Russian neo-Nazi group Rusich ‘collecting intelligence about military objects in Baltic’
The border fence between Lithuania and Russia in the area of the Suval corridor, October 17, 2022 (Photo:REUTERS/Kacper Pempel)
Members of the Russian neo-Nazi Rusich group are gathering intelligence on military activities in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, raising concerns over possible invasion, UK newspaper The Guardian reported on Dec. 11.
Last week a post appeared on Rusich's official Telegram channel calling its members in the Baltic countries to send data on the location of border checkpoints, surveillance systems, telecommunication towers and military units. They were also interested in data about soldiers and their relatives.
The pro-Kremlin Rusich seems to have close connections with Russia’s Wagner mercenary company, which is playing an active role in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
An anonymous source told The Guardian this “extraordinary” move by Rusich could be evidence of the disenchantment of the neo-Nazi group with the Kremlin, which it accuses of not resorting to "more extreme" military actions.
"It is raising fears of escalation, if a NATO state were to be attacked," the Guardian's sources added.
It is unlikely that the Kremlin was directly involved in the intelligence gathering activity, as it already has the data requested by the neo-Nazis.
The Rusich group's members are notorious for their brutality in Syria and also in Ukraine, where they were spotted in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Kharkiv oblasts. The group was sanctioned by the United States in September 2022.
The leader of Rusich, Alexey Milchakov, filmed himself torturing and decapitating a puppy and then and posted the video on social media.
He has also published multiple photos posing with Nazi swastikas.
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