Ukraine is a breeding ground for extremism, says religious leader.
Ukraine is becoming a kind of base for all kinds of extremists, with some using the Eastern European country as a training ground, recruitment site for militants, and transit territory, stated the country's top Islamic leader, Ahmed Tamim. He is particularly concerned about the danger of the concentration of Islamic extremists and other groups, such as neo-fascists, in Ukraine.
247, with Prensa Latina - Ukraine is becoming a kind of base for all kinds of extremists, with some using the Eastern European country as a training ground, recruitment site for militants, and transit territory, stated the country's top Islamic leader, Ahmed Tamim; he is particularly concerned about the danger of the concentration in Ukraine of Islamic extremists and other groups, such as neo-fascists.
This week, the first neo-fascist march took place in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, with thousands of followers.
Tamim stated that several Islamic radicals are part of the nationalist detachments in the conflict in the Donbass region, including former fighters from the Chechen war.
The entry into force of a visa exemption agreement between Ukraine and the European Union allows members of terrorist groups such as the so-called Islamic State (IS) to enter the country, he noted.
Some of them don't even try to hide their involvement in terrorist operations in the Middle East or their membership in ISIS and other similar groups, Tamim stated.
The religious leader admitted that several media outlets had asked him to remain silent about the situation of these extremists.
Ukrainian authorities have declared Stepan Bandera's birthday a national holiday. Bandera founded the armed group UPA during the Nazi occupation, collaborated with German fascists, and participated in the extermination of Jews and other segments of the population.
Following the right-wing coup in Ukraine in February 2014, supported by neo-fascist paramilitaries, monuments dedicated to the Soviet heroes who liberated the country from German Nazism during World War II were destroyed.