According to media reports, hundreds of Russian citizens are fighting in so-called volunteer corps on the Ukrainian side. Who are they and what are their ideological positions on the future of Russia?
The Russian opposition figure Ilya Ponomarev (second from right) with representatives of the “Freedom of Russia” legion in Kiev
“Dreams come true! I'm now in the 'Freedom of Russia' legion,” said former deputy head of Russia's state-owned Gazprombank, Igor Volobuyev. The Legion's Telegram channel contains information about a number of Russian servicemen who defected to Ukraine and even gave their names.
Thus, not only Ukrainians are fighting on the side of Kiev against Russia, but also Ukrainians Russians themselves – in the “Russian Volunteer Corps” and in the Legion “Freedom of Russia”.
On Monday, fighters from these units shelled the Belgorod region of Russia. Andriy Yusov from the Ukrainian secret service spoke on the public broadcaster “Suspilne” about an “operation to liberate areas of the Belgorod region from the Putin regime”.
Units only made up of Russians
It has been known since the beginning of April 2022 at the latest that the Legion “Freedom of Russia” exists. It was allegedly made up of captured Russian soldiers who crossed over to the Ukrainian side, but also volunteers with Russian passports.
The fighter “Cardinal” wants a nation state of the Russians
There are about 500 men, says Ilya Ponomarev, a former Russian State Duma deputy who now lives in exile and represents the unit. In 2014 he was the only one who voted against the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
The other unit, the “Russian Volunteer Corps”, was formed in August last year. The strength of the unit is kept secret, but a fighter known as “Cardinal”, whose military ID was shown to DW, says they perform company duties.
A company consists of 30 to 150 men. The co-founder of the unit, known from the Russian right-wing extremist environment, the businessman Denis Kapustin, with the pseudonym Denis Nikitin, reported at the end of last year that the “Russian Volunteer Corps” has been deployed with the Ukrainian army since autumn 2022.
< h2>“Real Nation State”
In social networks, the “Russian Volunteer Corps” says that all members represent right-wing conservative views. For example, the fighter “Cardinal” sees the future Russia as a “true national state of the Russians in the original Russian territories – taking into account the territorial integrity of Ukraine and Belarus and neighboring countries”. He emphasizes: “We want to establish a state for the Russians that wants to live in peace with all surrounding nations.”
Damaged buildings in the contested Russian region of Belgorod
The members of the “Freedom of Russia” legion, on the other hand, do not publicly express their political views. Ilya Ponomarev points out that there is no dominant ideology in the unit. He says it is the prototype of the future army of the Russian Federation. Her advantage is that she positions herself neither on the left nor on the right, and is neither liberal nor conservative. According to Ponomaryov, the idea of opposing Russia's aggression would unite its members.
Dissolution or preservation of the federation?
The “Russian Volunteer Corps” is owned by the “Civil Council”, an in Warsaw founded new association of Russian emigrants. Anastasia Sergeyeva, who is responsible for international issues there, until recently headed the Polish foundation “For a Free Russia”.
She says that the “civilian council” also includes activists from constituent republics of the Russian Federation, and that they are committed to their people's right to self-determination. The “Civil Council” has published video messages to Chechens and Circassians on YouTube, calling on them to fight for Ukraine and to work for the independence of their republics. In order to finance the work of the “Civil Council” and the training of new fighters, Sergeyeva seeks private donations.
The representative of the “Freedom of Russia” legion, Ilya Ponomaryov, told DW at the end of 2022 that he had been in talks about cooperation with representatives of different countries and media. Unlike the “Russian Volunteer Corps,” which allows regions to secede from the Russian Federation, the Legion says its goal is “to preserve a united and indivisible Russia within the 1991 borders.” However, the regions would have to be given far-reaching powers and their ethnic identity should be preserved. The Legion also collects money for its work – in cryptocurrency.
Anastasia Sergeeva from the “Civil Council” of the Russian Opposition supports peoples' right to self-determination
Recruitment of fighters
Before the “Russian Volunteer Corps” began its cooperation with the “Civil Council”, it only accepted Russians who were already abroad. According to their own statements, many of them have been part of the Azov Volunteer Battalion since 2014 on the side of Ukraine in the fighting in Donbass.
Today the “civil council” is a kind of recruitment center. According to Anastasia Sergeyeva, men are now also accepted directly from Russia. On the council's website, potential volunteers are offered to fill out a questionnaire in a Google form or to write to an encrypted ProtonMail mailbox. “Further communication will take place via secure systems, which we propose,” explains Sergeeva, without going into details.
Oleksiy Arestovych, a former adviser in the Ukrainian presidential office, emphasizes that “freedom of Russia” is the first priority for the legion only those Russian POWs who would have changed their minds were recruited. However, according to him, the Legion is now also accepting men who are still in Russia.
Anyone interested here must first send their CV and copies of a whole range of papers, including their identity card, to a ProtonMail inbox , send. As the Legion itself reported, the admission procedure allegedly includes a polygraph test, as well as psychological and other aptitude tests.
Since an unsuccessful attempt to merge in August 2022, the “Russian Volunteer Corps” and the Legion “Freedom of Russia” critical of each other. However, they avoid showing it publicly.
Adaptation from Russian: Markian Ostapchuk