Russian soldiers participate in special military operations in Ukraine (Photo: RIA Novosti).
Moscow has created its first volunteer battalion of former Ukrainian soldiers, which is completing its training and will soon be sent to the front lines, the Russian news agency RIA reported.
The new battalion is named after Bogdan Khmelnitsky and will become part of the Cascade tactical force.
"We have served in the Cascade unit and we will directly carry out our next duty here. We will also take the oath when we complete the training," said battalion commander Andrei Tishchenko.
The battalion arrived at a special training area three weeks ago, all servicemen are fully armed and in combat readiness, according to RIA.
The first information about the formation of the battalion appeared in February this year. Accordingly, Ukrainian servicemen who voluntarily laid down their arms and sided with the Russian army joined the unit.
Most of them are Donbass natives, mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine earlier.
All of them passed the information check and signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense , receiving Russian citizenship. According to RIA, this is the battalion that Ukrainian soldiers volunteered to join.
On October 25, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said many Ukrainian soldiers had voluntarily surrendered or been captured in recent weeks.
During a meeting with servicemen from the Russian military's Eastern Operational Group, Minister Shoigu also asked them how the enemy's behavior has changed.
"They are in panic, we know all their approaches, inside and out, we continue to attack them," the Russian serviceman replied.
Ukraine creates all-Russian unit
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian official confirmed on October 25 that the country's armed forces had recently formed a unit consisting entirely of Russian citizens who had come to Ukraine to volunteer to join Kiev's army.
The unit is called the "Siberian Battalion" and is described as consisting of Russians protesting against Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine.
According to Newsweek , previously, armed groups with Russian participation such as Freedom of Russia Legion and Russian Volunteer Corps also appeared to have cooperated with Ukraine in the fight against Moscow.
However, the Siberian battalion was the first group of Russians to become an official part of the Ukrainian army.
"We can confirm information about the creation of the Siberian battalion, which will operate within the ranks of the International Corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR), told the Kyiv Post.
The Siberian Battalion will be a new force and will soon enter combat. The battalion's members are said to be all volunteers, not recruited from prisoners held by Ukraine.
All members of the Siberian battalion have signed military contracts and are undergoing training, Yusov said. They will also be given military nicknames to protect their identities.
Ukrainian officials say the country plans to recruit more Russians to create new units.
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