This was stated by the chief of staff of the RVC, Alexander Fortuna.
He explained that as of today, the volunteers are conducting offensive operations and do not plan to halt in the near future. At the same time, the RVC representative stated that he was not speaking on behalf of the fighters of the Legion “Freedom of Russia” and the “Siberian Battalion”.
Fortuna added that the offensive potential is good, reserves exist, and they are “planning for the long term”.
“We will look at the dynamics, but for now, we do not plan to retreat”, he said.
According to him, as of yesterday, the RVC captured 27 occupiers, and none of them “knew where they were going”.
Later, the RVC addressed the residents of Belgorod and urged them to take cover, as the volunteers began to “work” on military targets of the Russian Armed Forces located within the city.
“We do not want civilian casualties and strongly urge everyone to take shelter. Do not stay near air defense facilities, as they are also considered targets”, added the corps.
The Russian Legion “Freedom of Russia” began forming as early as March 2022. It was formed from former servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces and other Russians, and in some cases Belarusians, who switched sides to Ukraine. People from various countries also come to the legion to fight against the Putin regime.
The legion uses white-blue-white flags on their shoulder patches instead of the official white-blue-red flag of the Russian Federation. According to the fighters themselves, the white-blue-white flag is the flag of free Russia. At approximately the same time, another formation was formed – the Russian Volunteer Corps or RVC.
The Siberian Battalion was formed from representatives of the indigenous population of the Trans-Ural territories of Russia. It includes Yakuts, Buryats, Tuvinians, Kalmyks, and other representatives of ethnic minorities of the Russian Federation who came to Ukraine to join the Ukrainian army.
There are no prisoners of war among the fighters, only those who have expressed a desire to fight on the side of Ukraine. These are sufficiently motivated, educated, and trained individuals who joined the Siberian Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to resist the Putin regime. They declare that they want to protect their culture from Russian imperialism and become a free people.
On March 12, Russian volunteer units once again crossed the border and entered the territory of the Belgorod and Kursk regions of Russia.
Photo: open sources