SITE: Russia-Ukraine Crisis Digest Feb 21-24, 2022

Anarchists claimed responsibility for “hammering” an ATM at an Intesa Sanpaolo bank branch on Via Rapisardi, Milan, acting against “businessmen involved in the war in Ukraine.” A summary of the attack was issued to an Italian-language anarchist blog on May 20, 2022. 

 

A May 11, 2022 post to two white nationalist Telegram channels claimed that “Roman Wolf” — a pseudonym of Rinaldo Nazzaro, founder of neo-Nazi militia The Base — was “fighting for Ukraine.” Included with the post was a photo depicting camouflage military fatigues and a baseball cap featuring The Base’s logo, with a Nazi black sun flag in the background. Although Nazzaro lives in Russia, he has previously expressed alignment with far-right Ukrainian nationalists and solidarity with Ukrainian citizens.

A key commander with the U.S.-designated Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) was killed in Ukraine as the group fights alongside Russian forces.

A high-ranking official with the U.S.-designated far-right group Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) detailed the group’s activities in Ukraine and purported it is “not currently recruiting” new members.

I cannot recall a single day I haven’t been on Telegram since ISIS and al-Qaeda began using it in 2015. Smart phone messenger apps were essential to the terrorist recruitment machines run out of Syria, but only Telegram, a major cloud-based messenger service used across the world, had the quality and features to house the entire global jihad. As the years went on, similar migrations of other extremist movements—Neo-Nazis, QAnon, and so on—have made me all the more bound to monitoring the platform. 

However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has marked a drastic escalation in how Telegram fuels violent conflict. Exploiting Telegram’s vital informational role across Ukraine amid the conflict, Russia is leveraging the platform as a tool toward its invasion on the ground. Seeing it all in action this last month, it’s clear Telegram is becoming a critical tool for state warfare in the Digital Age. For an international community rushing to preserve democracy, this should be a seen as blinking red light. 

In the days leading to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Telegram was a madhouse of fundraising and mobilization by Ukrainian and Russian-aligned operatives alike. At SITE, the counterterrorism organization I head, we began tracking the ways both sides were using the platform. We found that one side in particular was leaning hard into a digital war steeped in deception and coercion. 

On February 24, the day of Putin’s invasion, we came across a message from a Telegram channel branded under Azov, a Ukrainian far-right paramilitary and political movement adored by many of the Western Neo-Nazis we track. The channel was reaching out to anyone willing to “support the final stand” by Azov and Ukrainian forces against Russia, offering several donations options, including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Monero. 

At face value, the post might not have seemed abnormal. Azov channels and chat groups on Telegram had been openly soliciting donations ahead of Russia’s imminent invasion. Still, something seemed off. None of Azov’s main channels were promoting these donation options. Why? And just a couple days before, members of an Azov recruitment chat had already been asking if Azov would begin “accepting crypto donations,” but the group had not yet set up such methods.

After searching the message in SITE’s SourceFeed database, whereon we archive extremist activity online, it became clear this wasn’t an Azov channel, or even an Azov-supporting channel. Rather, it was a scam connected to a Kremlin-aligned group called “Defenders of Donbass,” which has for years fundraised for pro-Russia separatist militias via the exact same information given in the fake Azov post. A Defenders of Donbass’ administrator openly disclosed to others in a chat group that the fake Azov channel was purposed “to maximize donations” to pro-Russia separatists by fooling Neo-Nazis into thinking they were donating to Azov. The admin bragged, “it is my channel, i think you can guess where the donations link to.” These posts were deleted soon after, but not before SITE archived them. 

Fake Azov promotional message showing the same crypto and financial services information as a Kremlin-aligned channel 

As the admin hoped, this bogus Azov channel and its donation message had already been shared across far-right Telegram chat groups like the National Socialist Movement, Nordic Resistance Movement, and White Lives Matter movement, which ironically came to serve as a de facto mobilization venue for Azov in the weeks that followed. To this day, the fake Azov channel remains active with more than 2,000 followers and its donation solicitations are still circulated on far-right chat groups. 

The impacts of this war’s cyber front extend far beyond scamming Neo-Nazis for donations, though. Since the lead-up to Russia’s invasion, we’ve been tracking a coordinated network of Kremlin-aligned entities promoting Telegram bots purposed to help Russia gather intel on Ukrainian military locations, among other items. Telegram bots are essentially programs that carry out various tasks: relaying messages to users, providing information to specific queries, playing media, and so on. These Russia-aligned operatives’ bots function similarly to Telegram users, meaning that Ukrainians can message them directly.

Messages promoting these bots have been spread across platforms like Facebook, Telegram, VK, LiveJournal, and Russian domain forums. These posts appeal to all from misinformation and recruitment to outright manipulation of vulnerable Ukrainians. One such message asks Ukrainians to contact a designated Telegram bot, abbreviated as “RSOTM,” with “any information on the location and/or movement” of Ukrainian and allied forces. In an absurd appeal to humanitarian concerns, the message follows up:

If you are able to indicate the location of civilians and how far they are from the Ukrainian military, please notify at what distance they are from the military in order to ensure the safety of civilians. After transmitting the data to us, please hide yourself and your loved ones.

All information will be directly communicated to the Russian Armed Forces with complete anonymity guaranteed!!! 

The message also addresses Ukrainian soldiers, promising those who drop their weapons and cooperate: “…we will transfer you home, to relatives and friends.”

Message promoting Russian Telegram bot

Of course, Russia’s promises of protecting civilians are absurd given its strike targets, which have included a maternity ward and theater with the word “children” written on both sides of it. Furthermore, I can only imagine how infuriating such hollow promises are to the many Ukrainians who no longer have a home to “transfer” to—or remaining family members to “transfer” with. 

Nonetheless, these bots—and the absurd promotions of them—are abundant. Another bot, “W,” appears aimed at facilitating demoralized Ukrainian soldiers’ surrender (that is, if one believes that to be true), promising “all the necessary assistance in the process of switching to the side of the Russian Federation, the DPR and the LPR.” 

It shouldn’t be surprising that Russia is playing this game. Telegram’s immense popularity among Ukrainians makes the platform a sea of potential informants. Even if Russia were only to get a few bites from the many, it could translate to substantial gains on the ground. 

That said, the messages promoting these bots often read like something you’d expect to see on the Dark Web, not something on an app with over 500 million users. “For the exact coordinates of Arsen Avakov's location, our wealthy subscriber is ready to pay 30K bucks,” reads one bot-promoting message, referring to Ukraine’s former Minister of Internal Affairs. Other messages promised “generous pay” for “reliable information about the location of Tochka-U missile systems of Ukraine.” One bot, abbreviated as  “Z,” was developed for Ukrainians to “send a photo, video or coordinates of where the Ukrainian war criminals are hiding.”

It is unclear how impactful these bots have been for Russia’s ground war thus far, but as one user in a cyber-focused channel run out of Ukraine alleged: “The Muscovites coordinate with local traitors through bots. This has already led to a missile strike on take-off helicopters in the Vinnytsia region.”

Intel or no intel, Russia’s bots are, on a simpler level, loudspeakers for the Kremlin’s shoddy, evolving narratives amid its war on Ukraine: framing the Ukrainian government as oppressive “Nazis” and the Russian military as their saviors. One post promoting a bot abbreviated as “OOZ” gives a backhanded promise to Ukrainians who cooperate, stating, “Help is nearby. Help for you and your children - right behind the back of a Russian soldier.”

The message further attempts to justify Russia’s bombardment of citizens, squaring the blame on the Ukrainian forces protecting them:

The only ones who do everything to make the horror around you continue indefinitely and become even stronger are the Nazis. By placing their units, their equipment, and artillery among you, they make hostages of you…Unfortunately, in order to destroy the Nazis, the soldiers of the Russian army will have to destroy the buildings where the Nazis are…

Ukrainians have naturally zeroed in on this corner of the cyber front, calling on others to “join the Information war with the occupant” by blocking Russia’s bots or reporting them. However, Russian-aligned operatives have prepared for Ukrainians’ countermeasures against their bots by proliferating them. For example, those running the RSOTM bot have created an array of back-up versions of the bot should the initial version should be removed. 

