The Ukrainian military did not take part in the raid of the Russian Freedom Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps on the territory of the Russian Federation.
About this reports the The New York Times with reference to a high-ranking Ukrainian official who spoke to journalists on condition of anonymity.
According to the interlocutor of NYT, defenders of Ukraine "mainly acted as support" and protected the Ukrainian border in the area of the Russian raid in case of a counterattack from the territory of the aggressor country.
The militants who claimed responsibility for the rare attack on the Ukrainian border in Russia's Belgorod region are members of a volunteer unit made up of Russian citizens who fought alongside Ukrainian forces against their own country.
The Free Russia Legion, as the volunteer unit is called, was created last August to allow Russians opposed to the Kremlin's war in Ukraine to take up arms and fight alongside Ukrainians. The combat operations of these anti-Kremlin Russian volunteers were mostly limited to the front line in Ukraine, mainly in and around Bakhmut.
That changed this week, when the group announced that its fighters, along with Russians from another group called the Russian Volunteer Corps, had crossed the border and "liberated" several towns in Russian territory. The Free Russia Legion said on Tuesday that fighting in the Belgorod region was continuing, although Russia's Defense Ministry said all fighters who were not killed had been pushed back to Ukraine.
"This is the first operation of the Legion on the territory of Russia, and in the future, the scale of our actions will only increase," the Russian fighter, who wears the call sign "Caesar" and participated in the operation, noted in the text. message.
In addition, the official admitted that Russian volunteers also suffered losses during the operation. At the same time, they were "insufficient to affect their combat capability." The government official did not provide any other details.
Until recently, the Free Russia Legion received little attention, in part to protect the soldiers and their families from repression by Russia, and because of Ukraine's reluctance to highlight the exploits of soldiers whose home country killed so many Ukrainians.
Several hundred Russians have been sent to the front line in eastern Ukraine, officials said, but the Ukrainian military has not disclosed exactly how many Russians are fighting on the Ukrainian side.
To always be aware of the most important things, read us at Telegram
