Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there has been
significant concern about the phenomenon of foreign fighters of various





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CEP Webinar: Western Extremists And The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine In 2022

All Talk, But Not a Lot of Walk



(New York, N.Y./Berlin) – Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in
February 2022, there has been significant concern about the phenomenon of
foreign fighters of various extremist ideologies traveling to take part in the
conflict. The new CEP reportWestern Extremists and the Russian Invasion of
Ukraine in 2022: All Talk, But Not a Lot of Walk
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shows that only a fraction of the nearly 20,000 foreigners who initially
expressed an interest in joining the Russia-Ukraine war actually have done so
until now. While some of these foreigners are indeed extremists, the report’s
careful analysis of extreme right-wing scenes across seven countries—the United
States, Canada, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and Poland—reveals that the
current conflict has not led to a significant flow of extremists to the war
zone.



However, among these volunteers are also a small number of violence-oriented
extremists from both the extreme right and extreme left. These individuals
present a latent security risk to their home countries. Their participation in
the conflict will significantly increase their potential for violence upon
their return. Furthermore, movements of Russian right-wing extremists fighting
on Russia’s side should be closely monitored, as some of these groups have
provided support for attacks in Europe in the past.



This webinar will address the major findings of CEP’s latest report, including
the existing military and paramilitary structures within Ukraine in which
foreigners integrate as well as the reaction of the German and the U.S.
extremist scenes to the intensification of the war in Ukraine.



Since 2019, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) has been monitoring the
activities of foreign extremiststraveling to Ukraine
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as well asparamilitary infrastructures
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in Central and Eastern Europe frequented by these extremists. Following the
Russian invasion this year, CEP published aninitial assessment
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andrecommendations
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for actions by governments on how to manage this new situation.



The webinar will be conducted in English via Zoom.



Date: July 20, 2022

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. ET / 16:00 – 17:30 CET



EVENT PROGRAM:



Speakers:

Kacper Rekawek PhD – Postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Research on
Extremism (C-REX), University of Oslo, and CEP-affiliated researcher

Overall analysis and situation of foreign fighters in Ukraine



Alexander Ritzmann – CEP senior advisor

Travel of German extremists to the war zone in Ukraine



Joshua Fisher-Birch – CEP research analyst

Reaction of the U.S. extremist scene to the invasion of Ukraine



Moderator:

Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler – CEP senior director



The presentations will be followed by a Q&A-session open to all participants.



REGISTRATION:

To participate in this webinar please register via this link:

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Please register up to 1 hour before the webinar start so that your
registration can be approved in time.



Please feel free to forward this invitation to colleagues with an interest in
the subject.



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