GENOA – An Italian 19-year-old is under investigation for setting off to fight in Ukraine with the resistance, judicial authorities said. 

 Kevin Chiappalone, a Genoese sympathiser of the far-right movement, CasaPound is the first Italian to be under investigation for going to fight in Ukraine. Marco Zocco, Deputy Prosecutor the Genoese Anti-Mafia, and Counterterrorism Directorate accused the 19-year-old of being a mercenary enlisted in the Ukrainian International Brigade and said he faced a sentence from two to seven years.

 He allegedly set off for Ukraine in May with no experience in the army or in use of weapons and it is thought he crossed the border through Poland. 

 Photos he posted on social media show him to be in Donbass. Chiappalone is currently the only suspect, though investigators are digging to find others involved. 

 After interviewing the 19-year-olds fellow members in CasaPound, DIGOS (General Investigations and Special Operations Division) reported that it seemed the young man organised everything by himself on the internet. 

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