Inside the extremist Russian militias fighting alongside Ukraine - DW News

Ukraine’s fight for survival against Russia has attracted all manner of allies, including those who do not align with Ukraine's values.

Three Russian units said they carried out attacks inside Russian territory. They were together on the battlefield and at a press conference, but wanting to hurt Putin’s Russia is where their commonality ends. The Legion Freedom of Russia is seen as liberal. The Siberian Battalion is made up mainly of minorities from Russia. Denis Nikitin’s Volunteer corps describes itself as nationalist and has a far-right agenda.

Russia justified its invasion of Ukraine with the lie that it was ‘denazifying’ it. This, in a country where the far right doesn’t hold a single parliamentary seat.

And Ukraine cooperating with Neo-Nazis might seem counterintuitive. But for now, the enemy of Ukraine's enemy counts as some kind of friend.

DW’s Max Zander meets a Russian commander who’s taken up arms against his own country.