Russian neo‑Nazi militia now patrolling Finnish border

The Rusich group has been participating in the war in Ukraine since early April 2022 and was also present in Donbas in 2014 and 2015. Now it intends to guard "peace" at the border with Finland.

As stated in a declaration on the group's Telegram channel, its participation in "border protection" will involve "experience exchange" and "intelligence activities."

It is worth noting that since the end of 2023, one of the co-founders of "Rusich," Jan Pietrowski, has been in custody in Finland. He is suspected of torturing Ukrainian soldiers during the military actions in Donbas in 2014-2015.

The soldiers of "Rusich" participated in military activities in Ukraine after the start of the full-scale invasion, but in August 2023, they announced the suspension of "carrying out any combat missions," accusing the Russian authorities of "insufficient assistance" for Pietrowski.

In connection with this, journalists from "The Guardian" reported that the Kremlin may lose control over its far-right Russian paramilitary organizations, which may use extreme methods to wage war, raising fears of escalation in the event of an attack on a NATO state.

As highlighted by the Belsat channel, the soldiers of the group repeatedly publicly called for the killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

In the fall of 2022, a "guide to killing enemy prisoners" authored by the unit appeared online. In March of this year, following a terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall near Moscow, one of the "Rusich" soldiers announced an auction for a knife that an officer used to cut off the ear of the suspected attacker.

The founder of the group is neo-Nazi Alexei Milchakov, a soldier of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.