They chose to change sides. Russian soldiers from a dissident legion, “Freedom for Russia”, decided to join the Ukrainian soldiers and fight alongside them, especially in the Bakhmout region of Ukraine. A way to fight against Vladimir Putin, considered a despot. They are confident that they are defecting from the Russian fighters.
Present in the Bakhmout region, they fight in particular the Wagner group, this private militia that defends the interests of Vladimir Putin.
“Where are the bad Russians? A kilometer and a half? Two?” Throws a soldier in the forehead. Often located on the front line, these soldiers are only two kilometers from the Moscow troops.
Compromise against Putin
In front of journalists from around the world, these soldiers want to prove that one can be Russian and stand up to Vladimir Putin, despite the risks involved.
“I’m worried, but not even the cost of living for my family will make me take a single step back,” said one of them, dressed in khaki overalls.
Another tells of having gone to the Ukraine before the start of the war. From kyiv, he later witnessed the Boutcha and Irpin massacres.
“What I saw there shocked me a lot. I thought that the Russian army was made up of men of honour,” says Tikhiy.
These images decide him to enlist in a foreign legion. Among them, many Russians, but also Georgians and Chechens.
“I fight for the freedom of the Russian people”
But this commitment is not without consequences for some soldiers. Tikhiy acknowledges a misunderstanding on the part of his relatives who stayed in Russia, to the point of creating an abyss between them.
“At first I told them ‘what is happening here is very hard.’ They replied: ‘It doesn’t matter, we will come soon and we will free you.’ she said she.
Pointed out by some Russians, these soldiers who have gone over to the enemy camp are considered traitors by some and the object of Ukrainian propaganda by others. These fighters, however, assure that they do not forget their country.
“I fight not only for Ukraine, but also for the freedom of the Russian people. By doing this, I am a patriot, I am not a Putin henchman,” says one of them.
There would be more than 500 Russians who wanted to fight against their own country or at least against their leader Vladimir Putin.
Source: BFM TV
