Kyiv, Ukraine – When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, 31-year-old Johnny, from St Petersburg, set himself a aim.
He wished to overthrow Vladimir Putin’s administration.
In reality, he would have favored to kill the Russian president along with his personal arms, he advised Al Jazeera in a restaurant at a distant petrol station on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital.
In October, Johnny joined different Russians combating for Ukraine and towards their homeland as a part of the Siberian Battalion, a unit shaped final summer season by the Civic Council, a Russian opposition group primarily based in Poland.
“We want to democratise Russia. And it won’t be possible in the current state. Russia must fall apart into smaller pieces. I don’t care if it’s going to be small like Belgium. … Places like Yakutia and Chechnya and other regions should be able to secede if they choose to,” Johnny mentioned.
In keeping with Denis Sokolov, 54, the group’s coordinator, 50 fighters from the unit are presently in coaching or combating in Ukraine. One other 40 are being checked over by Ukraine’s safety providers as they wait to cross the border.
He mentioned there are literally thousands of different Russians keen to hitch the struggle towards Moscow, boasting that the Civic Council receives as much as 10 purposes per day.
Those that wish to enroll should first depart for a 3rd nation for security causes. And from there, it takes months to course of an software.
“Ukrainians do not trust Russians, and there are reasons for this. But this war was unleashed by the regime in our name, and we are obliged to end it,” Sokolov mentioned.
On the time of publishing, neither Polish nor Ukrainian authorities had responded to Al Jazeera’s request for touch upon the Civil Council and Siberian Battalion.
Because the onset of the battle, lots of of Russians have turned on their nation and bolstered Ukraine’s forces.
In keeping with the Worldwide Disaster Group, their motives are various.
“Most of the recruits from the Russian Federation hail from the North Caucasus – majority-Muslim regions that have a long history of advocating for separation from the central government,” the group mentioned in October.
“There are additionally, nevertheless, ethnic Russians combating on behalf of Ukraine. Some are merely sympathetic to the Ukrainian trigger or see becoming a member of it as part of their very own wrestle towards Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Others, however, are far-right activists who hope the war will end with not just the collapse of Putin’s government but also the creation of a new, ethnically homogeneous Russian state.”
The far-right fighters, the suppose tank mentioned, are the “most battle-ready of the Russian units”.
Russian troops are formally a part of Ukraine’s worldwide legion, combating with the permission of its defence ministry, and utilizing Ukraine’s weaponry.
In keeping with Russian legislation, the definition of excessive treason was prolonged in April to incorporate combating for enemies – a criminal offense that would lead to life imprisonment.
In distinction, the Kremlin has reportedly supplied citizenship to foreigners who select to struggle alongside Russian forces.
Johnny, which is a nom de guerre he adopted after becoming a member of the unit, waited for seven months to enter Ukraine.
He contacted the Civic Council in March when the group was serving to recruit fighters for the Russian Volunteer Corps, a far-right unit behind incursions into Russia in March and Could.
The 2 teams have since parted methods.
The Civic Council determined to type a brand new, extra inclusive unit that might settle for non-white and non-Christian Russian residents.
The Siberian Battalion is made up of an array of individuals and teams, together with anarchists, Muslims and members of the Free Ingria Motion combating for the liberation of the St Petersburg area.
“People are different. We are of different ages. Our values differ. But we all want to defeat Russia. And we believe that this is possible only by armed means,” mentioned Johnny, who has not advised his household about his combating or whereabouts.
The Siberian Battalion was named after the huge Russian area wealthy in pure assets, stretching from the Ural Mountains within the west to the Pacific Ocean within the east.
“We understand that all of Moscow’s wealth comes from Siberia and that Moscow – and the rest of Russia – live off of Siberian money,” Sokolov mentioned.
“Taking these resources away from the regime is important because, first, without them the empire will be less aggressive. Secondly, the peoples of Siberia have the right to manage their resources independently, not just Indigenous peoples, but everyone who lives in Siberia.”
The Siberian Battalion accepts folks from different areas too, like 26-year-old Sizy, the unit’s medic-in-training who was born in Moscow.
The previous customs official, who additionally ran his personal enterprise, arrived in Ukraine on the identical day as Johnny and heard in regards to the Civic Council when the organisation was recruiting for the Russian Volunteer Corps.
However Siziy, which is a nom de guerre which means “grey blue” in Russian, doesn’t affiliate with far-right nationalism.
In April 2022, he transformed to Islam.
His mother and father came upon about his resolution when he was already in Ukraine. He has minimize contact with everybody he knew in Russia.
Whereas it was not simple to simply accept that her solely little one went to battle, Siziy mentioned, his mom has not protested towards his resolution.
“Everyone makes decisions for themselves. I realised that there is something more important than material wealth in this life,” Siziy mentioned. “If there’s one thing to die for, it is freedom. And Ukraine is fighting for existence.”