A report exploring the far-right in Ukraine鈥檚 military found that neo-Nazis and supporters of far-right groups in the ranks bragged online about receiving training from Canada and other NATO nations, prompting promises of a thorough review from the Department of National Defence.
The report, entitled 鈥溾 and published by the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at George Washington University, details a group within Ukraine鈥檚 National Army Academy (NAA) known as the 鈥淢ilitary Order Centuria鈥 or simply 鈥淐enturia.鈥
The group is led by those with ties to the internationally active far-right Azov movement, the report says. The Azov movement anti-fascist demonstrations, city council meetings, media outlets, art exhibitions, foreign student, the LGBTQ2S+ community and Roma people.
A by the Office of the UN鈥檚 High Commissioner for Human Rights details accusations against the Azov movement鈥檚 militia known as the 鈥淎zov Battalion鈥 of torture and other war crimes in the ensuing conflict after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The Ukrainian National Guard into its ranks 鈥 where it is now known as the Azov regiment.
鈥淚 discovered evidence that a far right group composed of military members, officers and cadets with a clearly spelled out international agenda and seemingly dozens of members was able to operate in a prestigious and Western-backed military academy in Ukraine, proselytizing to the academy's cadets since 2018,鈥 said report author and Washington, D.C.-based investigative reporter Oleksiy Kuzmenko in a series of emails to CTVNews.ca on Wednesday.
Kuzmenko said that the Military Order Centuria has ties to the international Azov movement, which he describes as 鈥渁 large far-right organization with thousands of members that stretches from a highly capable and politicized Azov Regiment of Ukraine鈥檚 National Guard to a far-right political party National Corp.鈥
The report says the Military Order Centuria members describe themselves as an 鈥渙rder of 鈥楨uropean traditionalist鈥 military officers鈥 that share a goal of reshaping Ukraine鈥檚 military with right-wing ideologies, and defending what they call the 鈥渃ultural and ethnic identity of European people."
Detailed evidence in the report, including photos taken from social media and posts from messaging platforms, show members of Centuria performing Nazi salutes. They also bragged online about receiving training from foreign military forces including those of Canada, Germany, the U.S. and the U.K.
The report states that the NAA denied Centuria operated within the academy. Kuzmenko said several photos and videos of alleged members have been removed from various social media accounts and websites after he reached out to the group for the report.
Kuzmenko on Twitter that shows the proximity of extremists in the Ukrainian military with the Canadian Armed Forces, where a man he describes as an 鈥渋n-your-face neo-Nazi鈥 graduated from a tactical medical program in 2018 run by the Canadian Armed Forces and the U.S. military and later trained other cadets. The soldier, who is not a part of Centuria, Kuzmenko says, appears on several social media posts holding Nazi flags and in others posing with Canadian instructors. CTVNews.ca has not independently verified the photos or Kuzmenko's allegations.
Noting that the Ukrainian in question was wearing items of clothing that clearly showed his affiliations, Kuzmenko said members of Centuria and other far-right groups in the military are 鈥減ractically screaming who they are with the way they operate in the open.鈥
A member of Centuria received officer training in 2020 at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the U.K., according to the report, and another attended Germany鈥檚 Army Officer Academy in Dresden in 2019.
鈥淚 believe that my report shows that despite the far-right's lack of electoral success, they continue to build up their influence in Ukraine, specifically in the military that seems to tolerate overt far-right activity in its ranks,鈥 Kuzmenko said via email. 鈥淭o be clear I don't suggest that Ukraine is run by neo-Nazis, or that the Ukrainian military is dominated by the far-right鈥hat I say is that there are strong indications that Ukraine ignores an evident issue and so do its Western allies.鈥
Kuzmenko said the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence denied allegations about Centuria made in the media prior to his report, but later announced a probe after it was published.
Multiple Ukrainian agencies did not respond to CTVNews.ca鈥檚 request for comment by time of publication.
