Russian soldiers: “Siberian battalion” opposes Putin’s army

class=”sc-29f61514-0 icZBHN”>

An unusual formation in Ukraine is fighting against the invaders from Russia: the ‘Siberian Battalion’ consists of Russian citizens and militarily turns against its own countrymen.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense confirmed the creation of the new unit at the Kyiv Post. It is not clear how large the new battalion is. Typically a battalion consists of approximately 300 to 1000 soldiers.

They arrived via third countries

According to the Kyiv Post, Russians and members of Russia’s ethnic minorities, including Yakuts and Buryats from Siberia, serve in the battalion. The fact that these people in particular are defecting to Ukraine could be due to the fact that there are a disproportionate number of ethnic minorities among those who died in the war. They traveled to Ukraine via third countries and joined the army.

The Russian army mainly recruited young men from remote areas for the war in Ukraine. According to the Tagesspiegel, activists even spoke of ‘ethnic cleansing’ in this context because Moscow sent many members of minorities to the front.

Battalion is a permanent part of the army

The “Siberian Battalion” is a permanent part of the Ukrainian army. In contrast to the ‘Russian Freedom Legion’, a paramilitary group consisting of Russian nationalists operating in Russia for Kiev.

Andrei Yusov, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, tells the Kyiv Post: “Ukraine will create more such units, consisting of Russian citizens who express the desire to defend Ukraine on the one hand and its peoples and small homelands on the other side to protect itself against Russia’s imperial oppression.”

According to the Kiev Post, the soldiers of the Siberian battalion have military contracts with Ukraine and had to pass tests that could take up to a year. However, there are no Russian prisoners of war among the fighters in the new battalion. (neo)

Source: Blick