Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Pakistani army: 6 soldiers and 7 militants killed in clash near the Afghan border
Israeli media: Sirens sound in the settlement of Kerem Shalom in the Gaza envelope area
Afghan source to Al Mayadeen: We still believe in dialogue and prioritize diplomatic solutions with Pakistan; though we are ready for all possibilities.
Afghan source to Al Mayadeen: Pakistan purposely obstructed negotiations in Turkey by making unrealistic demands.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: More than 70 martyrs in Israeli attacks on Gaza since dawn.
Death toll from latest Israeli strikes on Gaza rises to 30
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Five killed in the Israeli bombing of a civilian vehicle on Al-Qassam Street in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip
Hamas confirms that it has no connection to the shooting incident in Rafah and affirms its commitment to the ceasefire agreement
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two civilians were killed and four others, including a child and an infant, were injured in an Israeli bombing of a house belonging to the Al-Banna family in the al-Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli airstrike targets the vicinity of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, west of Gaza City

Foreign fighters in Ukraine; a time bomb back home?

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Intercept
  • 2 Jul 2022 18:10
  • 1 Shares
5 Min Read

Two members of the Ukrainian Army's so-called "International Legion" who got killed may have been neo-Nazis, with many more expected to be fighting on the frontlines in the face of Russia.

  • x
  • Foreign fighters in Ukraine; a time bomb for their countries?
    The Misanthropic Division was defined as "one of the numerous neo-Nazi groups that have mushroomed around Ukraine in recent years

"The death of a French volunteer in Ukraine is the first clear evidence that there are at least some far-right extremists among the foreign fighters who have been deployed to fight Russian forces," The Intercept website reported. Wilfried Bleriot, 32, was killed in combat on June 4, 2022, according to a Facebook post by Ukraine's so-called "International Legion".

Bleriot wears the black-and-white patch of the so-called Misanthropic Division - said to be an overtly fascist volunteer wing of Ukraine's ultranationalist Azov Battalion - on the front and center of his body armor in a photo posted by the International Legion, which was formed after the Russian military operation began and is open to volunteer fighters from all over the world.

There is now clear evidence far-right extremists have flocked Ukraine. Ukraine’s International Legion, open to volunteer fighters from all over the world, posted a photo of Wilfried Bleriot, 32, KIA, wearing a patch of the Ukraine’s overtly fascist ultranationalist Azov Battalion pic.twitter.com/UJLGrCuNKd

— Alexander Higgins (@kr3at) July 1, 2022

The Misanthropic Division's violent, hate-filled Telegram group was the first to report Bleriot's death one day earlier, on June 3. The statement said Bleriot died on June 1 in Kharkov and attached a photo of him wearing a T-shirt with the words "Misanthropic Division" across the front.

Correct! Here a photo of a French mercenary fighting alongside the Azov gang - he got killed in action (after having his picture taken): Wilfried Blériot, from Normandy pic.twitter.com/O9DxT43PFh

— Roger Beaud (@BeaudRoger) June 23, 2022

What is the Misanthropic Division?  

The Misanthropic Division was defined as "one of the numerous neo-Nazi groups that have mushroomed around Ukraine in recent years" by the Los Angeles Times in 2018. The Daily Beast described it in 2020 as "the aggressive overseas volunteer arm of Ukraine's neo-Nazi Azov Battalion." 

Read next: Azov leadership orders battalion to stop fighting amid mass surrender

A spokesperson for the Azov Battalion, which began in 2014 as a far-right street gang and has since evolved into a professional special operations regiment of the Ukrainian army, did not immediately answer a question about Bleriot and the Misanthropic Division.

  • Foreign fighters in Ukraine; a time bomb back home?
    Azov Battalion recruit with a tattoo on his scalp depicting a Kalashnikov and the word “Misanthropic" (AFP)

However, Andriy Biletsky, the founder of the Azov movement, commenting on the presence of foreign fighters among their ranks, said, “We have volunteers from different countries."

“We’ve had Europeans, Japanese, people from the Middle East.”

Where is the Azov base? 

Related News

Russia downs 73 Ukrainian drones overnight

Ukraine's infamous Azov Battalion eyes English-speaking recruits

The Azov base is located in an abandoned Soviet factory property on the semi-industrial outskirts of Kiev. Inside the main building, a yellow flag with Azov's infamous Wolfsangel insignia in the center-hung from the rafters inside the main structure.

