A neo-Nazi paramilitary group believed to be linked to the Kremlin has asked its members to hand over information about military and border activity in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia that could indicate far-right groups in Russia are planning to attack NATO countries, The Guardian writes. The source of the British newspaper does not believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is involved in this strange action.

The official Telegram channel of the “Operational group “Rusych”, which is currently fighting in Ukraine on behalf of the Kremlin and is associated with the notorious mercenary group Wagner, financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, last week asked its members to transmit details of border posts and military movements of the three Baltic states. which were once part of the Soviet Union and are now one of the 30 nations that make up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The inquiry raised questions about who controls the far-right group fighting alongside Russia in Ukraine.

Rusich has close ties to the Wagner Group, a paramilitary group funded by a close ally of Vladimir Putin that is currently leading the Russian offensive to capture the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, where the fiercest fighting is currently taking place on the front.

A group disillusioned with the Kremlin

Rusich’s “extraordinary” move may indicate disillusionment with the Kremlin and frustration with the way Putin’s war in Ukraine is unfolding, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Kremlin is unlikely to be involved because Russian intelligence already has information on the Baltic states, suggesting it may lose control of far-right Russian paramilitary organizations that want to continue the war with more violent methods.

A source cited by the British daily questioned whether there is “fragmentation in the Russian system and how much control does the Kremlin really have?”

A group of Russians spotted in the regions of Ukraine

Recent reports suggest that some paramilitary groups, such as Wagner’s, already have considerable autonomy and the same access to Putin as official government officials.

While interactions between Rusich and Wagner Group-affiliated online channels have recently been documented, it remains unclear to what extent the group operates under strategic oversight by Wagner or even the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Militants of the “Rusych” group, known for their brutality in Syria and the war in Crimea in 2014, were spotted through intelligence in the Donbass and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine, as well as in Kherson.

Follow the latest events of the 291st day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO