Who Are the Soldiers Behind the Free Russia Legion?

The fighters who claimed responsibility for the rare attack just over the Ukrainian border in Russia’s Belgorod region were members of a volunteer unit made up of Russian citizens who had fought with Ukrainian forces against their own country.

The Free Russia Legion, as the volunteer unit is called, was created last August to provide a way for Russians opposed to the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine to take up arms and fight alongside Ukrainians. This fighting by anti-Kremlin Russian volunteers is mostly confined to the front lines in Ukraine, mostly in and around Bakhmut.

That changed this week, when the group announced that fighters, along with Russians from another group called the Russian Volunteer Corps, had crossed the border and “liberated” several settlements in Russia. On Tuesday, the Free Russian Legion said that fighting in the Belgorod region was continuing, although the Russian Defense Ministry said all fighters who had not been killed had been pushed back to Ukraine.

“This is the first operation of the Legion on the territory of Russia, and in the future, the scale of our actions will only increase,” one of the Russian fighters, who wears the call sign Caesar and participated in the operation, said in a text. message.

Caesar, who is 50 and private with the Free Russian Legion, was responding to questions sent through the press officer for the group. The Russian Volunteer Corps, which claims to have joined the Free Russian Legion in operations this week, took responsibility for the earlier, more limited entry into Russia in March.

The involvement of the Ukrainian military in the operation is unclear. The Free Russian Legion operates under the umbrella of the Ukrainian International Legion, a fighting force that includes units made up of American and British volunteers, as well as Belarusians, Georgians and others. It is supervised by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and commanded by Ukrainian officers.

A senior Ukrainian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal details of the mission in Russia, said the Ukrainian military was acting mainly in a support role, protecting Ukraine’s border in the region in the event of a Russian counterattack. No Ukrainian fighters entered Russian territory, the official said.

There were losses in the units involved in the operation, the official said, but not enough to affect combat readiness. The official would not provide further details.

Until now, the Free Russian Legion has received little attention, in part to protect soldiers and their families from reprisals by Russia, but also because of Ukraine’s reluctance to highlight the exploitation of soldiers whose home country has killed so many Ukrainians.

Several hundred Russians have been sent to the front line in eastern Ukraine, officials said, but the Ukrainian military has not disclosed exactly how many Russians are fighting on the side of Ukraine.

The motivation of Russia to fight for Ukraine is different. In interviews earlier this year, some said they had been living in Ukraine when the war began and felt the need to defend their adopted homeland. Others, often without military experience, crossed into Ukraine after the war began and joined the fighting.

Joining is not easy, Russian soldiers say. After filling out a detailed application, they undergo several rounds of background checks and take a polygraph. Distrust among Ukrainians is high. There have been several attempts by Russian intelligence operatives to infiltrate the Free Russian Legion, Ukrainian officials said.

A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that the fighters had retreated and scores had been killed.

But Caesar said the battle continued on Tuesday and that a company of Russian infantry had been routed. These claims cannot be independently confirmed. A senior Ukrainian official said the military was awaiting confirmation, including video from a drone, about the fate of the Russian infantry company.

“The aim of the operation that started yesterday is to create a demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine, eliminate the fighters who serve the Putin regime and demonstrate to the Russian people that they can create resistance and fight against the Putin regime in Russia,” Caesar wrote. “The goal was successfully achieved.”