BY
The Freedom of Russia Legion in
Belgorod allegedly capturing a Russian BTR-82A Armored Personnel Carrier.
The Freedom of Russia Legion, formed in March 2022, crossed into Russia's
Belgorod region alongside the Russian Volunteer Corps on Monday.COURTESY OF ILYA PONOMAREV
ARussian
anti-Vladimir Putin militia that crossed into the Belgorod region bordering
Ukraine on Monday has captured some of Russia's "trophy" equipment,
Ilya Ponomarev, an exiled Russian politician who says he is political
representative for the group of fighters, told Newsweek.
"They have captured a lot of trophy equipment,"
Ponomarev, who was the only member of the Russian parliament to vote against
Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014, said from Kyiv, where he is now based.
Ponomarev was referring to the Freedom of Russia Legion,
formed in March 2022, weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine began. It's made
up of defectors from the Russian armed forces, as well as Russian and
Belarusian volunteers.
The Legion crossed into Russia's Belgorod
region, alongside the Russian Volunteer Corps on Monday. It claimed to have
seized the village of Kozinka and said that its units had entered the small
town of Graivoron.
The Legion has so far captured four BTR-82A
armored personnel carriers—Russia's main armored vehicle, Ponomarev said. The
vehicle is manufactured by the Military Industrial Company of Russia, and is
used by the armies of Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Belarus.
Soldiers from the Legion are
"entrenching" at the moment in Belgorod, said Ponomarev, suggesting
that fighters are fortifying their positions in the region.
The exiled
politician told Newsweek on
Monday that the Legion, which was declared a terrorist
organization by Russia's Supreme
Court in March, aims "to liberate Russia from
Putinism."
When asked whether the Legion's fighters
intend to enter other cities or regions in Russia, Ponomarev said: "We
will see how it goes. [There are] not enough forces to liberate all of Russia
at the moment."
The number of fighters in the Legion is not
known.
Shortly before news
broke that the groups had crossed into Russia's Belgorod region, the
Legion published a video on its social media channels
calling for an end to the "dictatorial country" run by
President Vladimir Putin.
"We are Russians like you," one
member said in the video, standing in front a group of his comrades. "We
want our children to grow up in peace and be free people so that they can
travel, study and just be happy in a free country."
Putin's Russia is "rotten from
corruption, lies, censorship, restrictions on freedoms and repression," he
said, adding that "the time has come to put an end to the dictatorship of
the Kremlin."
Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region, said
"a sabotage and reconnaissance group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine"
had penetrated the area, and that Russian authorities were "taking the
necessary measures to eliminate the enemy."
The Kremlin said Putin was aware of an attempt by a
"Ukrainian sabotage group" to break through into the Belgorod region,
while Ukrainian intelligence said that Russian Volunteer Corps and Legion
fighters entered the region, to carry out an operation to create "a
security zone to protect civilian Ukrainians."
The Russian Volunteer Corps, formed
in summer 2022 and led by known far-right ideologue Denis Nikitin, claimed
responsibility for a recent incursion in Russia's Bryansk region.
It said on its Telegram channel Monday that its fighters were in
Russia, publishing a short clip showing members standing in front of road signs
in the Belgorod region.
Newsweek has
contacted Russia's defense ministry via email for comment.
Do you have a tip on a world
news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do
you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via
worldnews@newsweek.com.
https://www.newsweek.com/pillaging-russia-belgorod-ukraine-freedom-legion-taken-equipment-1802088
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