Oleksiy Baranovskyi, one of the representatives of the Legion of Freedom of Russia, told NV about why the volunteers entered the border regions of the Russian Federation now and how this operation is connected with the “Putin election”.
On the night of 12 March three Russian volunteer units — the Legion of Freedom of Russia, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Siberian Battalion — crossed the border with Russia on heavy armoured vehicles. They announced the beginning of a special operation to “liberate the Russian Federation from dictatorship”, which is taking place in the Belgorod and Kursk regions.
Fighters of the Legion of Freedom of Russia said in their video message that they are going “to the elections.”
“We are coming to liberate you from squalor, poverty and dictatorship,” their statement said. The legionnaires added that they dream of a Russia freed from Putin’s dictatorship and are making “every effort to realize these dreams.”
About the goals of the Russian fighters and their plans for the liberation of the Russian Federation, NV spoke in more detail with Oleksiy Baranovsky, a volunteer of the Legion of Freedom of Russia.
— Tell us more about the operation itself, which is currently being carried out on the territory of Russia. Who participates in it, how many people and equipment do you have?
— A special liberation operation started tonight, carried out by three units of Russian volunteers — the Legion of Freedom of Russia, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) and the Siberian Battalion. With a broad front of united revolutionary forces, we entered the territory of the Kursk and Belgorod regions and are conducting “special electoral measures”. All this is happening in the week when the so-called elections are held in Russia [from March 15 to 17]. Of course, this is not an election. But we, citizens of Russia, also have the right to vote and decided to present it in this way – to say what we think about these “elections”, about Putin’s regime and about everything that is happening in Russia and Ukraine.
— How many forces and equipment are involved in this operation?
— Of course, we do not name the exact number, because it will help the enemy, and we will not provide it with such help. There is enough strength to solve the most ambitious and daring tasks.
This is not the first such trip to the territory of Russia. Compared to previous campaigns, we have matured and grown quantitatively and qualitatively. We have interesting iron horses. Therefore, we can set ourselves more ambitious military tasks.
— What tasks are you pursuing?
— Among the Russian opposition, there was a big discussion about what to do with these elections: whether the opposition should participate in them or not. We, as the real Russian opposition, show how it should act in these quasi-elections.
We believe that these elections should not be held. They should not be found in the occupied Ukrainian territories nor the border regions, in the same Kursk and Belgorod regions. We are making efforts to disrupt these elections. This is not an election, it is another stage of the usurping of power and the establishment of a complete dictatorship by Putin’s gang.
We will work for as long as we have enough strength. If it’s enough for Kursk and Belgorod, that’s fine. If there is enough for more, it means more. Maybe not now, but the maximum plan is to overthrow the Putin regime: no one cancelled the trip to Moscow. Another matter is that maybe this is not today’s task after all. But this is a promising task, to which we are gradually moving step by step, and sooner or later we will certainly fulfil it.
— Is there any time frame for this operation?
— Elections, as we know, are on 17 March. Now we are only in the middle of the week. Let’s see how the situation develops. So far, the initiative belongs entirely to volunteer units. The armed forces of the Russian Federation, of course, did not expect such a bold breakthrough in several places at once, so they are currently retreating and looking at where to cling to for defence, and how to behave further.
We have plans for different developments: plan A, B, and plan C, so we’ll see how it develops. I think that by evening the first results of today will be clear.
— Can the operation last the whole week?
– Yes, maybe. Last time, clashes of varying intensity lasted almost two weeks in the Belgorod region. So let’s see. I think, at least until the day of these “elections”, we will not let the Kursk and Belgorod regions sleep peacefully.
— Can the Russian authorities cancel the elections, perhaps in the border regions?
— It is not a question of what the government will decide for itself there, but of the conditions we will put them under. If they do not control certain territories, then there will probably be no elections there. Will they proactively expand this sanitary zone? Well, this is also the right decision. In general, let them cancel these elections, because there is no need to dupe people. Everyone understands that this is an election without an election, so what is the point of holding it? Let them cancel it and save money. They will be able to steal the results perfectly.
— What has already been achieved within the framework of the operation at the moment?
— Several units of armoured vehicles of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have already been destroyed and the personnel has been harmed in some way. We are now verifying the losses suffered by the Russian army. I think the first numbers will be announced by the end of the day.
There are currently no losses in the Legion of Freedom of Russia, in general, in the volunteer forces. But by the end of the day, we will summarize the first day of the election – our vision of this process.
NV
