For Russians who have been combating on Ukraines side as part of the Freedom of Russia legion given that President Vladimir Putin sent soldiers into Ukraine, secrecy is of the utmost importance.
The specific number of their workers is strictly confidential, their positions are never disclosed and their declarations are carefully worded.Their representative, who uses the nom de guerre Caesar, walks through what remains of an Orthodox monastery in Dolina, a village in eastern Ukraines Donetsk region that was recaptured from Russian forces in the fall.
Among its ruins are a shattered onion-shaped golden dome, a stucco lion, and scattered religious icons-- a scene of damage that reveals the world what Putins worths are, Caesar says.
I am not battling my motherland.
I am fighting against Putins program, against evil, he states, switching in between Russian and English.
Im not a traitor.
Im a real Russian patriot who thinks about the future of my nation.
The legion, which was developed at the start of the Russian invasion, belongs to the corps of worldwide volunteers fighting with the Ukrainian army.
Its symbol includes a clenched fist with the words Russia and Freedom.
According to Caesar, the legion boasts numerous hundred Russians who after two months of training were released to Ukraines industrial Donbas area in May.Some of its soldiers are now combating in the town of Bakhmut on the eastern frontline, the scene of a number of months of intense fights.
Under the command of Ukrainian forces, they are typically taken part in releasing artillery.
They are inspired and professional fighters, they do their job completely, a Ukrainian officer tells AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The employees went through several rounds of interviews, psychological tests, and even a polygraph to guarantee their loyalty, the officer adds.
PropagandaThe contribution of the Russian legion to the war effort is even more significant away from the battlefield, states military expert Oleg Zhdanov.
They participate in the war however do not have substantial impact due to their small numbers, Zhdanov states.
Their importance is more political.
Its good for Ukraine to be able to reveal that there are Russians who support democracy and freedom and who combat on the best side.
On social networks, the legion primarily posts propaganda videos and claims to have actually gotten countless applications.
Its members all have specific inspirations for employing, a few of them more personal than political.
A male who goes by the call sign Tikhiy ( Quiet ) is wed to a Ukrainian he met in Russia, where they dealt with their 2 children.
They were visiting his wifes family in Kyiv when Russia attacked.
She would not have actually understood if we remained in Russia, says the male in his 40s from the southwestern Russian city of Tolyatti.
He has had barely any contact with his household back in Russia considering that the fighting began.
Theyve been persuaded a bit.
I know theyre worried about me, he states.
As for his good friends, They are resting on their couch in Russia and duplicating: We are going to liberate Ukraine, he adds.
He thinks about the Russian soldiers opponents, but while he has made an application for Ukrainian citizenship, he wont be able to get it up until after the war is over.
For the minute, I still have the opponents passport, he states.
Russia is passing awayCaesar, the representative, utilized to work as a physio therapist in St.
Petersburg, Russias previous capital and second-largest city.
He says he has political motives, explaining himself as a right-wing nationalist who thinks Putins program can just be toppled by force.
He is unimpressed with Russian forces, calling them puppets, and says his fellow citizens do not wish to see or hear anything.
Russia is dying.
Go to the villages, you will see drunks, drug addicts, lawbreakers.
People are suffering, he adds.
Its clear, he states, that Putins twenty years in power are to blame.
His system, his federal government his deputies.
All shit.
They are losers, corrupt, thieves, who only think of living for cash and pleasure.
Its no chance to run a nation, he includes.
After Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb.
24, Caesar took his partner and four children to Kyiv, and he stated he thinks he can speak freely now that they remain in Ukraine, where he considers them to be more secure.
They too live in fear of the bombardments and in the cold, however they agree with my options.