While Russian President Vladimir Putin is increasingly having problems recruiting new soldiers, some of his compatriots have even defected to Ukraine. This is reported by the German news website merkur.de, citing the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense confirms that the “Siberian Battalion”, consisting solely of Russian citizens, will soon be deployed in combat. Among them are also ethnic minorities who want to stand up for rights like freedom and democracy. “We can confirm the information about the formation of the Siberian Battalion, which operates within the ranks of the international legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” said Andriy Yuzov, spokesperson for the Ukrainian military intelligence service. This followed a report by Bloomberg. “If people want to fight for Ukraine, for our borders, for the collapse of the Russian Soviet regime, why not,” said a Ukrainian commander. A soldier from the Russian region of Yakutia states: “We must destroy the Kremlin regime.” He wishes that “Yakutia becomes a free, democratic country.
Image: Kremlin.ru, Vladimir Putin (2022-09-05), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)
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