2023-05-23 18:37:24
Neo-Nazis alongside Russian pro-democracy opponents, all united in their fight against Vladimir Putin. This seems to be the scenario of the incursion of soldiers fighting for the Ukrainian camp on Russian territory, in the Belgorod region, on Monday, May 22. On a Telegram messaging channel, the men of the “Freedom Legion for Russia” claimed responsibility for this operation, alongside a second group, the “Russian Volunteer Corps”.
The two armed groups have several points in common: they are both attached to the Ukrainian army as volunteers, mainly composed of Russian nationals opposed to Vladimir Putin and were created in reaction to the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 But the similarities end there. “These groups have a completely different political background and ideological orientation”explains Adrien Nonjon, a specialist in the extreme right in post-Soviet countries.
Two military groups at antipodes
Even if it is difficult to decipher the exact composition of these groups, and to trace the course of their fighters, the “Freedom Legion for Russia”, linked to the Ukrainian legion, “links to the Russian opposition, as we know it since the 2000s in Russia, which wants the restoration of democratic principles, the end of the police regime and the establishment of a transparent political system with more freedom”, explains Adrien Nonjon. The “Legion” would have a thousand men in its ranks, divided into four battalions.
Another group is said to have taken part in the incursion, the “Russian Volunteer Corps”. At its head is Denis Kapoustin, also known as Nikitin, a Russian nationalist and neo-Nazi and avowed opponent of the Kremlin leader. “According to him, Vladimir Putin is misleading Russian nationalism with his imperialism, continues Adrien Nonjon. He wants an ethnically white and Slavic Russia. » The extremist opponent took refuge in the early 2000s in Ukraine.
The “Russian Volunteer Corps” is made up of profiles similar to his. Last March, we see it on a video claiming an incursion into the region of Bryansk, in Russia, one of the operations carried out recently on Russian territory.
A symbolic blow for Ukraine
Why would kyiv have integrated neo-Nazi militias? The researcher Antoine Nonjon evokes the urgency of the beginning of the conflict: “kyiv had to recruit with a vengeance”. The Ukrainian army has denied being behind the operation… from which it benefits.
“We are in the blur of the war, difficult to know if it is really the army which launched it or notrecognizes Adrien Nonjon. But in any case this incursion is a symbolic victory. This is an extremely strong communication blow for the Ukrainians, because it is Russians who are attacking Russia. »
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