“It’s a club of Russian ultranationalists. They are also called neo-Nazis,” says defense specialist Peter Wijninga of the Center for Strategic Studies in The Hague on the Russian Volunteer Corps. “It is a group of Russians who believe that Russia should be liberated from Putin’s regime and that leaders who have blood ties to the old families of the tsars should be appointed”.
According to the Russians, the group clearly has links to Ukraine and is therefore actually a Ukrainian attack on Russian territory. “The tricky thing is that they’re really from Ukrainian territory,” says Wijninga. “The most common explanation is that a false flag operation was planned by the Russians. In preparation, the area was evacuated by Russian soldiers, and this group exploited that vacuum.’
Support base
According to Wijninga, the situation is being eagerly picked up by the Russian media and the Kremlin to boost pro-war sentiment in Russia and build more support. And strong measures are needed. What we should mean by this remains to be seen.’
Wijninga does not rule out the possibility that Russia organizes even more false flag operations of this kind. “The Russians have been waiting for this type of operation for several weeks. So it can happen more often, and it has everything to do with building support for a protracted war.’
(ANP/AFP)