Toronto (October 18, 2021) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is calling for an investigation by Canada’s Department of National Defence after far-right extremists within the Ukrainian military were found bragging on social media that they received training from the Canadian Armed Forces.

A new study released by the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at Washington D.C.’s George Washington University documents Ukrainian military members involved with an extremist group called Centuria giving Nazi salutes, promoting white nationalism and praising members of Nazi SS units. The study found that members of Centuria were claiming to have received training from the Canadian Armed Forces and to have participated in military training exercises with Canada.

“It is unacceptable for our armed forces to be emboldening neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine, or any other country, through the provision of CAF training. This is an issue fundamental to the purpose of Canada’s forces and to the respect we owe our veterans – who sacrificed so much to defeat fascism in Europe. We urge the Department of National Defence to immediately launch an investigation into the evidence that has been revealed by the George Washington University study and to develop new policies and procedures to ensure that all foreign trainees receive some type of background check to eliminate the possibility of neo-Nazi or other extremist affiliation before receiving training from Canadian forces,” FSWC stated.

FSWC Calls for Investigation After Ukrainian Neo-Nazis Brag About Receiving Training from Canada’s Military