Thread by @bellingcat

Yesterday we published a long thread detailing our new investigation unmasking a GRU agent. Today, let's do one on @kooleksiy's new investigation on our site detailing Ukraine's Azov movement's efforts to co-opt American white supremacists and extremists.
bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-eu…

This story starts from an FBI report that detailed how members of the U.S. neo-Nazi group Rise Above Movement (RAM), based in California, had contacts in Ukraine. RAM members were charged in the U.S. for violence in Charlottesville during the Unite the Right rally there.

Olena Semenyaka, mentioned in this FBI report, is a central figure in this investigation. She works with Azov as their "International Secretary of the National Corps". She's well-known in European neo-Nazi circles, and will be speaking at a far-right conference in Finland.

The FBI report detailed how RAM members met with Semenyaka and had contacts with Azov -- @kooleksiy followed this thread in his investigation, finding a boatload of additional connections and drawing out Azov's efforts to build an international coalition of white supremacists.

One of Oleksiy's findings was a January 2016 podcast from Azov ("Radio Azov FM") with a guest named Andrew, an American "national socialist" who was Skyping in. During the interview, Andrew talked about American "nationalists" trying to fight with Azov in the Donbas.

This "Andrew" is Andrew Oneschuk, a self-described member of the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division (AWD). He was murdered in 2017 by another AWD member in Florida. The Rolling Stone reported that Oneschuk attempted to travel to Ukraine to join Azov in 2015.
rollingstone.com/politics/polit…

During the Azov interview, Oneschuk described how he had trouble joining Azov abroad, to which the host replies that he and other American "nationalists" should "try again". Oneschuk also noted that he looked to Azov as an example of a successful European nationalist organization

It's also important to understand how Azov is organized in Ukraine. It has three structures: a political wing (National Corps), a military wing (Azov Regiment), and a street muscle wing (National Militia). They work in unison with leaders recycled between the three groups.

While Azov has little political support -- Ukraine has very little parliamentary representation, especially when compared to the rest of Europe -- they have an outsized influence in the military and police. This is largely due to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.

Within the National Corps (the political wing), Olena Semenyaka works on increasing the international influence of Azov and co-opting European and American white supremacists and neo-Nazis into their domestic, Ukrainian aims.

An example of Semenyaka's work in the National Corps is the support provided to Joachim "Jarl" Furholm, a Norwegian and self-described "national socialist revolutionary".

Furholm appeared on American white supremacist outletlet "Radio Wehrwolf", where he talked about trying to recruit far-right Americans to get combat experience and "contacts" in the Ukrainian far-right, both of which would be "useful" after their return to America.

Furholm was literally inside of a National Corps-owned house during this interview. He noted how "if they [far-right Americans] wanna get involved, I recommend they contact the National Corps".
Radio Wehrwolf is an unabashedly white supremacist, neo-Nazi website/outlet.

Furholm praised the National Corps endlessly in his interview, also noting that white nationalists could come into power in Ukraine due to a "perfect mix of bad economy, wartime situation, corrupt elite and media that no one trusts. (...) It's like a Petri dish for fascism."

We reiterate that Azov has little popular, political support in Ukraine, but they have acted largely with impunity due to many in the Interior Ministry and internal security forces. Here, the National Corps did not try to hide their outreach out white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

Furholm reached out to a number of far-right Americans through his Instagram channel. He told a young man in New Mexico "Get over here laddie, there's a rifle and beer waiting for you". Here is one of the Instagram posts from that charming young man.

The National Corps didn't try to hide Furholm -- they had him speak at a political rally in front of the Ukrainian Rada in support of a law that would grant foreign pro-Ukrainian fighters citizenship.

Furholm did actually join the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but he was dsicharged just a couple of weeks later. No official reason has emerged why, but local reports indicate that it was a combination of lobbying from Norwegian officials.

Though he couldn't stick around in the Ukrainian military, Azov's National Corps provided him with housing and training facilities for foreign volunteers. These facilities were filmed in a recent British documentary, where Furholm was also interviewed.

Furholm noted to the documentary producer that after he's done with Ukraine and Azov, he planned on proceeding with direct action aimed at the West: "I'd target the [Norwegian] government with anything (...) any means necessary." He left Ukraine in December 2018.

Very little *far-right* parliamentary representation, meant to say.

Two Americans linked to Furholm have made contact with the National Corps. One of these men is "Shawn" (call sign "Texas"), a Navy veteran who is on the front lines fighting in eastern Ukraine. He was profiled by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in November 2018.

"Shawn" spoke to Bellingcat, who told us that he knew Furholm prior to coming in Ukraine in spring 2018. He did not specify to what extent Furholm influenced his decision to come to Ukraine.
"Shawn" told us that he "liked SS aesthetics".

(We don't know if "Shawn" is his real name, hence the quotation marks, as he said that he uses fake names online to "protect his family")

The second American is "Alex", a U.S. Army veteran who was on the same interview with Radio Wehrwolf as Furholm. Alex told his audience that he has already joined a far-right militia in Ukraine. His comments are worth including here:

We talked with "Alex", who told us that he fought with the far-right Right Sector in Ukraine. While we cannot verify this statement past his own claim, Right Sector has been very active in Shyrokyne throughout the war, and a number of foreign volunteers have fought with the group

"Alex" later joined up with National Corps. Both he and Furholm hoped that the National Corps would help them get to the Ukrainian frontlines, but the Azov group did not deliver on these expectations.
Below, Alex (middle) can be seen at the National Corps training facility.

We asked Olena Semenyaka about Furholm and these other far-right figures involved with the National Corps. She praised Furholm's efforts and said that his work "attracted considerable foreign attention". She provided us with some caveats on who she wanted to work with Azov.

Semenyaka, by the way, appeared on the Radio Azov FM podcast in 2015, where she detailed how " (...) We defend not only the Ukrainian nation, national identity, but also the Slavic element, the European element, and in the end — the white race."

The National Corps has a strong connection with American white supremacist publisher Greg Johnson. In October 2018, Azov organized events for Johnson in Kyiv, where they hosted a lecture (with his book "The White Nationalist Manifesto" in front of him)

Johnson is a big fan of Azov and what they were doing in Ukraine, saying during the Kyiv event that they were "actually building an alternative social order here, an alternate society. And that's what we all need to be doing, in all white countries."

These efforts form Azov to cooperate with Johnson, RAM, and other American white supremacists all tie into their vision of "Reconquista", their white supremacist notion of white unity in Europe. These Americans allow Azov to increase its profile and power among white supremacists

Ukraine is not any more of a white supremacist or anti-Semitic state than any of their neighbors -- in fact, many polls show Ukraine as far more tolerant than most other post-Soviet countries-- but the Ministry of Internal Affairs' actions has allowed Azov to grow since 2014.

For example, the Interior Ministry assigned Serhiy Bondarenko as the deputy head of the Kyiv region police. Bondarenko is a veteran of the Azov Regiment (the movement's military wing) and has appeared on Radio Azov FM. He talked about his "permanent ideological views".

Avakov has appointed Vadym Troyan to a senior position in his ministry -- deputy minister. Troyan had a leadership position in an Azov predecessor started by the National Corps' leader, Andriy Biletskiy. Troyan has repeatedly praised Azov and its projects as deputy minister.

In case there was any ambiguity about how he feels about Azov, Deputy Minister Troyan has also worn an Azov patch while giving a speech. This screenshot is from the official Ukrainian Interior Ministry's YouTube channel.

In sum:
Azov has not attempted to hide its contacts and work with American and European white nationalists, including hosting them for talks and giving them material support. The actions of Azov are supported directly and indirectly by the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs.