German intelligence has information about the presence in the ranks of the Russian forces involved in the war in Ukraine, members of Russian neo-Nazi and right-wing organizations.
Edition Spiegel claims, referring to a confidential document of the Federal Intelligence Service, that members of at least two right-wing radical groups are participating in the war against Ukraine – these are Rusich and the Russian Imperial League. The publication writes:
“In addition, in April, the right-wing extremist from Donetsk Alexander M. tried to recruit volunteers for the war via Telegram: it was decided to create a battalion to support pro-Russian and Russian forces. M. himself fought on the side of Russia in the Donbass in the past. He is known to a wide audience in Russia, as a war correspondent for the Russian state-run Channel One. Collaboration with these groups, and the Kremlin collaborating for its own purposes with at least one person, reduces the alleged cause of the war, the so-called “denazification” of Ukraine, to the point of absurdity.”
The seven-page review was given to several federal ministries last week, reports “European Truth”. The document does not provide indicative estimates of how many representatives of such organizations may be involved in hostilities against Ukraine, but the names of individual units are given. The “Russian Imperial Legion” has already appeared in ORDLO in 2014-2015 and has its own training base in St. Petersburg. The deputy head of this organization, Denis Gariev, allegedly died in Ukraine, while Gariev himself and several other people were seriously injured. The review notes that they do not know whether these organizations were involved at the request and knowledge of the top leadership of the Russian Federation.
The Rusich group is allegedly associated with the Wagner PMC. She participated in the fighting in the Donbass in 2014-15, and possibly also in Syria. At the stage of a full-scale war, the fighters from “Rusich” began to participate in the battles no later than the beginning of April.
Analysts at the BND (German Federal Intelligence Service) included a photo of Rusich’s co-founders in the document. One of them, Aleksey M., poses with a swastika flag, while his colleague Jan P. shows the Nazi salute. They also write about right-wing radical Alexander M., a native of Donetsk. In April, via Telegram, he was looking for volunteers for the war against Ukraine. It is noted that earlier he himself fought on the side of the militants and worked as a correspondent for the Russian Channel One.
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