Izvestia: Ukraine conflict gives rise to ultra-right radicals in Europe

Right-wing radicals are becoming increasingly active in Europe. According to the EU police, in 2025, the number of terrorist incidents involving them rose fivefold, and the number of arrests in such cases remains several times higher than a decade ago. At the same time, some of the radicals are already gaining combat experience in Ukraine, where an ideal setting has been created for them. Kiev encourages the glorification of Hitler's accomplices and creates a pantheon for Ukrainian WWII-era collaborators. Such a policy is becoming a serious challenge to international and regional security, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia.

The rise of radicals in Europe is largely linked to European migration policy, said political analyst Yevgeny Mikhailov. A significant part of the population is dissatisfied with the influx of refugees as it believes that the authorities focus more on the interests of newcomers than on the problems of their own citizens, he argued. This creates a favorable environment not only for legacy right-wing parties, but also for more radical movements.

The Ukraine conflict also creates fertile ground for such movements: even Europol highlights how radicals can gain combat experience, acquire weapons and establish new connections with like-minded people from other countries there.

Moreover, representatives of European right-wing movements, including Swedish, Croatian, Polish, Czech and other nationals, have been taking part in hostilities in Ukraine since 2014. Radical structures in Europe itself also maintain contacts with "colleagues" in Ukraine as they gather aid, provide information support and organize joint events. At the same time, the danger may come not only from radicals’ role in hostilities.

"The glorification or political rehabilitation of historic movements with authoritarian, ultranationalist, or anti-Semitic elements can strengthen modern extremism. Europe must apply the same standards to everyone: extremism cannot be justified by geopolitical expediency," Matthias Moosdorf, a member of the German Bundestag and a politician of the AfD, stressed.

For years, Russia has voiced its concern about the glorification of Nazism and collaborationism in Ukraine at UN venues, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov told Izvestia. Moscow alerts the international community to the rewriting of WWII history, the revision of educational programs, and Kiev’s support for nationalist organizations. "In all these manifestations, we see a direct threat to the fundamental values of democracy and human rights, and a serious challenge to international and regional security and stability. And, of course, we cannot afford inaction," Alimov said.

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