Backup RSOTM bots

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government has even launched its own Telegram bot called “e-Enemy,” with which Ukrainians can pass along information to the Ukrainian government, from pro-Kremlin propaganda channels to information on Russian soldiers’ locations. 

The role apps like Telegram play in militancy is often framed as a reflection of larger conflicts and societal conditions. While this is all true, these applications—or more specifically these days, Telegram—is also its own staging ground, with its own agency in shaping the physical world around us. In my forthcoming book, I show how social media and messenger apps are no longer venues where terrorist groups convene, but where they are formed. Without platforms like Telegram, many smartphone-era terrorist groups wouldn’t exist at all. 

Yet what we’re seeing with the Russia-Ukraine war suggests a similar yet potentially more dangerous dynamic emerging in state warfare: the strategies, actors, and entire course of a deadly invasion being steered in part by what happens online. 

Russia’s operations on Telegram are also sobering doses of reality to the commonly espoused, but largely false notions that Telegram is fully encrypted (it’s not) or, better yet, that it is somehow a thorn in the side of a tyrant like Putin. For all the anti-authority cred gifted to Telegram and its libertarian founder Pavel Durov, the platform seems to be working out pretty well for the Russian government. The bots I’ve described in this article are just one feature of a massive Kremlin-aligned infrastructure on the platform, ranging from propagandic news operations and fundraising for separatists in Donbass to recruitment on behalf of the Wagner Group, a notorious Russian mercenary group. 

The Russian President has had no hesitation blocking major platforms like Facebook in his country. So, if he found no use in Telegram, where the very same news outlets he’s banned can be easily found, it’s safe to presume he would have already done the same. 

Russia’s weaponization of Telegram isn’t a story of one war. It is a case study with grave implications for future state conflicts, unless something is done. 

As impossible as it might seem for Telegram to moderate a bullying state actor like Russia, it is not impossible. ISIS is proof of this. Following widespread international demand amid constant ISIS attacks in past years, Telegram was forced to get serious about moderation. Now, after collaborative counter-efforts with entities like Europol, the act of even visiting an ISIS account is often grounds for instant removal. After all, Russia deserves no more license to solicit help with assassinations via Telegram bots than ISIS does to distribute bomb manuals to fellow terrorists. 

Still, for all the recent reporting on Telegram’s prevalence in Ukraine and Russia, there still seems to be a sense, particularly the United States, that we’re talking about a niche messenger application—that the stakes of what happens on Telegram are lower than on platforms like Facebook. Nothing could be further from the truth, though. Telegram has grown its usership 175 percent since 2018 and was the seventh most downloaded app between Apple and Android devices in 2021. It is a leading global forum with major impacts on the health of democracies and yes, violent conflicts. 

The international community must insist that Telegram be moderated with the same veracity that a nation’s sovereignty is protected, because as times goes on, these two matters will increasingly coincide. 

Kremlin-aligned fundraisers for Rusich, a Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary group, have proliferated on social media while giving insights into the group’s ongoing activities in Ukraine. These efforts appear to be run by various online channels as opposed to Rusich itself. Related messages have furthermore listed different bank numbers and cryptocurrency addresses, indicating an uncoordinated array of efforts as opposed to a centralized operation.

It could not be verified if donations ultimately made it to Rusich.

As news emerges that far-right Russian paramilitary group Task Force Rusich is aiding the Russian military in Ukraine, Kremlin-aligned social media communities are spreading reports of the group’s activities and status of its leader, Alexei Milchakov (AKA “The Serb”).

