Rusich Group

Sabotage Assault Reconnaissance Group "Rusich"
Sabotage Assault Reconnaissance Group "Rusich"
Диверсионно-штурмовая разведывательная группа «Русич»
	Patch of the Rusich Group featuring the kolovrat, a variant of the swastika
Active	June 2014 – present
Country	Russia
Type	Infantry
Role	sabotage and assault reconnaissance group
Size	a few hundred people
Part of	Army of the South-East; Wagner Group
Colours	White, gold, black
Engagements	Russo-Ukrainian war War in Donbas Battle of Luhansk Airport; ; Russian invasion of Ukraine; ; Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war; Wagner Group rebellion;
Website	vk.com/dshrg_rusich
Commanders
Current; commander	Alexey Milchakov
Notable; commanders	Alexey Milchakov; Yan Petrovsky
Insignia
Flag

The Sabotage Assault Reconnaissance Group (DShRG) "Rusich" (Russian: Диверсионно-штурмовая разведывательная группа «Русич», romanized: Diversionno-shturmovaya razvedyvatel'naya gruppa «Rusich») is a Russian far-right^[2]^[3] and neo-Nazi paramilitary unit^[4]^[5] that has been fighting against Ukrainian forces in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Its co-founder and leader is Alexey Milchakov and operates within the Wagner Group.^[2]^[6] "Rusich" fought on the side of pro-Russian military in the Donbas war from June 2014 to July 2015, and in the Russian invasion of Ukraine alongside Russian troops.^[7]

^ "The terrifying neo-Nazi mercenaries being deployed in Ukraine". Spectator.co.uk. 2 June 2024. There are no more than a few hundred troops in the Rusich group
^ ^a ^b Townsend, Mark (20 March 2022). "Russian mercenaries in Ukraine linked to far-right extremists". The Guardian. Russian mercenaries fighting in Ukraine, including the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group, have been linked to far-right extremism ... Much of the extremist content, posted on Telegram and the Russian social media platform VKontakte (VK), relates to a far-right unit within the Wagner Group called Rusich ... One post on the messaging app Telegram, dated 15 March, shows the flag of the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), a white-supremacist paramilitary ... Another recent VK posting lists Rusich as part of a coalition of separatist groups and militias including the extreme far-right group, Russian National Unity.
^ Šmíd, Tomáš & Šmídová, Alexandra. (2021). Anti-government Non-state Armed Actors in the Conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Czech Journal of International Relations, Volume 56, Issue 2. pp.48–49. Quote: "Another group of Russian citizens who became involved in the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine were members of the so-called right-wing units of the Russian Spring. Here we mean mainly extreme-right activists" ... "the members of Rusich around Milchakov are activists of various Russian extreme-right groups".
^ Kozhurin, Dmitry (27 May 2022). "Who Are The Neo-Nazis Fighting For Russia In Ukraine?". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2022-06-27. Rusich is one of several right-wing groups that are actively fighting in Ukraine, in conjunction with Russia's regular armed forces or allied separatist units.
^ "Руни, православ'я та георгіївські стрічки. Що відомо про неонацистів у російській армії" [Runes, Orthodoxy and St. George ribbons. What is known about neo-Nazis in the Russian army]. BBC News Україна. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
^ "Wagner Group Contingent Rusich on the Move Again". New America. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
^ "Spiegel: "В составе российских войск в Украине воюют неонацисты"" [Spiegel: "Neo-Nazis are fighting as part of Russian troops in Ukraine"]. belsat.eu (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-05-27.

[1] "The terrifying neo-Nazi mercenaries being deployed in Ukraine". Spectator.co.uk. 2 June 2024. There are no more than a few hundred troops in the Rusich group

[Guardian_Wagner-2] Townsend, Mark (20 March 2022). "Russian mercenaries in Ukraine linked to far-right extremists". The Guardian. Russian mercenaries fighting in Ukraine, including the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group, have been linked to far-right extremism ... Much of the extremist content, posted on Telegram and the Russian social media platform VKontakte (VK), relates to a far-right unit within the Wagner Group called Rusich ... One post on the messaging app Telegram, dated 15 March, shows the flag of the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), a white-supremacist paramilitary ... Another recent VK posting lists Rusich as part of a coalition of separatist groups and militias including the extreme far-right group, Russian National Unity.

[Smid-3] Šmíd, Tomáš & Šmídová, Alexandra. (2021). Anti-government Non-state Armed Actors in the Conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Czech Journal of International Relations, Volume 56, Issue 2. pp.48–49. Quote: "Another group of Russian citizens who became involved in the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine were members of the so-called right-wing units of the Russian Spring. Here we mean mainly extreme-right activists" ... "the members of Rusich around Milchakov are activists of various Russian extreme-right groups".

[:3-4] Kozhurin, Dmitry (27 May 2022). "Who Are The Neo-Nazis Fighting For Russia In Ukraine?". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2022-06-27. Rusich is one of several right-wing groups that are actively fighting in Ukraine, in conjunction with Russia's regular armed forces or allied separatist units.

[:2-5] "Руни, православ'я та георгіївські стрічки. Що відомо про неонацистів у російській армії" [Runes, Orthodoxy and St. George ribbons. What is known about neo-Nazis in the Russian army]. BBC News Україна. Retrieved 2022-06-28.

[автоссылка3-6] "Wagner Group Contingent Rusich on the Move Again". New America. Retrieved 2022-06-26.

[7] "Spiegel: "В составе российских войск в Украине воюют неонацисты"" [Spiegel: "Neo-Nazis are fighting as part of Russian troops in Ukraine"]. belsat.eu (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-05-27.

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