Interfax: Russian extremists are stopped from joining Ukraine fighting – Interior Ministry

(Interfax – Moscow, March 30, 2015) The situation in Ukraine has divided the ranks of Russian extremists and nationalists and the police are trying to prevent their participation in the armed conflict on the Ukrainian territory, Vladimir Makarov, deputy head of the Main Anti-Extremism Directorate of the Russian Interior Ministry, has said during a meeting of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights.

“There is a divide in the Russian nationalist movement, triggered by the events in Ukraine: some among the nationalists not only approve of Kiev’s actions but take part in the armed conflict joining punitive [i.e. counterinsurgency] units,” Makarov said.

The others, he noted, support the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR [Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics]. These developments have forced the police to take measures to prevent Russian radical forces from participation in the armed conflict in Ukraine.

Makarov also reported that in the course of a special operation as part of a criminal case opened by the Investigation Committee under Article 356 of the Russian Criminal Code (Use of Banned Means and Methods of Warfare) counter-extremism agencies have foiled attempts by several thousand Ukrainian citizens at temporary accommodation facilities to engage in criminal activities.