The DHS bulletin—obtained by transparency group Property of the People via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)—notes that the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington received more than 3,000 applications from U.S. citizens to fight in Ukraine as of March 3.
Many U.S. fighters have openly announced their plans to join the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, which was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Feb. 28.
According to the DHS, some Americans have been recruited by Ukraine’s Azov Battalion, which has drawn controversy over the group’s neo-Nazi ties and the use of the Wolfsangel symbol—also used by Nazi forces in Germany during World War II.
“Ukrainian nationalist groups including the Azov Movement are actively recruiting racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist-white supremacists to join various neo-Nazi volunteer battalions in the war against Russia,” reads the DHS bulletin, which Property of the People published on May 19.
“[White supremacist extremists] in the United States and Europe announced intentions to join the conflict and are organizing entry to Ukraine via the Polish border.”
The March DHS bulletin didn’t state how many Americans have actually joined neo-Nazi battalions in Ukraine. The department didn’t respond to an email seeking comment for this article.The DHS based its assessment on open-source information, as well as Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) encounters with Americans departing for Ukraine.
In one instance, CBP officers searched a U.S. Marine veteran and active-duty police officer departing from JFK International Airport to Poland on March 2. CBP searched the unnamed person’s phone and found that he planned on joining the Azov Battalion, according to the DHS.
“[The person] admitted to contacting the Georgian National Legion, but decided against joining the group as they were accused of war crimes,” the DHS bulletin reads. “Based on a basic border search of his electronic device, [the person] stated that he hoped to obtain a work contract with the Azov Battalion.”
The DHS bulletin states another U.S. Marine veteran who left for Ukraine in March was the leader of Virginia’s “Boogaloo movement”—a far-right extremist movement preparing for a second American civil war.
“When questioned about his involvement with the Boogaloo movement, [the unnamed person] stated he had not been involved with the group for almost a year due to the direction they were heading in,” the DHS report reads. “A search of [his] baggage revealed ... military gear to include face paint, camouflage knee pads, handcuffs, a gas mask, and a fixed-blade knife.”
Along with other examples of Americans planning to fight in Ukraine, the DHS bulletin expresses concern about “intelligence gaps.” According to the bulletin, the DHS doesn’t know how many prospective American fighters are traveling on non-U.S. documents to Ukraine, what instructions Americans are given when they reach Ukraine, and what other groups of foreigners are attempting to join the war in Ukraine.
“What kind of training are foreign fighters receiving in Ukraine that they could possibly proliferate in U.S.-based militia and white nationalist groups?” the DHS bulletin reads.
In response to an email inquiry, the State Department sent The Epoch Times comments Secretary of State Antony Blinken made in March.
“We’ve been very clear for some time in calling on Americans who may have been resident in Ukraine to leave, and making clear to Americans who may be thinking of traveling there not to go,” Blinken said on March 2, days after Zelenskyy announced the formation of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine.
Blinken’s advice is in accordance with the State Department issuing a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” warning for Ukraine on April 19.
