It is a freezing scene, captured by video surveillance images. A hooded man, dressed in a black and white t-shirt, gets lost. In broad daylight and in full Ukrainian capital, he has just cut down the colonel Ivan Veronych, member of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). This assassination, perpetrated on July 10, was claimed by The Base, a neonazia terrorist organization founded in 2018 in the United States. And she warned on Telegram: it is “not the end, but only the beginning”.
In reality, The Base has been offering money for several months to those who will agree to perpetrate targeted assassinations or sabotage in Ukraine. “The group has repeatedly said that he had no connection with Russia. However, it also relies strongly on Russian platforms like VK, Mail.RU and Rutube and seems to use thousands of bots to increase its range on social networks. A typical method of influence operations supported by the Russian state, ”deciphers Steven Rai, specialist in political extremism at the Institute of Strategic Dialogue (ISD).
A neonazia hydre under Russian passport
“Apparently, The Base claims to act only in the interest of the white race and not of Russia. But the Russian authoritarian regime considers liberal democracy as a major enemy on a global scale and has developed a hybrid war strategy to counter it, integrating counter-espionage, sabotage and assassinations “, abounds Alexander Reid Ross, specialist in the extreme right and Néonazis networks, author of Against the Fascist Creep. Perhaps, perhaps, to rely on groups such as The Base.
A myriad of former members also claim on social networks that the founder of The Base, Rinaldo Nazzaro, is “a Russian agent” or, at least, “an informant of Russian intelligence”, underlines Bethan Johnson, expert in political violence and the extreme right. “Since the end of the 2010s, Nazzaro has managed the organization at a distance, from Saint Petersburg. The fact that he continues to direct this extremist group having committed violent acts abroad without ever being interrupted by the Russian actors indicates a tacit approval, even active support for such acts, “she assures. The fifties, married to a Russian and father of two children raised in this country, has also obtained Russian nationality.
Thirst for authoritarian diet and chaos
The presence of an American neonazi group in Ukraine may surprise, but The Base has quickly extended its tentacles internationally. And as many terrorist groups, conflict areas have the air of ideal playgrounds. “Even before the invasion of 2022, Nazarro declared that the fighting in Donbass constituted an opportunity for the members of The Base to acquire skills and a combat experience which can then be exploited in their country of origin,” explains Bethan Johnson. The group is also attracted by the ideology of the Russian government, under the aegis of Vladimir Putin.
“The Nazis and the fascists are naturally attracted to authoritarian and violent powers,” notes Emily Roberts, who co -written a book on The Base. And they share a certain number of values with those put forward by the Kremlin. “Putin very early presented her special military operation as a war against LGBT influences, described as” degeneration “. According to a widespread anti-Semitic rumor raw by the members of The Base, the Jews want to make people homosexual so that they have fewer children, “she explains. The fact that the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish therefore brings substance to the Russian affiliation of The Base. The group “perceives liberalism as a Jew and therefore fundamentally contrary to white patriarchy, summum of truth and beauty”, summarizes Alexander Reid Ross.
A “needle in a haystack”
“The threat represented by The Base for Ukraine must be taken seriously,” warns Steven Rai. She calls for acts of sabotage and targeted assassinations to sow chaos throughout the country. Since March, she has broadcast videos of her agents committing at least ten criminal fires in Ukraine, and she has encouraged new violence to weaken the Ukrainian government. The expert, however, calls for not “overestimating” the capacities of this group whose size and resources are unknown to date.
Unfortunately, even if the members of the neonazi group are few, they add to the “already heavy burden” of Ukraine, notes Bethan Johnson. “The base has members ready to carry out violent solo attacks or in small cells. However, it is exceptionally difficult to eradicate these solitary wolves or these small radicalized cells, it is like trying to find a needle in a hay boot. »»
“Franchises” to sow chaos at home
Invisible and elusive, The Base does not need to be colossal to be murderous. As a number of terrorist groups, each cell of The Base works like a “franchise”, notes Emily Roberts. And the monster tentacles could wind up around other nations. “If another country collapses first, the local cell of The Base will exploit the void of power and the chaos that reign. »»
Our file on the war in Ukraine
A particularly dismal perspective when you know that The Base has managed to “recruit and inspire individuals around the world, ready to sow chaos in their own country,” warns Steven Rai. Originally confined to the United States, The Base has spread in Ukraine, but also in Western Europe … to the United Kingdom. In February, a 15-year-old teenager was arrested across the Channel, suspected of being a member of this terrorist group. The young boy had bought weapons, including a crossbow, and does research on the synagogues nearby.
