In early March, one of the world’s leading intelligence experts sounded the alarm about a Ukrainian militia’s public invitation to foreigners to join its ranks and fight against Russia. That call, from the Azov Battalion, triggered a surge of volunteers from across Europe and the U.S., including in neo-Nazi chat rooms and channels. Warning of the risks of extremist mobilization among foreign fighters, terrorism analyst and founder of Search International Terrorist Entities Intelligence Group Rita Katz warned that we haven’t seen “such a flurry of recruitment activity” since ISIS.
“Volunteer battalions” — pro-state militias organized by private citizens — have played an unusual and outsized role in Ukraine since they first organized in the fight against pro-Russian separatists nearly a decade ago.
The warning follows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s misguided and deeply false claims of “denazifying” Ukraine via his offensive. It also brings into sharp relief the impact that volunteer militias in Ukraine can have on violent movements far outside the boundaries of the conflict for which they originally mobilized.
“Volunteer battalions” — pro-state militias organized by private citizens — have played an unusual and outsized role in Ukraine since they first organized in the fight against pro-Russian separatists nearly a decade ago. Inadequate military infrastructure at the start of the conflict with Russia inspired bands of private citizens to organize to defend the state in...
Renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for relying on claims by United States President Donald Trump regarding the reported killing of senior Islamic ...