who are these pro-Ukraine Russian fighters, who are attacking their own country?

Russia says it repelled at least two incursions on its territory near the border on Tuesday. The particularity of these offensives is that they were carried out by Russian fighters, who support Ukraine.

There are several groups of pro-Ukraine Russian volunteers: the “Siberian Battalion” (Sibir), integrated into the International Legion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces; the “Russian Volunteer Corps” (RDK), founded by neo-Nazi Denis Kapustin; and the one who was on duty on Tuesday March 12, in the border regions of Belgorod and Kursk, the “Freedom of Russia” legion. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, fighters from Ukraine attempted to enter the border regions of Belgorod and Kursk on Tuesday morning, equipped with tanks and armored vehicles and after “intensive shelling” during the night.

The Russian Freedom Legion is made up of opponents of Vladimir Putin’s regime, all Russians. Some are soldiers who were taken prisoner by the Ukrainians at the start of the war and who changed sides. Others are civilians who were already living in Ukraine, but most crossed the border from Russia to take up arms.

The Russian Freedom Legion must always inform the Ukrainian General Staff of the actions it carries out, but it has a great deal of autonomy. It has its own command headquarters, its own logistics services.

Recruitment forms and call for donations

The Freedom of Russia Legion was created in spring 2022, with around a hundred people. We do not know exactly how many men make up it today – some say 2,000 – but it is not a clandestine formation. She has her website, on which she offers recruitment forms, and even gives her bank details for donations, including in cryptocurrency. It also has its own press service and spokespersons.

Very active on social networks, its members, for example, published a first video on Tuesday, in which we see three armored vehicles driving in the dark in the countryside near the border, then another showing, according to them, Russian soldiers running from the village Russian from Tetkino. Moscow assured in the evening that it had dislodged them.

Its assault units are well equipped and the Russian Freedom Legion has claimed several raids into Russian territory in recent months. Sometimes with other formations like the RDK, sometimes completely independently. Their incursions aim first to destabilize Russian forces by forcing them to fight on their territory. But above all they have a psychological objective, while Vladimir Putin is preparing to be re-elected president for six years in the absence of any opposition.

“Like all our fellow citizens, we dream of a Russia free from Putin’s dictatorship, said the Russian Freedom Legion. We do not come to destroy or to punish, we come to free you from a terrorist organization that has seized power. To give your children a normal, civilized future, without punishment or repression… and without war” Their actions are obviously not enough to tip the conflict, but they aim to open the eyes of a Russian society that is more disunited than the Kremlin wants to show.