The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is monitoring the Russian invasion of
Ukraine, with particular attention to the influx of foreign fighters involve


<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
ICYMI: CEP Resources And Experts On The Russia-Ukraine War

 

(New York, N.Y.) – The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is monitoring the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, with particular attention to the influx of foreign
fighters involved. CEP’s experts and resources provide background and insight
into the threats and risks posed by the conflict.

* Expert Analysis On Foreign Fighters: With reports of foreign fighters
seeking to participate in the Russia-Ukraine war, CEP examined the likely risks
posed by violence-oriented extremists in the conflict once they return to their
home countries in a new policy brief,Foreign Fighters in the 2022
Russia-Ukraine War: An Initial Assessment of Extremist Volunteers
<[link removed]>
. Violence-oriented foreign extremists represent the smallest fraction of those
traveling to take part in the conflict but are a clear risk as they will likely
obtain combat experience. The brief provides recommendations on how to identify
and reduce the threat of violence-oriented extremist traveling to and from
Ukraine. Cited inThe National
<[link removed]>
, “The brief says that nations need to quickly and comprehensively identify and
share knowledge on the threat as well as disrupt the travel of extremists to
Ukraine.”
CEP Experts In The News: CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler,
speaking to theAtlanta Journal-Constitution
<[link removed]>
,asserted that extremists see the conflict in Ukraine as a means to gain combat
experience. “All of them saw this as an opportunity to take part in a fight.
But not necessarily primarily to fight ... against the Russians or against the
Ukrainians, but to get combat experience,” he said. He also addressed the role
of extremists in the conflict inNewsweek
<[link removed]>
, explaining that “Immediately after the invasion, some groups within Ukraine
affiliated with right-wing extremism, in particular the Azov Regiment, which is
now part of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, have put out public calls on
social media for volunteers to come and join them.”

* Identifying Extremist Content Online: CEP researchers have published
comprehensive reports on how extremists are propagandizing and organizing
online.


* Extremist Content Online: Extremist Groups Spread Propaganda Regarding
Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
<[link removed]>
(February 28, 2022)


* Extremist Content Online: White Supremacists Continue to Spread Propaganda
and Seek to Gain Followers Through Rhetoric on Russian Invasion of Ukraine
<[link removed]>
(March 7, 2022)
CEP Researcher Joshua Fisher-Birch pointed to one notable Telegram channel
whose founder and associates had worked with Ukraine’s far-right, anti-Kremlin
Azov movement in the past. He told theDaily Beast
<[link removed]>
that the channel made a pro-Russian post “claiming that they were fighting
against Jews, liberalism, and globalism” before deleting it and replacing the
post with a statement of support for white people rather than a nation state. 

* Research Into Extremists In Central-Eastern Europe (CEE): Prior to Russia’s
February 2022 invasion, CEP publishedCareer Break or a New Career? Extremist
Foreign Fighters in Ukraine
<[link removed]>
andLooks Can Be Deceiving: Extremism Meets Paramilitarism In Central and
Eastern Europe
<[link removed]>
. The reports examine the motivation of far-right extremists to fight in
Ukraine, a trend that began with Russia’s 2014 invasion. As cited by theWall
Street Journal
<[link removed]>
, the reports note that “since 2014, more than 17,000 fighters from more than
50 countries have joined the Russian-backed forces there…”
To read CEP’s brief Foreign Fighters in the 2022 Russia-Ukraine War: An
Initial Assessment of Extremist Volunteers, please click here
<[link removed]>
.

 

To read CEP’s report Career Break or a New Career? Extremist Foreign Fighters
in Ukraine, please click here
<[link removed]>
.

 

To read CEP’s report Looks Can Be Deceiving: Extremism Meets Paramilitarism In
Central and Eastern Europe, please click here
<[link removed]>
. To watch the webinar on this topic, please clickhere
<[link removed]>
.

 

###

 

Unsubscribe
<[link removed]>