Death of Japenese Mercenary Debunks Claims of No Neo-Nazis in Ukraine

©AFP 2022 / GENYA SAVILOV

Tokyo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially confirmed the death of a Japanese "volunteer" in the ranks of the Ukraine Armed Forces on November 11.

Japanese authorities called on all nationals to leave the Ukraine combat zone this past spring. However, social media has revealed that at least one Japanese citizen was still enrolled in the foreign mercenary battalions that are actively engaged in the country.

These battalions often recruit on ideological grounds, reaching out to neo-Nazis and the ultra-right. One such Japanese used the call sign "Dobre", meaning “Good” in Russian and Ukrainian.

Foreign Mercenaries to the Rescue?

On February 27, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the creation of the "International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine" in the name of “protecting Ukraine, Europe, and the world”, calling on foreign citizens to come fight.

Most countries did not formally support the move. British authorities, for example, warned that those who heeded the call could be prosecuted upon return. For its part, the Japanese government urged its citizens not to travel to Ukraine, “regardless of the purpose of their visit.” However, the work of Ukrainian embassies in recruiting fighters to "protect democracy" continued.

In July, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the number of foreign mercenaries stood at 7,107, with most coming from Poland. On September 2, Russia’s Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu informed that the number of mercenaries had fallen by more than 2/3 since the start of the special military operation.

Fighters of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion take the oath of allegiance to Ukraine in Sophia Square in Kiev before being sent to Donbass. Members of the Nazi battalion have committed hundreds of war crimes against the population of Donbass over eight years. The Azov flag has an inverted image of the runic symbol “Wolfsangel”, which was used by the Nazis.
©Sputnik / Alexander Maksimenko

Mercenaries That Don't Exist

The foreign mercenary-tracking Telegram channel TrackANaziMerc is gaining increasing popularity.

This channel also regularly posts information and photos of neo-Nazis, whose bodies show tattoos with portraits of Hitler and Bandera, Nazi German troop symbols, as well as signs of Nazi paramilitary units. Despite their ideological similarity, these men are quite diverse in terms of their national origin, stemming from the United States, Canada, Latin America, Scandinavia, elsewhere in Europe, and so it seems, even Asia.

Of course, none of these mercenaries want their photos to become public or to have their faces recognized (Dobre bashfully covers his face with a "sunshine" emoji). But, most interestingly, the mercenaries’ identities were revealed by... their own posts on social networks, through forgotten geolocations from the battlefields, video blogs from the trenches, trips to Ukrainian supermarkets, direct comments that they are now fighting against the Russians, and photos with famous Ukrainian troops.

First Japanese "Volunteer" Died

On November 10, information about Dobre's death appeared on social networks. The following day, the Japanese Foreign Ministry confirmed the story. The Telegram channel reported that the Japanese man apparently adhered to the militaristic views of Imperial Japan. In his microblog on Twitter, the mercenary shared the details of his adventures with his followers.

"The comrades took some great pictures today. Dobre, you look great as always!"

A photo of alleged Japanese neo-Nazi mercenary 'Dobre' who joined the Ukrainian forces.
©Photo : @super_dobure

Earlier on November 4, it became known that fellow mercenary Zeng Yuhong from Taiwan had also been killed. He had fought for the Carpathian Sich Battalion, a paramilitary unit in Ukraine with the largest number of foreigners in its ranks. After his death, Dobre said that he "will fight together with his spirit until the end of the war" and will visit his hometown after the end of the hostilities.

A photo of alleged Japanese neo-Nazi mercenary 'Dobre' who joined the Ukrainian forces.
©Photo

"Yes, I'm a Nazi. So What's the Problem?"

The majority of mercenaries are devout neo-Nazis, with Dobre being just one of dozens of examples.

On November 6, a Portuguese mercenary from the Carpathian Sich Battalion, Rico Chaves, went "to war" with the subscribers of the mentioned Telegram channel, where he confessed his sympathies for Nazism.

“Yes, I'm a Nazi. So what's the problem? I like to fight, and I will kill all the Russians in the Ukraine. Yes, I'm in the house of civilians, on the front lines. I'm not a NATO soldier, I'm in the Carpathian Sich. I've already killed a lot of Russians".