- Extremist groups in Russia have expressed a range of views about Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. - Some Russian neo-Nazis oppose the war because Putin is sending their “white Slavic brothers” to die. Russian [President Vladimir Putin](/story/news/world/2022/04/26/vladimir-putin-personal-wealth-russian-sanctions/7169364001/) claimed he invaded Ukraine to “de-Nazify” the county, whose democratically elected leader is Jewish and lost relatives in the Holocaust. Experts say it’s an [absurd allegation](/story/news/factcheck/2022/03/30/fact-check-why-putins-claims-justifying-war-ukraine-baseless/7089270001/) , not least because although Ukraine has attracted radicals of all stripes, it highlights the activities of a politically marginal group no more representative of Ukraine than of the United States or Western Europe.