The widow of a Russian sergeant executed by Chechen troops for refusing to lead his troops into battle in Ukraine has joined a legion of disgruntled Russians fighting for Ukraine against their compatriots.
The woman, who chose to hide her identity, appeared in images shared by the Legion of Freedom for Russia – a group of fighters made up of mostly Russians and Belarusians who switched sides amid Putin‘s invasion of Ukraine†
Seated in front of a blue-and-white flag now synonymous with the anti-Putin legion, the defector defiantly announced, “We must all end the war together and bring real freedom to Russia. Putin’s regime must be overthrown.
‘Stop tolerating the tyrant. Join our legion,’ she begged her compatriots and wives, trying to round up the patchwork of defectors.
The exact numbers of the group are unknown, but it is believed that hundreds of Russians have crossed into Ukraine and signed up since the group was formed in March.
The widow of a Russian sergeant executed by Chechen troops for refusing to lead his troops into battle in Ukraine has joined a legion of disaffected Russians fighting for Ukraine against their compatriots
Seated in front of a blue-and-white flag now synonymous with the anti-Putin legion, the defector defiantly announced, “We must all end the war together and bring real freedom to Russia. Putin’s regime must be overthrown’
Members of the Legion fly a white and blue flag that has become synonymous with the anti-Putin group
The widow’s Russian husband was executed by Chechen troops loyal to leader and Putin friend Ramzan Kadyrov (center)
The woman told The times she entered Ukraine in May after her husband was shot by soldiers loyal to Chechen leader and Putin friend Ramzan Kadyrov.
The sergeant reportedly refused to send his men “to the slaughter” in Ukraine and was promptly executed for insubordination.
His widow, meanwhile, was nicknamed “First” when she joined the legion of disgruntled Russians for being the first woman to do so.
She is joined in the legion by an extremely remarkable defector – the former vice president of one of the largest banks in Russia.
Igor Volobuev, 50, was a leading member of Gazprombank – the third largest bank in Russia in terms of pure asset size.
But he was deeply shocked when Putin decided to invade neighboring Ukraine and defect, choosing to lead the Freedom Legion for Russia in a bid to fight back.
“Guys from Russia, if you hate Putin’s regime and want Russia to become a free, democratic country, join us,” Volobuev said in a weapons call last month.
“I came here to defend my homeland.”
Many of the Legion’s troops are Russian prisoners of war, who, after being treated well by their Ukrainian captors and well informed about the impact of Putin’s “special military operation,” agreed to switch sides.
“Guys from Russia – if you hate Putin’s regime and want Russia to become a free, democratic country, join us,” former Gazprombank vice president Igor Volobuev said in a statement last month. call to arms.
Igor Volobuev, 50, was a leading member of Gazprombank – the third largest bank in Russia in terms of pure asset size – before he defected to join the Legion of Freedom for Russia
Another legionary, 48-year-old Volodymyr Grotskov, told The Daily Mail last month that his anti-Putin awakening began 11 years ago when pro-democracy protests erupted across Russia over vote fraud and fraud to restore the success of the Russian presidential party. . in parliamentary elections.
Grotskov took part in small demonstrations in his hometown of Kandalaksha after discovering a video posted by Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption activist who has since survived a poisoning attack and been jailed.
The video, based on documents obtained by Navalny, revealed how billions of pounds were stolen from an oil pipeline project by one of Putin’s closest cronies.
Grotskov said: ‘I was shocked by the magnitude of corruption and injustice organized at the highest level. I started to examine the political and economic situation and realized that we have to fight this regime.’
The soldier, whose family remains in Russia, started putting up posters and joined protests. But after Putin illegally took Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, he decided it was immoral to pay taxes to fund a thieving and poisonous dictatorship.
“I’ve always been the kind of person who wants to fight for justice,” he said. “I went to Ukraine because I knew that the fight against Putin’s imperial regime is here in this country.”
Volodymyr Grotskov, 48, says he loves his country and sees the Kremlin as a destructive “cancer” threatening world peace and security. “It may sound pretentious, but I am fighting for freedom and democracy,” he emphasizes.
Grotskov said: ‘I am not personally against Putin (pictured), because if it is not Putin, there will be someone else. Russia, as it is now, should not exist. It’s a cancer on the body of the world. Take any military conflict around the world – like Syria or in African countries – and you can always find the Kremlin’s hand.”
Initially, he planned to set up an online project with friends in Russia to spread information about corrupt state officials, expose the government’s failure to prosecute them, and encourage the imposition of tougher Western sanctions.
But after Putin sparked a separatist uprising in Donbas and war broke out later in 2014, Grotskov joined the Ukrainian volunteers despite living in the country illegally — eventually fighting in one of the most brutal battles near Donetsk.
He is furious at the complicity of his fellow Russians: ‘A lot of people get the same information I had, but they ignore it. When the war started, I realized that 99 percent of the people are happy to see Ukrainians suffer, bomb and murder.’
Grotskov, who was granted the right to remain in Ukraine last fall, said he is proud to fight for Kiev after rejoining four months ago, adding: “I feel like it’s my home. is. My friends are here, I love this country and I will fight for it.” But he also believes he is fighting to protect “the entire civilized world” and defeat the dictatorship.
He wants Moscow’s empire destroyed because he argues that Russia’s problem goes far beyond the current president.
He added: “I am not personally against Putin, because if it is not Putin, there will be someone else. Russia, as it is now, should not exist.
It’s a cancer on the body of the world. Take any military conflict around the world – like Syria or in African countries – and you can always find the Kremlin’s hand.”