Users on a German-language, pro-Russia conspiracy theory channel responded with violent incitements to a post detailing recent developments in Europe’s ongoing effort to boycott energy imports from Russia. Commenters expressed a desire to organize and take up arms against the German government, the EU, and NATO, alleging these institutions are comprised of “criminals” and “super-liars.”

Finnish ultranationalists and neo-Nazis promoted an upcoming concert benefitting Ukraine’s military, to be held in the Helsinki metropolitan area on April 2, 2022. The event follows an earlier benefit concert that took place on March 12 in Vantaa, near Helsinki, at which organizers solicited donations of “combat equipment” for Ukrainian forces. After the first concert, the organizers published a long statement explaining their support for Ukraine and outlining the opportunities for national socialism presented by the war. As of March 30, only the date, price, and band lineup for the upcoming concert had been released.

Prominent neo-Nazi Alexander “Varyag” Matyushin, aka Alexander De Krog, announced in a video address a recruitment and fundraising campaign for a volunteer militia to help “defeat and demilitarize” Ukraine. Matyushin is known to have supported the Russian Imperial Movement, a far-right organization that has been designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. and Canada since 2020.

Several far-right German venues documented a March 26, 2022 seminar by prominent politician Gunnar Lindemann of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD, “Alternative for Germany”) party at the Generation Identity-sponsored Castell Aurora "conservative center" in Linz, Austria discussing Lindemann's “view of the Ukraine-conflict” among some 40 attendees. Coverage depicted Lindemann referencing a text published by the white nationalist neo-fascist publishing house Jungeuropa Verlag, which sponsored an enterprise for on-the-ground war reporting at the onset of the Ukraine-Russia war.

Several German-, Portuguese-, and English-language neo-Nazi and conspiracy theory venues circulated anti-Ukraine content grounded in assertions that Ukrainian “Nazi” forces are committing war crimes, echoing previous chatter in online German venues promoting pro-Russia conspiracies. The German far-right community at large has been divided on the Ukraine-Russia war: some organizations have organized housing for fleeing Ukrainian nationalists and sponsored travel to Ukraine, while others have taken a neutral stance, and yet others have publicized their support for Russia, often grounded in Russian misinformation surrounding the war.

Russian militia groups and prominent social media accounts aligned with the Kremlin have launched a major recruitment campaign across social media for the notorious PMC Wagner Group, espousing the lowering of standards and admission requirements for those who wish to fight in Ukraine.

Several online German neo-Nazi, white nationalist, and QAnon communities — including a Telegram channel affiliated with MZW News, a far-right website run by prominent neo-Nazi John de Nugent — have circulated pro-Russia content rooted in the conspiracy theory that Putin and his forces represent a last-ditch operation to “drain” the system of “criminals belonging to the international deep state.” The far right in Germany has been divided on the war between Russia and Ukraine, with some groups promoting fundraisers for Ukrainians and even organizing travel to participate in the conflict, others taking a neutral stance, and yet others publicizing their support for Russia often grounded in Russian misinformation surrounding the war.

The official website of the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary contracting agency accused of war crimes in its areas of operations, is soliciting donations and calling on Ukrainian forces to stand down. Donations are payable via major U.S. and Japan-based credit card companies.

A prominent neo-Nazi network posted printable propaganda flyers demonstrating opposition to both sides of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, claiming, “Every single aspect of the Ukraine-Russia war is Jewish.” While the group did not indicate a specific use for the flyers, it provided instructions for printing high-quality versions and a disclaimer noted they would be “distributed randomly without malicious intent.” Neo-Nazis and others on the far right have had a split reaction to the war in Ukraine; while certain groups have evinced pro-Ukraine or pro-Russia stances, others have declared any outcome insufficient in advancing the goals of national socialism.

While many factions of the German far-right and neo-Nazi communities have demonstrated either neutral or pro-Ukraine stances on the Russia-Ukraine war, select far-right groups and figures — including Compact Magazine, Freie Sachsen (Free Saxony) and Sven Liebich — have publicized their support for Russia.

The death of Nikolay Kravchenko — a co-founder of the far-right Azov movement reportedly killed near Mariupol around March 14 — has sparked ongoing morale-seeking celebrations by Kremlin-aligned communities online.

