The Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion are fighters with Russian citizenship, and their actions in Russian territory came as an unpleasant surprise to the Kremlin just like the mutiny by Wagner Group owner Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to Vadym Skibitskyy, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
In an interview with the North Macedonian publication Civilmedia, he noted that Moscow's leaders were simply not prepared for such a scenario, as evidenced by their "helpless and weak reaction" to the cases of armed engagements in Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk regions of Russia. These groups' actions are in the interests of Ukraine, Skibitskyy added.
"These Russian opposition armed groups have sufficient autonomy and rights to fight Putin's criminal regime in the territory of their own country. And any factor that weakens the terrorist fascist regime in Moscow is in the interests of Ukraine," he explained.
The Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion consist of Russian citizens who, as they claim, are fighting on the side of Ukraine. These formations first became public on 2 March, when RVC volunteers crossed the border into Russia's Bryansk Region. At the time, the Ukrainian military intelligence said it was an internal confrontation in Russia.
On 22 May, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion announced that they were returning to Russia to "liberate" it. Explosions were heard in the border areas.
The Ukrainian intelligence said that the two formations were conducting an operation in Belgorod Region to create a "security strip" to protect Ukrainian civilians. The intelligence service stressed that the operation was being carried out exclusively by Russian citizens, and that the situation was an internal confrontation.
A representative of the Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, Andriy Yusov, told the telethon that the insurgents were well received by the local population, residents of Belgorod Region showed great loyalty to the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion.
On 24 May, the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps announced the end of their operation in Russia, but promised to return. On 1 June, they announced a new operation in Russia.