is geopolitical instability in the region.
The United States must take the lead in combating the global far-right phenomenon. With its transatlantic allies, the United States can spearhead an effort to ensure that far-right extremist groups are specially monitored and that repatriated foreign fighters are prosecuted and deradicalized. In addition, strengthening local partners through strategies capacity building in Ukrainian and state institutions in the Balkans are a necessity to prevent the growth of far-right extremism.
As the European Union’s position is weakened by Brexit and overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic, far-right populist movements have accelerated their pace. Autocratic leaders are take power while far-right groups are use disinformation to advance their agenda. This could be an opportunity for the United States to launch an initiative and once again become a stabilizing factor in the region.
Dr. Hikmet Karcic is a principal investigator at Newlines Institute and researcher in genocide studies at the Institute for the Islamic Tradition of Bosniaks in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not constitute an official policy or position of the Newlines Institute.