Russian men are travelling through other countries to get to, and fight for, Ukraine. Military intelligence in Ukraine is arming the fighters, who target Russian military assets.

Kyiv

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Russian nationals are joining forces with Ukraine, training and engaging in missions against Russian military targets. Participants, largely hailing from Russia, express a shared objective of ousting Russian President Vladimir Putin and dismantling his regime. These individuals, inclusive of a group known as the Siberian battalion, have been active in regions such as Belgorod, operating under the coordination of Ukrainian military intelligence.

The fighters, counted among various Russian units affiliated with Kyiv's international legion, receive training, logistics support, and compensation from Ukraine for their efforts. Their missions reportedly include cross-border operations into Russia, aimed at undermining Russian military assets and personnel.

One of the prominent figures among these volunteer fighters is Denis Kapustin, leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps. Kapustin, originally from Russia but having moved to Germany, faces restrictions from the German government due to his past and alleged associations. Despite these hurdles, he asserts the commitment of his group to the cause, under the operational constraints set by the Ukrainian military which prohibits the use of foreign military systems on Ukrainian soil.

These developments indicate a notable trend of Russian citizens taking arms against their country's military forces, driven by a desire for political reform in Russia and opposition to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.



Russian nationals fighting for Ukraine

These soldiers are training to fight against an army they could have joined or been conscripted into. An army dictated to by a leader they want to overthrow. This is the Siberian battalion. The vast majority of these men are Russian citizens and they've come from Russia to fight with the Ukrainian military. They've been involved in operations across the Russian border in the Belgorod region. The Siberian battalion is one of a number of Russian units that operate with Ukrainian training and logistics as part of Kiev's international legion. Maloy arrived seven months ago. He says he came from Russia through Serbia. Ukraine pays him and his fellow Russians to fight. The main goal is to remove Putin and in general to destroy this regime and build in its place a beautiful Russia of the future. This video shows Russian volunteers on a cross-border mission inside Russia on March the 12th. They remained fighting on Russian soil for two weeks. Ukrainian military intelligence helps coordinate attacks like these, targeting Russian assets and high-ranking personnel. I came to Ukraine last autumn. I feel some responsibility for my homeland. The fact that Russia came to a sovereign state and began to seize its territory, killing people, it was unpleasant for me as a person from Russia. And I realized that if you live according to your conscience, then your job is to take up arms and participate in this fight against the Putin regime. Denis Kapustin is the leader of the Russian volunteer corps, the largest of the Russian groups with an estimated 2,000 fighters. He was born in Russia and moved with his parents to Germany at 17. After he came to Kiev, Germany cancelled his residency and imposed a Schengen visa ban because of his football hooliganism past and his alleged links with neo-Nazi groups, which he denies. He tells us about the group's weapons supply. Whatever happens on Ukrainian soil, there's no limits of what we're using. The Ukrainian military does not allow us to use any foreign military systems, weapons systems beyond the state border, which, you know, I personally think it's, and I know that Ukrainian authorities also think it's pretty, can I say, stupid? Because the question is, first of all, to Western authorities, do you guys want Ukraine to win this war or you just want Ukraine not to lose in this war? Russian men fighting for Ukraine with a dream of political change in their homeland. Charles Stratford, Al Jazeera, Central Ukraine.

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Ukraine Invasion