Russia was attacked at night on its territory. Some militias temporarily took control of parts of the Grajvoronsky district in the Belgorod region before being pushed back across the border. Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, quickly stated that Kiev “had nothing to do with the operation”, arguing that it was the work of “underground guerrilla groups made up of Russian citizens.”
Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov said the Russian Freedom Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) were responsible for the raid. “The responsibility for these events has been taken by the citizens of Russia, in particular North Korea and the ‘Freedom for Russia’ Legion,” he said. “I think we can only welcome the determined actions of dissident Russian citizens who are ready for armed struggle against the murderous regime of Vladimir Putin.”
And the Legion of Freedom for Russia, fighting on the Ukrainian side, claimed responsibility for the attack and posted a video on a Telegram channel, apparently shot with night vision goggles, showing its men against the background of road signs. Lyubimovka, Bezlyudovka and Churovichi in the Russian obalsts of Bryansk and Belgorod. “The time has come to put an end to the Kremlin dictatorship,” said a soldier known as ‘Caesar’, the spokesman for the group, described in the press as a former Russian neo-Nazi who sided with Ukraine in 2014. “Stay at home, do not resist, do not be afraid. Unlike Putin’s zombies, we do not harm civilians and do not use them for our own purposes,” the Russians said. It is essential that they be Russian citizens, because any attack on the federation territories by the Kiev army, armed with Western weapons, the spy is clear for a dangerous extension of the conflict.
Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, several groups said to be Russian opposition to the Kremlin have taken up arms, claiming to undertake operations ranging from infrastructure sabotage to high-profile assassinations. Most notably, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), also known under the pseudonym Denis Kapustin, Denis Nikitin, or guerre White Rex, the far-right ideologue of Moscow, former football hooligan, in August 2022. Militia first made international headlines last March when they claimed responsibility for a cross-border attack on two villages in western Russia’s Bryansk province, which killed two civilians and injured two others, according to official Russian reports. Using an advanced social media presence, the group is posting videos from Russian territory to support its claims. Days after the March operation, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) accused North Korea of plotting an assassination attempt against prominent Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeev.
The militia appears to be interested in expanding, and on April 7 supported the formation of a new group calling itself the Polish Volunteer Union, using images similar to those of the RDK, including a Cyrillic letter logo. Nikitin has often described himself as a nationalist fighting for an ethnic Russia. The man in his early 30s organized far-right mixed martial arts tournaments and was involved in Russian and German football hooligan movements in the past, where he was denied residence in Germany. The group’s leader also founded his own clothing brand, White Rex, with the Black Sun logo used by neo-Nazi groups.
The Legion of Freedom for Russia, established weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, aims instead to “save Russia from Putinism” and “protect Ukrainians from real fascists.” The Legion uses the white-blue-white flag instead of the Russian tricolor on its sleeve badges, this flag has become a symbol of opposition to Putin at home. Its members are mostly Russian and Belarusian volunteers who have left the Russian Armed Forces and have no military background. According to his spokesman, they have about 4,000 men.
The legion’s manifesto claims that its fighters carry the “values of the Free Man of the New Russia – freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom to choose one’s own future” and that their main goal is to overthrow the Putin regime. War for the New Russia”. The organization was declared a terrorist organization by the Russian Supreme Court in March. One of its spokespersons is Russian exiled politician Ilya Ponomarev. Ponomarev was the only Russian lawmaker to vote against joining Crimea in 2014, and the following year he made a decision that he considered politically motivated. He was charged with embezzlement, which is the charge.
“The Russian liberation movement could become something that would contribute to the just ending of the war in Ukraine and significantly accelerate the onset of transformative events in the Russian political elite,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, Zelensky’s adviser. “The Russian violent resistance movement, whose architects are exclusively Russian citizens, is slowly coming out of hiding. They are independent in their decisions, have some experience and are free of fear.”
Source: Today IT

Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.