Christian Leuprecht, a security analyst and professor at the Royal Military College and Queens鈥檚 University and senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, says that Kuzmenko鈥檚 report should give Canada and its allies 鈥減ause鈥 regarding their ongoing missions in Ukraine.
鈥淚t鈥檚 ultimately up to Ukraine to vet their own soldiers, but when they are not careful about getting soldiers that fundamentally don鈥檛 align with our values and interests, that compounds the risk that the allies will simply pack up,鈥 Leuprecht said in a telephone interview with CTVNews.ca on Saturday.
Leuprecht said he believes that Canadians will 鈥渆xpect more鈥 from Ukraine which has received such an immense amount of resources, time and energy over the years from Canada.
鈥淭his is a country that wants to join the EU and eventually wants to join NATO, and when you openly and actively court and tolerate anti-democratic elements in the very institutions that [are] there to defend your way of life鈥hat is going to raise questions in Canada if this mission is worth the candle,鈥 he said.
Canada has had a presence in Ukraine since 2015 as part of , as support for the Ukrainian security forces 鈥 which includes military training, according to the Department of National Defence website.
Canada is part of a multi-national joint commission that includes the U.K., U.S., Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Lithuania and Ukraine, and sends approximately 200 Canadian Armed Forces members to the country every six months, and provides 鈥渘on-lethal鈥 gear and equipment such as night vision goggles and medical kits.
According to the CAF, as of Sept. 30, more than 30,000 Security Forces of Ukraine candidates have participated in the training since the mission started, with the CAF claiming to have provided training to 1,951 members of the National Guard of Ukraine.
The mission is set to expire in March of 2022, unless it is extended again by the federal government.
In an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca on Monday, the Canadian Armed Forces said it is 鈥渧ery concerned鈥 by the findings of the study.
鈥淚n light of these findings, DND will be conducting a thorough review of the report, including whether or not current policies and procedures in place are sufficiently stringent to flag and prevent the CAF from unwittingly aiding those whose views it fundamentally opposes,鈥 the statement reads.
The statement says that Canada relies on the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence to vet its members, but if Canadian soldiers suspect that their Ukrainian counterparts or trainees hold racist views, they are removed immediately.
鈥淭here is no burden of proof on the CAF to demonstrate this beyond a reasonable doubt,鈥 the statement continues. 鈥淲hen Ukrainian military officers are selected to pursue opportunities in Canada, it is a firm prerequisite that the members not hold values contrary to those held by their Canadians hosts of the Ukrainian government.鈥
CTVNews.ca reached out to the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office and was sent an emailed statement from a spokesperson for the Department of National Defence on Tuesday, who replied on behalf of the government that 鈥渢he Minister is deeply concerned by these reports and he has requested that officials review this matter. Our government and the Canadian Armed Forces do not tolerate anti-Semitic, racist, or hateful views.鈥
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called the report 鈥渁larming鈥 in an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca on Tuesday, adding that the party plans to 鈥渞eview the report more deeply in the next few weeks.鈥
鈥淥ur armed forces should not train or support any far-right extremist groups anywhere in the world. The Liberals promised to make Canada's commitment to democracy and human rights a core strategic priority of their new government. The new Minister of Defense should look at this and put in place mechanisms to avoid any situation like this in the future,鈥 the statement says.
CTVNews.ca reached out to Conservative Leader Erin O鈥橳oole, but did not receive a reply by time of publication.
And while the vetting of foreign soldiers falls to their country of origin, questions around liability and responsibility could arise for Canada down the line, Leuprecht said.
鈥淭he government has always purported to be about values鈥o it really puts Ukraine at odds with the broader agenda that the federal government claims to be driving鈥hat then becomes a high policy risk,鈥 Leuprecht said. 鈥淏ecause if one more of these members or units commits war crimes or other types of violations of the law of armed conflict or international law -- and it turns out that they were trained by Canadians -- the government is going to have to provide some very difficult answers.鈥
This story has been updated with further context regarding the online activities of Centuria and a clarification on how the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence responded to the report.
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