A March 15, 2022 statement from The Base founder Rinaldo Nazzaro (AKA Roman Wolf or Norman Spear) urged his followers not to serve as foreign volunteers with Ukraine in its war against Russian invasion. Nazzaro asked neo-Nazis, in particular current or former members of The Base, to abstain from fighting in favor of staying “in USA or EU” with the long-term goal of establishing “a separatist state.” According to Nazzaro, by defending the Ukrainian state, neo-Nazis would be undermining their own interests by effectively fighting a “NATO proxy war.” Despite this analysis and his own status as a resident of Russia, Nazzaro expressed his alignment with far-right Ukrainian nationalists and solidarity with Ukrainian citizens. This statement comes amidst neo-Nazi groups expressing support for Ukraine and urging those within the movement to pursue foreign volunteer opportunities.

Two former Boogaloo movement members provided contrasting updates on their trip to fight in Ukraine, with one describing plans to stay for another month and the other warning the situation is “a trap.”

As Syrian fighters enlist to aid Russia in Ukraine, Kremlin-aligned media groups and influencers have launched a social media campaign rallying in support of them. The celebrations — which have appeared significantly coordinated — contextualize these Syrians’ enlistment within larger narratives of “denazifying” Ukraine and the Syrian-Russian “brotherhood” established amid the Syrian Civil War.

Russian Telegram bots purposed to gather intel on the coordinates of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, military activities, as well as information on prominent Ukrainian officials, continue to flood social media accounts. SITE initially reported on these bots on March 7, 2022, and their continued and widespread use reveals what is an interconnected online network of bad actors purposed to extract intel for the Russian cause.

Posts accompanying the bots ask for this information in a myriad of ways, including directly addressing Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, calls for photos and videos that could provide tactical insight, and more. The posts have received hundreds of thousands of combined views across channels.

As it pertains to persons of interest, a post accompanying the “@Operational_Officer_Z_bot” listed a monetary reward for the location of Ukraine’s former Minister of Internal Affairs, Arsen Avakov:

For the exact coordinates of Arsen Avakov's location, our wealthy subscriber is ready to pay 30K bucks

@Operational_Officer_Z_bot

Posts are decidedly manipulative in addressing Ukrainian civilians, with messages assuring safety and touting the supposed benevolence of the Russian army as a savior from the “horror” of the “Nazi infection.” To this point, another post accompanying “@Operational_Officer_Z_bot” stated, in part:

Help is nearby. Help for you and your children - right behind the back of a Russian soldier. As soon as a Russian soldier enters Kharkov, help will come with him immediately. Help will come and the horror in which you and your children live will end. This is what you want. The Russian Army wants the same thing.

The only ones who do everything to make the horror around you continue indefinitely and become even stronger are the Nazis. By placing their units, their equipment, and artillery among you, they make hostages of you. They don't care about your suffering. They don't care about your city. They don't care what you and your children will eat and where to sleep. Unfortunately, in order to destroy the Nazis, the soldiers of the Russian army will have to destroy the buildings where the Nazis are…

Contact us via: @Operational_Officer_Z_bot

Click image to enlarge.

“@Operational_Officer_Z_bot” was also used to inquire on “reliable information about the location of Tochka-U missile systems of Ukraine.” The post further stated, “For this information, we are ready to generously pay. No advances or prepayments. First information, then money.”

The post listed the “@Operational_Officer_Z_bot” as the primary contact, along with three additional bots:

@zov_zephyr_bot
@zov_boreas_bot
@Pochtaljon_bot

Click image to enlarge.

A similar request was made for the “@Zloyrusskiy3_bot,” calling for information on where the Ukrainian army is unloading arms shipments.

“@z_info_1_bot,” which was announced to be “developed by a smart specialist, and is completely protected from Ukrainian spam attacks,” was included in a post that called for supporters to “send a photo, video or coordinates of where the Ukrainian war criminals are hiding here.”

