Ukrainian neo-nazis brag they have received training from the Canadian Forces and other NATO nations
Far-right extremists in Ukraine’s military have bragged they received training from the Canadian Forces and other NATO nations, a new study from an American university has uncovered.
The study from an institute at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., tracked social media accounts of the far-right group Centuria, documenting its Ukrainian military members giving Nazi salutes, promoting white nationalism and praising members of Nazi SS units.
The far-right group has been active since 2018 at the Hetman Petro Sahaidachny National Army Academy or NAA, according to the report from George Washington’s Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies.
The NAA is Ukraine’s premier military education institution and a major hub for western military assistance to the country, including from Canada.
Centuria members acknowledged on social media they have received training from the Canadian military and have participated in military exercises with Canada. In May, Centuria organizers boasted to their followers that its members currently served as officers in Ukraine’s military and “have succeeded in establishing cooperation with foreign colleagues from such countries as France, the United Kingdom, Canada, the USA, German and Poland,” according to the institute’s report.
The NAA is Ukraine’s premier military education institution and a major hub for western military assistance to the country, including from Canada.
Centuria members acknowledged on social media they have received training from the Canadian military and have participated in military exercises with Canada. In May, Centuria organizers boasted to their followers that its members currently served as officers in Ukraine’s military and “have succeeded in establishing cooperation with foreign colleagues from such countries as France, the United Kingdom, Canada, the USA, German and Poland,” according to the institute’s report.
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Concerns about such training have been circulating since 2015, when it was first decided to send Canadian troops to Ukraine. In April of that year, then-defence minister Jason Kenney acknowledged that Canadian military leaders discussed how to avoid training extremists. That was done initially by stipulating that only units of the Ukrainian National Guard and army be trained as opposed to some of the ad hoc militias that had sprung up in the country at the time.
But MP Jack Harris, then the NDP defence critic, warned that far-right groups were integrating themselves into the military, making it difficult to weed out extremists.
Centuria also has ties to the Azov movement. In 2018, the U.S. Congress banned the use of U.S. funds to provide arms, training and other assistance to the Azov Battalion because of its links to the far right and Neo Nazis.
But MP Jack Harris, then the NDP defence critic, warned that far-right groups were integrating themselves into the military, making it difficult to weed out extremists.
Centuria also has ties to the Azov movement. In 2018, the U.S. Congress banned the use of U.S. funds to provide arms, training and other assistance to the Azov Battalion because of its links to the far right and Neo Nazis.
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