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Russian Volunteer Corps

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Russian Volunteer Corps
Русский добровольческий корпус
LeadersDenis "White Rex" Nikitin
Dates of operationAugust 2022 – present
Allies Freedom of Russia Legion
Opponents Government of Russia
Battles and wars
Flag
WebsiteRussian Volunteer Corps on Telegram

The Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC; Russian: Русский добровольческий корпус, РДК, romanized: Russkiy dobrovol'cheskiy korpus, RDK) is a Russian nationalist paramilitary unit based in Ukraine. It was formed Denis Nikitin, a Russian emigrant who has been described as a neo-Nazi, in August 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine to fight against the regime of Vladimir Putin. The group has been described as far-right;[1][2] Nikitin claims the group consists of Russian emigrants who are primarily united by their opposition to Putin.[1] The group claims to be part of Ukraine's armed forces, but Ukrainian military officials say it is independent.[1]

It claimed responsibility for a March 2023 attack in Bryansk Oblast, Russia. The Russian government claimed a Ukrainian group carried out the cross-border "terrorist attack" and killed two civilians. The Ukrainian government denied involvement, calling it either a false-flag operation or an attack by anti-government partisans within Russia.

Origin and aims

The Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) was founded in August 2022[3] by Denis Nikitin (real surname Kapustin), who has been described in media as a neo-Nazi football hooligan.[4][5][6] He moved to Germany in 2001 and lived there for several years before moving to Ukraine.[5][7][8]

The RVC announced its formation with a statement released on a newly-created Telegram channel, which read in part: "We Russian volunteers living in Ukraine have decided to take up arms and create a military formation – the Russian Volunteer Corps – so that, together with our Ukrainian comrades-in-arms, we can defend their homeland, which shelters us, and then continue the fight against Putin's criminal regime.[1] ... To divert the attention of the population from internal political problems, the [Russian] regime offered society another bond – the concept of the 'Russian world', although for some reason it decided to build it on the territory of Ukraine, and not in Moscow, which has not been part of such a world for a long time."[9]

Nikitin said that the RVC consists of ethnic Russians fighting for Ukraine against Russia's invasion.[1] He explained that Russian nationalism "has turned completely the wrong way" and posted a video urging white nationalists to fight Putin because Russia had turned into a police state.[1] Nikitin spoke negatively about Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy because he is Jewish and "promotes the worst of liberal values", but stated that Putin is worse.[1] In October 2022, the RVC published its manifesto, identifying itself as "part of Ukraine's Armed Forces", although Ukrainian officials did not comment on this claim.[5][10]

According to the Ukrainian news agency Glavcom (Russian: Главком), the RVC was formed by Russian volunteers who had started fighting for Ukraine in the Azov Regiment and other units in 2014.[11] According to Polish news agency Vot Tak, unlike the Freedom of Russia Legion, the leadership of the corps does not rely on Russian POWs-turned-defectors, but on Russian right-wing emigrants living in Ukraine.[12] The RVC use the symbols of the Russian Liberation Army, which collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II.[13][12]

The RVC's declared aims are to overthrow Putin's government and form an ethnically Russian nation-state. It says Russia should abandon its imperial ambitions and instead focus on improving the well-being of ethnic Russians.[9][14]

Relation to other Russian armed opposition

According to Gordonua.com, the RVC was part of press conference on 31 August 2022 with the Freedom of Russia Legion and the National Republican Army. Ilya Ponomarev—political head of the National Republican Army—signed an agreement on political co-operation with the Freedom of Russia Legion, and claimed the Russian Volunteer Corps also agreed to join the agreement.[15][need quotation to verify][16][need quotation to verify] However, Meduza reports that the RVC does not collaborate with the Freedom of Russia Legion due to "ideological differences".[5]

Claimed attacks

Bryansk Oblast attack

Main article: 2023 Bryansk Oblast attack

On 2 March 2023, the Russian authorities claimed that an armed Ukrainian group crossed the border and carried out a "terrorist attack" in the villages of Lyubechane and Sushany, in Bryansk Oblast. Russia said the attackers fired on a car, killing two civilians, before the Federal Security Service forced them back into Ukraine.[17] On 9 March, Russia launched a barrage of missile strikes at Ukrainian civilian infrastructure in what it called "retaliation" for the attack.[18] The Russian Volunteer Corps claimed responsibility for the alleged cross-border raid, and posted videos of armed men in Lyubechane with their insignia, urging Russians to "rise up and fight" against the government.[5]

Ukrainian officials denied involvement, saying it was either a Russian false flag attack or a case of Russians rebelling against their government.[2] Ukrainian military officials said the Russian Volunteer Corps was an "independent" group.[1] Ilya Ponomarev, political representative of the Freedom of Russia Legion, said the RVC has contacts with the Ukrainian military but operates in a "gray area".[1]

On 6 April 2023, the Russian Volunteer Corps again claimed to have crossed the border into Bryansk Oblast, entering the village of Sluchovsk. While Russian authorities claimed that an attempted incursion was prevented, the Russian Volunteer Corps released video showing them inside the village. During the incursion, combat operations were allegedly carried out.[19]

Belgorod Oblast attack

Main article: 2023 Belgorod Oblast attack

In May 2023, the RVC, alongside the Freedom of Russia Legion, according to Ukrainian media citing Ukrainian military intelligence, launched an incursion into Russia, this time in Grayvoronsky District, Belgorod Oblast; videos that circulated online showed armed men who said they belonged to the RVC saying they had crossed the border to fight "the bloody Putinite and Kremlin regime".[20] The governor of Belgorod Oblast said that a Ukrainian "sabotage group" had entered the region and authorities said that a "counterterrorism regime" was introduced.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Kremlin accuses Ukraine of violent attack in western Russia". The Washington Post. 2 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Kremlin accuses Ukrainian saboteurs of attack inside Russia". Associated Press. 2 March 2023. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Russian Volunteer Corps fighters claim to have again infiltrated Russian territory – video". The New Voice of Ukraine. 22 May 2023 – via Yahoo News.
  4. ^ "Russian Volunteer Corps head Denis Kapustin added to Russia's federal wanted list". Meduza. 27 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e "'Fear your partisans' A volunteer unit led by a Russian neo-Nazi raided a small town and crossed back into Ukraine. Meduza explains the bizarre incursion and what it could mean for the war". Meduza. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Leader of Russian Volunteer Corps Placed on Interior Ministry Wanted List". The Moscow Times. 27 March 2023.
  7. ^ "The rise of Russia's neo-Nazi football hooligans". The Guardian. Denis Nikitin, a Russian neo-Nazi
  8. ^ "The Russian neo-Nazi hooligan who led an anti-Putin militia across the border". The Telegraph.
  9. ^ a b "За что мы сражаемся?". Telegraph. 2022-11-24. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  10. ^ Kilner, James (4 March 2023). "The Russian neo-Nazi hooligan who led an anti-Putin militia across the border". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 March 2023. It is based in Ukraine, although it is not clear if it has the official backing of the Ukrainian army or government.
  11. ^ "Российская оппозиция начинает вооруженное сопротивление Путину: подписано декларацию" [Russian Opposition Starts Armed Resistance to Putin: Declaration Signed]. Главком | Glavcom (in Russian). 2022-08-31. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
  12. ^ a b Попков, Роман (2022-08-24). "«Русский добровольческий корпус», «Легион» и ССО «Азов». Как россияне воюют против Кремля на стороне Украины" ["Russian Volunteer Corps", "Legion" and MTR "Azov". How the Russians are fighting against the Kremlin on the side of Ukraine]. vot-tak.tv (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-01. В отличие от «Легиона "Свобода России"» руководство корпуса делает ставку не на бывших российских военнослужащих, оказавшихся в «Легионе» после сдачи в плен, а на русских правых эмигрантов, живущих в Украине.
  13. ^ "How Russians end up in a far-right militia fighting in Ukraine". Reuters.
  14. ^ "Explainer: Which Russian Far-Right Groups are Fighting in Ukraine?". The Moscow Times. 24 March 2023.
  15. ^ ""Русский добровольческий корпус", легион "Свобода России" и "Национальная республиканская армия" РФ подписали декларацию о сотрудничестве" ["Russian Volunteer Corps", Legion "Freedom of Russia" and "National Republican Army" of the Russian Federation signed a declaration of cooperation "]. gordonua.com (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-01.
  16. ^ "Илья Пономарев опубликовал "Ирпенскую декларацию" российской оппозиции: "Вооруженное сопротивление путинскому фашизму"" [Ponomarev published the "Irpen Declaration" of the Russian opposition: "Armed resistance to Putin's fascism"]. hvylya.net (in Russian). 2022-08-31. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
  17. ^ "Russia accuses Ukraine of cross-border attack in Bryansk". Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  18. ^ "Updates: Russia pounds Ukraine in 'retaliation' for border attack". Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Russian Volunteer Corps attacks Bryansk Oblast again". 6 April 2023. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  20. ^ "Russian regional governor says Ukrainian 'sabotage group' crossed border". Reuters. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Russian Border Region Says Ukrainian 'Sabotage' Unit Carried Out Incursion". [[The Moscow Times|]]date=22 May 2023.

External links

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