One of the more niche bots, “@want_to_give_up_bot,” purposed to lure Ukrainian soldiers into surrendering by creating a fake narrative of increased instances of surrender, was spread around multiple channels and VK groups. All posts promoting the bot were similar in mission statement. One on VK stated:

Due to the rapid increase in the number of servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who have voluntarily laid down their arms, specialists of the Donetsk People’s Republic have developed a special bot: “Go over to the side of the DPR” (https://t.me/want_to_give_up_bot ), which helps the servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine receive all the necessary assistance in the process of switching to the side of the Russian Federation, the DPR and the LPR.

The bot needs the following data:

1) Contact details of persons who intend to go over to the side of the Russian Federation, DPR, LPR.

2) Approximate time and place of surrender, any info on any weapons that are present.
After providing the required information, you will be contacted and provided with further instructions for a safe transition.

Servicemen of Ukraine! The AFU command doesn’t care about you. Stop following the criminal orders of Kiev!

Think about your family and friends, lay down your arms!

-we guarantee your life;
-we guarantee anonymity;
-we will inform your family about you.

If you have information about the military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who need help in the transition - bring them information about the Telegram bot

(https://t.me/want_to_give_up_bot).

Click image to enlarge.

The names of the bots are clearly iterative, with new bots created after another has been compromised. This was highlighted clearly on February 26 and 27, when one channel wrote:

Whoever has coordinates or information about the whereabouts of the leaders of the war criminals of the Ukrainian Reich, write to the bot @Zloyrusskiy_bot. Maximum repost

A day later, another post stated, "The Ukrainian pig-dogs got to @Zloyrusskiy_bot. Making a new one. Don't write to this one."

Russian operatives are also active in fighting pro-Ukraine bots online: One user in a chat group gave instructions in Russian and English on how to troll bots being operated by pro-Ukrainian users:

Well, those who were not fortunate enough to personally participate in the attack on Kiev and Kharkov can make their contribution. So.

The tasks of the fighters of the information front are two.

Incitement of panic among the population.

Organization of paralysis of law enforcement agencies and emergency services.

What should be done:

Attack this bot @ukraine_avanger_bot messages. Mine everything! Schools, hospitals, shopping centers, social infrastructure facilities.

Given the current trajectory of the well documented online battle being waged between Russian and Ukrainian accounts, such bots will likely continue to be created and spread across Telegram, despite efforts in both directions to compromise them.

A number of the observed bots are listed below:

1. @want_to_give_up_bot (used since March 15)
2. @zov_zephyr_bot (used since March 13)
3. @Operational_Officer2_Z_bot (in channel info of "ZV" – not yet seen in posts)
4. @RSOTM_Z2_BOT (used since March 9)
5. @zov_boreas_bot (used since March 6)
6. @z_info_2_bot (used since March 6)
7. @Operational_Officer_Z_bot (used since March 2)
8. @RSOTM_Z_BOT (previously reported by SITE)
9. @z_info_1_bot (used from March 1 to March 5)
10. @Zloyrusskiy3_bot (used from Feb 28 to March 1)
11. @Zloyrusskiy_bot (used from early 2021 to March 1, 2022 – repurposed from feedback function to intel function following February 24 invasion)

In a post on its website originally published in February, the American Futurist recently updated its “Guide for Foreigners [to] donate to Azov Regiment” to include a Monero address. The neo-Nazi media group is a collaborator of the Atomwaffen Division (AWD) successor group National Socialist Order (NSO) and its ideological figurehead James Mason.

The neo-Nazi group Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) posted an article directed toward “all nationalists thinking of going to fight in Ukraine,” urging instead that members “get involved on behalf of the Nordic countries and Nordic peoples.” The group posted the article on its official website as well as its Telegram channel on March 10, 2022.

Concerning Russia's recruitment of Syrians to fight in Ukraine, the Syrian Islamic Council (SIC) remarked that it is only pro-Bashar "criminals" who serve as mercenaries, not the people of the revolution.

A Russian anarchist blog released a statement in English on behalf of an anonymous anarchist who attacked a military registration and enlistment office in “the Lukhovitsy, Moscow region.” Justifying the attack, the anarchist declared “people in Russia” were fighting to “break the spirit of the Russian army and government.” 

On March 9, 2022, prominent QAnon figure and congressional candidate Ron Watkins posted a graphic on his official Telegram channel, asking “How many U.S. military controlled biolabs are there in Ukraine?” The statement echoes disinformation promoted by Russia, including by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov at a press conference. In response to the post, many of Watkins’ supporters agreed with the statement and condemned the United States government. The responses echo the support for Russia found across much of the QAnon movement.

 

A Serbian neo-Fascist group, Србска Акција (Serbian Action), which has pledged support for the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), held a pro-Russian, anti-NATO demonstration outside the NATO offices in Belgrade, Serbia on March 4, 2022. This was preceded by a video appeal from RIM’s commander, Denis Gariyev, to his Serbian “brothers” for “support” in the “fight for the unification of the Russian people.” RIM is a white supremacist paramilitary organization recognized as a terrorist group by the U.S. and Canada; Denis Gariyev is also a U.S-designated Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

Jeune Nation (JN), a prominent ultranationalist media organization spearheaded by far-right politician Yvan Benedetti, released an anti-immigrant statement condemning the arrival of "non-European" refugees in France “since the start of the Russian attack” on Ukraine. 

Two U.S. military veterans and former members of the Boogaloo movement documented via video on social media their travel and arrival to Ukraine, and have reportedly joined the Georgian Foreign Legion alongside other American and British foreign fighters, and are recruiting others to do the same. The individuals were involved in organizing armed protests at US state capitols last year.

Indonesian jihadists are calling support for Ukraine hypocritical when compared to what they perceive as silence regarding Muslim oppression throughout the world.

German neo-Nazi party Der Dritte Weg (DDW, The Third Path) announced its desire to establish a network throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to “provide accommodation and other necessary support” to displaced Ukrainian national socialists in the event of a “dramatic outcome” to the war. The effort followed the party’s official statement opposing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In Telegram chats dedicated to recruiting foreign volunteers to aide in Ukraine’s fight against Russia, Americans with far-right affiliations have expressed their desire to participate in the war. The chats are run by Azov Regiment, a subset of the Ukrainian military that originated as a far-right paramilitary.

A guide to making several types of thermite explosives was shared online on March 8, 2022, after a far-right 4chan member asked, “How do I go about sabotaging all the efforts of the Russian invasion?” The bomb manuals were positively received, with another forum member writing, “I love these. Got any more?”

Filipino Islamic State (IS/ISIS)-linked supporters celebrated the shift of the world’s attention to the ongoing Russia and Ukraine crisis and expressed hope of more casualties of war in non-Muslim countries.

On February 24, 2022, German neo-Nazi party Nationaldemokratische Partei (NPD, National Democratic Party) and its official youth organization Junge Nationalisten (JN, Young Nationalists) released statements detailing their opposition to the “brother war” in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. However, the youth wing called specifically for a “free and sovereign Ukraine.” Following these statements, a member of JN’s Telegram chat shared an official Azov Regiment fundraising campaign.

Two white nationalist groups, the Swedish Det fria Sverige (DFS) or “Free Sweden” and prominent pan-European Europa Terra Nostra (ETN), announced on March 3, 2022 a fundraiser to gather and transport supplies to a children’s hospital and orphanage in Ukraine–raising nearly 8,000 Euros to date. The fundraiser has been endorsed by the German neo-Nazi political party, National Democratic Party (NPD), and its media branch, Die Deutsche Stimme (DS) or “The German Voice.”

Alleging a "huge spy scandal" involving the Embassy of Ukraine in Iraq enrolling youths to fight the Russian invasion, a prominent pro-Shi'a militant outlet released an audio recording of a phone call with a purported recruiter.