Black Sun clocks can be seen hanging on the walls in two spots, such sun wheels or Sonnenrads, which were also found on the floor of Heinrich Himmler's castle in Germany. The Black Sun symbol is extensively utilized by contemporary Nazi supporters to express their Aryan supremacist ideas.

Read next: 900+ Azov militants surrender in Mariupol

On the battlefield, there is plenty of photographic evidence of Azov fighters wearing Nazi emblems. Azov has attempted to clean up its image and depict itself as depoliticized in recent years, but its actions speak louder than anything else. 

Read next: Russian forces destroy Azov neo-Nazi HQ near Kharkov

The International Legion revealed the death of Bjorn Benjamin Clavis, a German of unknown age, in the Facebook post that announced Bleriot's death. The snapshot shows a man in his 30s with buzzed hair dressed in the uniform of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Force.

Three more volunteers of Territorial Defence, from the Netherlands, Germany & Australia, have died in Ukraine, reported in the press service of the Legion.

Their names are Ronald Vogelaar, Michael O'Neill, Bjorn Benjamin Clavis & Wilfried Blerio.https://t.co/ilshbT0Mzn pic.twitter.com/NllhEjgUp6

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) June 4, 2022

The Anti-Defamation League characterizes an Iron Cross tattoo on the back of his right hand as a "commonly-used hate symbol" beloved by "neo-Nazis and other white supremacists."

  • Foreign fighters in Ukraine; a time bomb back home?
    Foreign fighters in Ukraine; a time bomb back home?

In March, a Ukrainian top official revealed that around 20,000 international volunteers traveled to fight Russia in Ukraine, mostly coming from European countries. This comes alongside the 16,000 foreign mercenaries whom Zelensky announced will be fighting in Ukraine. 

Since the start of the military operation, Zelensky invited foreigners - including Israelis - to fight alongside the Ukrainian army against Russia.

Israelis are now fighting in #Ukraine. The viral footage showed Israelis in Ukrainian military uniform thanking "Israel" for its support, despite #Zelensky's recent comments about "Israel's" lack of support to #Kiev. pic.twitter.com/3PKjfs02NX

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 26, 2022

Earlier in April, a footage also surfaced showing several Israelis fighting alongside Ukrainian forces and thanking “Israel” for its assistance. The videos, which went viral, showed the men dressed in Ukrainian military uniforms in an unspecified forested area.

Former US Army Staff Sgt. Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, who were both living in Alabama, were reported missing this month near the northeastern city of Kharkov, not far from the Russian border, and had traveled to Ukraine to fight alongside Ukrainian forces and teach them how to use US-made weapons, according to family members.

US President Joe Biden said Friday that he had been briefed on two Americans who had gone missing in Ukraine and urged Americans not to travel to the war-torn country.

A third former Marine Corps officer Grady Kurpasi lost contact with his family in April and was only recently identified. Willy Joseph Cancel, a fourth American veteran, was killed in Ukraine in May.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had been asked about the mercenaries captured as prisoners in light of the war, and he said they would not be protected by the Geneva Convention's clauses on prisoners of war.

"They are not (in the) Ukrainian army, so they are not subject to the Geneva Conventions," he explained.

  • Azov Battalion
  • Russia
  • Germany
  • Ukraine
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Most Read

'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

  • Technology
  • 24 Oct 2025
Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

  • Politics
  • 27 Oct 2025
US missionary kidnapped in Niger capital, suspected taken toward Mali

US missionary kidnapped in Niger capital, suspected taken toward Mali

  • Africa
  • 23 Oct 2025
What Marr evidently didn't seem to understand was that Hedges isn't saying that Western journalists manipulate the truth, but that they systematically amplify Israeli narratives they know are false. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Western journalists know they have a case to answer for their betrayal of Gaza, and it frightens them

  • Opinion
  • 24 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Saudi's PIF refocuses on AI, logistics, and religious tourism
Economy

Saudi Arabia's fund refocuses on AI, logistics, and religious tourism

Detained Bahraini activist al-Khawaja starts new hunger strike.
Politics

Detained Bahraini activist al-Khawaja starts new hunger strike

Israel fortifies Gaza’s "yellow line," prepares to dig in.
Politics

'Israel' fortifies Gaza’s 'yellow line,' prepares to dig in: WSJ

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One as he travels from Tokyo, Japan, to South Korea, on October 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Asia

Trump’s weak dollar strategy risks global fallout: Forbes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS