4000 people had to be evacuated, there are dead and prisoners. Pro-Ukrainian militias, who have been attacking the Russian city of Belgorod for days, are causing considerable unrest. Now it is known: Apparently, Polish volunteers are also involved. What’s going on there?
“It has now been five days since Russian rebels crossed the border and although the Moscow regime has leveled the entire area, they have still not expelled the few rifle squads.” So comments the German and pro-Ukrainian Military Blogger “Tendar” the partisan attacks on the Russian Belgorod region. Details about the missions and the consequences are only sparsely made public. Recently, however, the authorities confirmed that an energy plant was “on fire”. Apparently, Russian soldiers were also captured.
Governor in Belgorod confirms Russian prisoners
In order to free the latter, the governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, is said to have been ready to negotiate with the pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters, as he wrote in the messenger service Telegram. At the same time, this communication was an admission that the partisans were quite successful with their attack on Russian territory.
The fighters with whom Gladkow wants to negotiate are apparently a group called the “Russian Volunteer Corps” (RDK or RVC, as it is known in English). It is one of two armies that have been rapidly attacking the border area around Belgorod since the end of May. The volunteer corps claims to be part of the regular Ukrainian troops, but the leadership in Kiev denies this. The RDK is led by Denis Kapustin. He came to Germany as a refugee from Russia around 20 years ago and was described by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as one of the “most influential neo-Nazis”.
The fact that a self-confessed right-wing extremist is fighting on the side of Ukraine against Russia supports the Moscow legend of the alleged Nazis who rule in Kiev and from whom Putin wants to liberate them. This untrue story is based, among other things, on the Azov regiment, which was a rallying point for Ukrainian Nazis in 2014 and with which Denis Kapustin was also in contact. In the meantime, the controversial militia has become part of the regular Ukrainian troops and the influence of right-wing extremists has largely ended.
Target: battalions for “non-Russians”
The “Russian Volunteer Corps” only recruits ethnic Russians. Their goal is to end Putin’s rule. For the Nazi militia, the Kremlin chief is unable to adequately protect the country. They also fight for Slavic dominance in the multi-ethnic state because they see Asian and Central Asian Russians as inferior. But apparently there are also RDK fighters who want to enable other Russian ethnic groups to fight against the regime in Moscow and for Ukraine.
The News page “The Insider” spoke to soldiers from the Volunteer Corps. One of them, known as Vladislav, says he tried to start an anti-war movement in Yakutia in eastern Russia. “Then I understood that armed resistance is necessary for an independent Ukraine. My goal was therefore to set up battalions for ‘non-Russians’, because otherwise they would not have the opportunity to fight. So far there are battalions for Tatars, Chechens and Russians, but none for Yakuts, Kalmyks and Caucasians.”
The “Legion Free Russia”, the second militia fighting in the Belgorod region, also wants to overthrow Vladimir Putin. “The final destination is Moscow,” said the “Legion” spokesman, who works in Poland, to “Spiegel”. They document their daily work with videos and pictures. The militia calls themselves “partisans” who want to build “a new, free Russia.” The website says the group is organizing attacks on Russia’s military and railway infrastructure. After the first raids on Belgorod recently, the “Legion” announced that the scale of the operations would “increase over time”.
Poles set up volunteer corps in February
According to media reports, Poles are also involved in the fighting. The online news portals Polsatnews.pl and Wprost.pl reported that these were mercenaries who fought under the name “Polish Volunteer Corps” on the side of the Ukrainian army. They referred to the group’s own messages on Telegram and a video that is said to show soldiers on their way to Belgorod.
According to information from “Polsat”, the “Polish Volunteer Corps” was founded in February. Initially, it only fought as an independent unit consisting of Poles alongside the Ukrainian army. In the meantime, the troops are also acting together with a “Russian Volunteer Corps”. The reports did not reveal how many Poles were said to be involved.
Russian attack
How the fronts in Ukraine have shifted since the beginning of the war
The government in Moscow describes the partisans as terrorists controlled from Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Kiev planned the raid to distract from the defeat in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. Denis Kapustin, on the other hand, recently said that while Ukraine “encouraged” the fighters, it did not provide them with any weapons, equipment or instructions for entry. Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, even “threatens” to send his mercenaries to the area if the Russian Defense Ministry doesn’t “quickly” establish order there, as he said in a video.
“Every operation that takes place in Russia is a success”
There is little information about the extent of the damage caused by the partisans. Several civilians were killed, according to authorities in Belgorod. Governor Gladkov called on residents of villages in the Schebekino district to leave their homes and go to safety. More than 4,000 people are already being accommodated in temporary accommodation in the region, he said. The militias celebrate every operation “taking place on the territory of Russia” as a success. Because it “forces the military leadership to move a large number of forces to exactly the quadrant, thereby exposing some parts of the front, parts of the border,” as Denis Kapustin recently said.
Sources: DPA, AFP, “Tendar” on Twitter, “The Insider”, “Legion Free Russia” on Youtube, T-Online“Mirror“