After two days of combat, Russia reports that it has surrounded the insurgents and killed over 70 of them, forcing the remaining ones towards Ukraine. While Russia considers them Ukrainian militants, Kiev claims they come from two anti-Kremlin paramilitary groups.

 

According to Ukrainian officials, these groups are Russian citizens belonging to the Russian Freedom Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), who seek to establish a "security zone" for Ukrainians. Both groups have previously been identified as part of an international legion committed to the territorial defense of Ukraine.

 

According to Andriy Yusov from Kiev's intelligence agency, both groups are operating independently on Russian territory without the involvement of Ukrainians. However, Ukrainian television describes them as militias and "Russian volunteers."

 

The Russian Volunteer Corps gained notoriety in March 2023 after conducting a cross-border raid in the Russian region of Bryansk, allegedly involving 45 people. Unconfirmed reports from Russia speak of gunfire, casualties, and hostages, while the RVC claims they crossed the border to incite Russians to rebel against their government, without taking hostages, and safely returned to Ukrainian territory.

 

The leader of the RVC, known as Denis Kapustin or Denis Nikitin, is a Russian nationalist, and the group openly advocates for an ethnically homogeneous Russian state. In 2020, a Ukrainian investigative website alleged that the group had ties to neo-Nazi groups, and Nikitin has previously mentioned his affiliation with a football hooligan movement.

 

The RVC accuses the main opposition in Russia of not getting involved in the war in Ukraine. Another member of the corps, named Fortuna, stated last November that they were 120 people and that they were not recruits or military contractors like Ukrainian citizens.

 

On the other hand, the Russian Freedom Legion (FRL) is an organization that fights alongside Ukrainian forces against Russian troops. They use a white-blue-white flag, seen by the Russian opposition as the flag of "Free Russia." The leader of the volunteer corps, Denis Nikitin, stated that while both groups seek the "overthrow of Putin's regime," the legion fighters lean more towards a centrist stance.

 

Recently, the legion announced that they have "liberated" the Russian village of Kozinka, across the border from Ukraine and southwest of Belgorod. They have released videos showing balloons with their flag over Moscow, challenging the perception that Russian citizens are safe and that the Russian Federation is strong.

 

The military significance of both groups is unclear, and some experts suggest that they are more focused on public relations activities than actual actions. Although it has been reported that some members are Russian soldiers who have surrendered to Ukrainian forces, they have done so with the intention of switching sides. In response to Moscow's designation of them as a "terrorist organization," one member of the group pointed out that they had previously been considered nonexistent.

 

In August 2022, former Russian deputy Ilya Ponamarev, who is now a Ukrainian citizen, stated on Facebook that the legion, the volunteer corps, and another group called the Republican National Army had signed a declaration with the common goal of liberating Russia from the government of Vladimir Putin.