Join RUSI Europe and the team behind Project CRAAFT (Collaboration, Research and Analysis Against the Financing of Terrorism) for a live webinar on right-wing extremism, finance, and the war in Ukraine.
In this CTF Online Symposium, Project CRAAFT researchers Gonzalo Saiz and Stephen Reimer discussed the ‘extremist traveller phenomenon’ in Ukraine, and what (if anything) can be learned from the experience of managing foreign fighters who travelled to join the Islamic State.
Although a small minority of the foreign nationals who have travelled to Ukraine since 2014 to take up arms, those inspired by right-wing extremist ideologies stand to gain combat experience and deepen networks among fellow battle-hardened ideologues. The risks posed by the return of these individuals to their home countries in Europe possibly reflects concerns over another kind of returnee: those who travelled to Iraq and Syria to join the Islamic State.
In his CRAAFT research briefing entitled ‘Financing Extreme Right-Wing Volunteers in Ukraine: Past Lessons for New Risks?’, Gonzalo Saiz outlines what is currently known about how extremist volunteers in Ukraine finance their travel and maintenance while in-theatre, contrasting this with the modus operandi of Islamist extremists who travelled to join the Islamic State. Looking to the coordinated counter-terrorist financing (CTF) measurers applied against Islamic State travellers, he considers how similar tactics might be effectively applied in the Ukrainian context.
The webinar, including Q&A, was recorded and has been published on the Project CRAAFT website.
For any questions regarding the event, email Elena Platon at elena.platon@rusi.org.
