Ukraine deported two American neo-Nazis

Ukraine deported two American neo-Nazis

According to the security service, Ukraine has deported two members of the neo-Nazi American group Atomwaffen Division (AWD). The men tried to set up a local squad and join the Azov battalion for real combat experience.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine, foreign citizens arrived in the country to recruit local residents into the ranks of extremists. They were engaged in illegal activities in Kiev, Kharkov and Lvov.

The men distributed a video that promotes neo-Nazism, as well as calls for the commission of serious crimes, murders and terrorist attacks.

American neo-Nazis were banned from entering Ukraine for three years. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) video shows two men with backpacks at the airport check-in counter. The personal data of the deported were not disclosed.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the AWD is a neo-Nazi group that emerged in 2016 as the ultra-right wing of the white supremacist movement. Members of the AWD have been involved in several murders.

It is not clear when exactly the Americans arrived in Ukraine and how many arrived in the country.

Earlier, terrorism experts warned that Ukraine, which is waging a war against Russia and separatists in the eastern region of Donbass, could become a training ground for Western nationalist extremists.

A Ukrainian official confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the Americans were trying to join the Azov regiment. Moreover, this is not the first such attempt.

In September 2019, the FBI arrested Jarrett William Smith, 24, of Fort Riley, who was planning to join the Azov regiment and then use the experience in a terrorist attack aimed at the American news network. In August he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

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