Pepe the Frog…in the Donbas?

Two photos emerged today that caught my attention. They are two different soldiers. One also has a tank with not correctly spelled Serbia on the tank, and we have a lot of Russian vehicles with “to Berlin” written on them. It is not clear if this tank has that on the barrel. But Serbia is not spelled correctly and the Kremlin has designs on the Balkans as well. So that is part of your context here.

The photos show a modern rifle, with likely a grenade launcher, or at least capable of receiving one. The special item on the weapon was not the weapon specifics, but rather Pepe the Frog. One patch on another soldier may indicate a mercenary formation, but I cannot be sure.

Pepe is very popular among the far right in the United States. It is something you can take to the bank when you see it on clothing. The person sporting it is most likely a neo-fascist. This has become common in places like Gab Social and 4chan, where it was thoroughly adopted by 2016. If you see it as an avatar on Twitter, chances are this is a far-right account.

Given the latter has an appeal outside the United States, it raises many questions. It includes the obvious. What is Pepe the Frog doing in the Donbas? We know some westerners have joined Russia. This may be evidence. Or it indicates something else.