Russians in the Russian Freedom Legion: “We are not traitors”
The figure is confidential, but it is about hundreds of Russians fighting alongside Ukrainian soldiers in the Donetsk region (east) in the legion called “Russian Freedom”. The spokesman for “Ce’sar” meets journalists in the ruins of an Orthodox monastery in Dolina, an area recaptured by the Ukrainian army a few months ago, and wants to make it clear: “We are not traitors. I’m not fighting against the fatherland, I’m fighting against Putin’s regime , against tyranny. We are real Russian patriots,” he says. Established at the beginning of the war, the Legion, whose emblem is a clenched fist surmounted by the words “Freedom” and “Russia”, is part of the Ukrainian Army’s International Volunteer Corps. After two months of training, since May they have been deployed in the Donbass, the mining region in eastern Ukraine that Moscow wants to conquer completely. His men are mainly deployed in Bakhmut, one of the hottest places on the Eastern Front, which has been the scene of bitter fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops for months. They are mainly engaged in artillery and are under the command of Ukrainian officers. “They are motivated and professional fighters, they do their job perfectly,” said a Ukrainian officer. The recruits “were subjected to numerous interviews, psychological tests and even a polygraph to avoid any risk of infiltration,” he explains. “They take part in the war, but because of their small numbers they have no significant influence,” says Ukrainian military expert Oleg Jdanov. “Their importance is more political in nature. It is positive that Ukraine can show that there are Russians who support democracy and freedom and are fighting on the right,” he adds.