Budanov sees Russian volunteers as force “capable of achieving their goals”

The Russian volunteer corps and the Freedom of Russia legion, which have been running combat operations on Russian soil for the past several days, already represent a significant force and will acquire more and more political actorship in the future.

Such an opinion was expressed by the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Kyrylo Budanov, who spoke on the air of the national telethon, Ukrinform reports.

"As far as we know, they are not going to stop in the near future and will do everything they have power for. And as we can see, they have enough strength to achieve, let's say, some limited goals. We will see what happens next." Budanov noted.

He emphasized that the effort is entirely about Russians solving their domestic issues.

Regarding the statement by the Freedom of Russia Legion’s spokesman that they are ready to "exchange" the village of Tiotkino, Kursk region, for the liberation of temporarily occupied Melitopol (Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine), Budanov replied he would be "happy" to see that happen, adding that it was too early to discuss this.

He also emphasized that the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion are acquiring political weight as they can no longer be considered rogue "groups". According to Budanov, the number of those willing to fight for the democratic future of the Russian Federation will be growing as the force will unite with various opposition movements both inside and outside of Russia.

According to the GUR head, Russian volunteers have been fighting on Ukraine’s side since the full-scale invasion and have been in many "hot spots" across Ukraine so they have already gained experience. He also promised to "try to help them as much as we can."

However, Budanov admits, the outcome of the so-called elections in Russia are unlikely to be affected by the volunteers’ effort as the vote has been falsified and known in advance. In particular, in Belgorod, which is now subject to shelling, the Russians claimed the turnout stood at 75.7%.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on the morning of March 12, the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps, and the Siberian Battalion breached the Russian border into Kursk and Belgorod regions as part of a joint operation.