Freedom of Russia Legion plans new raids into Russia – mass media
The relevant statement was made by Maximillian Andronnikov, a spokesperson for the anti-Putin paramilitary group, using the call sign ‘Caesar’, in an interview with the Observer, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“It will be our third operation. After that there will be a fourth, and fifth. We have ambitious plans. We want to free all our territory,” Caesar told.
The legion, consisting of around 200 Russian military volunteers, carried out attacks in May and early June. According to Andronnikov, two members of the anti-Kremlin militia were killed. He called the Kremlin reports of heavy losses among his guerrillas “a dumb lie”.
Caesar is a former 49-year-old fitness coach from Sochi and St. Petersburg, who moved to Ukraine when Moscow’s full-scale invasion began. Russian prosecutors charged him with crimes including treason to the motherland.
Andronnikov acknowledged his militia could only function with Ukrainian military help but said once on Russian territory they made their own independent decisions. The legion’s armoured vehicles were mostly seized from Russian stocks captured in Ukraine.
According to Caesar, the Legion’s activity is “a common struggle” for the future of Ukraine and Russia.
Andronnikov believes that the dissolution of Wagner boosts Ukraine’s prospects on the battlefield, and expressed confidence that Ukraine’s counter-offensive will succeed.
