Image: from Héctor B. M. X @uprazhneniye
By Harrison Vane with Agencies | Open Chronicle Defense & Security Correspondent
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA — New revelations have surfaced regarding the operational reach of Rinaldo Nazzaro, the 51-year-old founder of the neo-Nazi paramilitary group The Base. Despite being designated as a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada, the group has reportedly established a resilient command structure in Russia, where Nazzaro has lived in “exile” since 2018.
Once a high-level contractor for the Pentagon and an analyst for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Nazzaro, known online by the aliases “Roman Wolf” and “Norman Spear,” is now at the center of a growing international investigation into Russian-backed hybrid warfare.
A “Safe Haven” for Accelerationism
The Base adheres to a violent ideology known as accelerationism, which seeks to hasten the collapse of Western society through acts of terrorism to establish a white ethnostate. While the group was severely disrupted by FBI arrests in 2020, Nazzaro has successfully rebuilt its infrastructure from his base in St. Petersburg.
Intelligence analysts from the Soufan Center and the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) report that Nazzaro has leveraged Russian digital infrastructure and a “personal stash of crypto” to fund a resurgence of the group. In a disturbing pivot this week, Nazzaro reportedly issued a public call for a “stateside leader” in the U.S., offering a monthly salary of $1,200 to coordinate paramilitary training on land he still owns in Washington state.
The Ukrainian Front: Sabotage and Assassination
The most alarming development in 2026 is the group’s “Operation White Phoenix” in Ukraine. Investigative reports indicate that The Base’s Ukrainian branch has shifted from propaganda to kinetic operations, openly aligning itself with the Kremlin’s strategic goals.
-
Targeted Hits: The group claimed responsibility for the July 2025 assassination of Colonel Ivan Voronych, a senior Ukrainian intelligence (SBU) officer, in Kyiv.
-
Infrastructure Sabotage: Operatives have reportedly carried out over a dozen arson attacks on power plants and military infrastructure, receiving “cash incentives” transmitted via Monero and Bitcoin.
-
Mountain Enclaves: Nazzaro has expressed intent to carve out a “white nationalist enclave” in the Carpathian Mountains, describing the rugged terrain as an ideal “force multiplier” for unconventional warfare.
The Asset Question
Nazzaro’s background, which includes 17 years in the U.S. intelligence community and a Top Secret clearance, makes him a “prime candidate” for recruitment by Russian intelligence services, according to experts at Grey Dynamics. While Nazzaro has appeared on Russian state television to deny being an FSB asset, his fluent Russian, his marriage to a Russian national, and his group’s shift toward pro-Russian sabotage have led many Western intelligence agencies to categorize The Base as a “Russian proxy actor.”
“Whether he is a formal asset or a ‘useful idiot’ is almost irrelevant,” said one counter-terrorism analyst. “His activities provide Moscow with a low-cost, deniable tool to sow chaos inside the U.S. and Ukraine simultaneously.”
Global Sanctions and Retrenchment
As of March 2026, The Base is the first far-right organization to be included on the European Union’s sanctions list, a move that has complicated Nazzaro’s ability to move funds through traditional banking systems. However, with the U.S. reportedly shifting focus away from domestic terrorism investigations under new political leadership at the FBI, monitors warn that the group is viewing the current environment as a “golden opportunity” for recruitment.
For now, Nazzaro remains out of reach of Western law enforcement, directing his “A-Teams” from the safety of St. Petersburg, a former American analyst now working to dismantle the very system he once swore to protect.