German volunteers fighting in Ukraine, including 61 potential extremists – Interior Ministry

That's according to Welt, which refers to data from the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), Ukrinform reports.

According to the report, overall, the security authorities recorded the departure of 61 people "who have a connection to extremism or politically motivated crime." There are indications that 39 people left Germany "with the intention of participating in combat operations". Of these, 27 are pro-Russian and twelve are pro-Ukrainian. For the clear majority, the authorities have concrete information that they took part in combat operations.

According to the BMI, these include both right-wing and left-wing extremists.

At the same time, the number of volunteers from Germany fighting in Ukraine is higher. Authorities in this country, however, only collect data on people related to extremism.

In addition, there are a number of ex-soldiers - some of them formerly trained in the Bundeswehr - who have joined the International Legion within the Ukrainian army.

According to a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Justice, in principle, participation in combat operations in Ukraine is not punishable. This applies "as long as they do not act as mercenaries, but as members of the regular armed forces or equivalent volunteer corps and militias."