What Is Ukraine's 'Siberian Battalion'? Russian Rebels Joined by New Group

The Siberian Battalion, a newly formed militia of Russian fighters serving with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, joined fellow defectors this week to launch multiple incursions into Russia.

Three Ukraine-aligned military units—the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Siberian Battalion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK)—on Tuesday said they had crossed into Russian territory, and that an operation is ongoing, while the Russian Defense Ministry claimed it had stopped an attempt to "make a breakthrough into the Russian border territory in the Belgorod and Kursk oblasts."

The Freedom of Russia Legion—formed weeks after Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022—and the RDK have entered Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine on multiple occasions throughout the war.

This week's incursion marked the first time the fighters were joined by the Siberian Battalion, which was formed in October 2023 and has grown since then. The battalion is primarily made up of members of ethnic minority populations from republics in Siberia, and includes Yakuts, Buryats, Tuvans and Kalmyks.

Local media outlets report that the Siberian Battalion operates as part of the International Legion under Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense.

Newsweek has contacted Ukrainian authorities for comment by email.

In November, members of the battalion told Russian-language channel Current Time TV that they had joined the fight partially because they felt mistreated as ethnic minorities in Russia, and because they were against Putin's decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"I have lived my whole life in Russia, and I have always felt the oppression of the peoples of Russia," one member with the call-sign "The Poet" said. "That people live unfairly and that all the money goes only to Moscow."

"The people of Russia have rotted because of poverty. They are ready to even sell their own mother for money," a member who goes by the name "Vargan" said. "And all sorts of scum come to fight. Monsters, sadists who create inhumanity and horrors."

"If you go 50 kilometers from Moscow, you will see Russia, how [the region] lives. Everything is being destroyed! We live on subsidies," another member called "Buryat" said. "Although our republic is very rich…there is jade, gold, forests. But at the same time, everything belongs to [Moscow] and then we expect handouts from them!"

Buryat said he "felt ashamed" of the war in Ukraine.

"I didn't want to have anything to do with it. I just got ready and left. First to Armenia, then to Georgia. And then I decided to come [to Ukraine] and help—just to be able to look at yourself in the mirror and say: 'I did something.' Not only did I not support the war, but I also helped those who were against it."

"I tried to stop this chaos that the Kremlin has created all over the world," Vargan said. "After mobilization began in Russia, I went to Mongolia, then to Turkey, and now I'm in Ukraine."

All three militia groups issued a joint-statement on Wednesday urging residents of Belgorod to evacuate.

"Putin's killers are carrying out massive attacks on peaceful Ukrainian cities, placing their positions between your homes, your children's schools and government institutions," the statement said.

"Every day, dozens of ordinary innocent Ukrainians (mostly women and children) die from shelling from Belgorod. The shelling of Ukraine from the territory of Belgorod must stop!" it said. "In this regard, we are forced to inflict fire on military positions located in Belgorod. To avoid civilian casualties, we urge everyone to leave the city immediately."

Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via worldnews@newsweek.com.