Responding to the influx of refugees escaping the war in Ukraine, white nationalist leaders in Germany, the United Kingdom, and France have warned that the crisis “is being used to flood Europe with migrants from Africa and the Middle East.” Xenophobia has been particularly intense in Poland, where a group of “football hooligans” reportedly gathered to harass non-white refugees in the border city of Przemyśl on March 1, 2022. Online far-right communities have encouraged lethal violence against Africans and Asians fleeing conflict, with one user writing, “shoot those illegal parasites.”

A years-old public Facebook group originally created for Russian military enthusiasts has grown into a battleground of conflicting views pertaining to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, serving as a case study of what has become a widespread information war between opposing sides.

A pro-Russian ultranationalist Telegram channel posted a message in Russian on March 1, 2022, seeking monetary and material donations to help equip volunteers heading to Ukraine to fight for Russia.

The German neo-fascist, white nationalist publishing house Jungeuropa Verlag (JV) announced an enterprise for on the ground war reporting in Ukraine, documented on JV’s website through “Ukraine Diary” entries authored by JV’s anonymous “companion”-turned correspondent. The correspondent, who with his partner intentionally avoided German authorities upon departure, alleged that JV helped fund and organize his travels, he collaborated and met with a high-ranking member of Azov’s “parliamentary arm,” and interviewed non-white migrants ‘taking advantage’ of the crisis. JV has also shared expedition updates to its Telegram, Twitter and Instagram, providing photographs taken, purportedly, during the correspondent’s travels.

A manipulative network of Russian users, purporting to be acting on behalf of Ukrainian civilians, is utilizing a Telegram bot across social media, online chats, and forums in an effort to gather intelligence on the locations and movements of Ukrainian troops.

On February 24, 2022, the admin of a German- English-language neo-Nazi Telegram chat Thule Gesellschaft” or “Thule Society” showed unwavering support for Azov Battalion in Ukraine by urging recruitment and sharing donation solicitations to Azov from the battalion’s official Telegram channel. However, the admin and other chat members showed disdain towards NATO, Putin, Zelensky, and their allies, justifying this position not out of humanitarian concern, but a desire to “defend” and further the national socialist agenda.

Seeking financial support, the Ukraine chapter of the neo-Nazi group Blood and Honour (BH) claimed that its members are currently serving in the country’s armed forces against the Russian invasion.

In a video posted to an Azov Battalion support channel on March 3, 2022, a person claiming to be a “volunteer soldier from Sweden” is asking for further support from international volunteers to help Ukraine defend itself against the ongoing Russian invasion.

Following its February 24, 2022 official pledge of solidarity with Ukraine, the German neo-Nazi political party Neue Stärke Partei (NSP), or “New Strength Party,” performed a pro-Ukrainian demonstration in the city of Erfurt, Thuringia on February 26, 2022 and documented it in a video.

Denis Kapustin (AKA Denis Nikitin), founder of the neo-Nazi clothing label White Rex, recently released a video statement on Telegram urging all ‘nationalists’—a common euphemism among white nationalists and neo-Nazis—to support Ukraine through donations or volunteering to directly aid in the war effort. Notably, Kapustin and his brand are fixtures in a European far-right MMA scene with international reach: in addition to acting as a conduit between far-right groups across Europe, Kapustin’s MMA tournaments have attracted members of the US group Will2Rise (FKA Rise Above Movement).

The Azov Battalion posted additional payment options for prospective donors as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.

 

While the vast majority of Western white nationalists and neo-Nazis are supportive, if not admiring, of Ukraine’s Azov Battalion, some within the movement—including an prominent American white nationalist groups —have accused Azov of being a counterrevolutionary force. Far-right critics of Ukraine’s ultranationalist military regiment claim that Azov is “funded by NATO,” or that “jews are funding azov,” and thus it is compromised. Others have pointed to Azov’s official government status, and failure to depose Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, as grounds for not supporting them. SITE's analysis uncovered messages in English, German, and Spanish criticizing the militia, with some such statements coming from Azov supporter chat groups.