We are well prepared, and inflicting losses upon Russian Armed Forces – Volunteer soldier from Freedom of Russia

Soldiers of the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Sibir Battalion are advancing in the Kursk and Belgorod Oblasts of Russia, fighting and inflicting losses upon the Russian Armed Forces, said Alexei (aka Liutyk) Baranovsky, a volunteer soldier of the Freedom of Russia Legion.

Source: Alexei Baranovsky on national joint 24/7 newscast

Quote from Baranovsky: "We decided to exercise our constitutional right to vote. Here behind me is an instrument (a machine gun - ed.) with which Russian volunteers chose to cast their vote. We are casting our vote for a Russia without Putin; for the liberation of Russia from Putin.

Today, a joint operation by 3 Russian units has begun: the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Sibir Battalion. We are Russian citizens. We are going home to liberate our homeland from Putin's dictatorship."

Details: He added that the Russian military was taken by surprise - fighting is ongoing in two oblasts of Russia, and the volunteers have the first-mover advantage.

Quote from Baranovsky: "They didn't expect that these elections would result in certain difficulties for them. Indeed, we were well prepared; we chose the most convenient border areas for the incursion and entered the territory of the Belgorod and Kursk Oblasts of the Russian Federation. Now there are combat clashes, and developments are unfolding as we speak; literally every half hour or hour, some new geographical names [of places reached] appear. We won't name them, as we are still in full control of the initiative - the Russian army is retreating. We will see how the situation develops further."

Details: He neither confirmed nor denied the alleged downing of a Russian fighter jet, but said that volunteer-operated drones "destroyed several units of Russian Armed Forces armoured vehicles in Kursk Oblast and are causing injury to Russian Armed Forces personnel".

According to Baranovsky, the fighting is ongoing, and local residents react in the "most appropriate way" by hiding in basements. He noted that it is necessary to hide from the Russian Armed Forces, as they shoot at civilian houses if they think they might be harbouring volunteers. Baranovsky stressed that the volunteers themselves are not attacking civilians; only agents of the Putin regime.

Asked whether Russians are joining them, Baranovskyi said, "It's too early to say because this liberation operation has been going on for only a few hours".

"But after each such raid into Russia, we get a big surge of people who want to join us, particularly from the border oblasts - Kursk, Bryansk, Belgorod," the volunteer said.

He noted that so far, Moscow is "of course silent (about this event - ed.), because they usually pretend that nothing is happening", but, according to Baranovsky, "there is a certain panic in the Russian General Staff because they did not expect the opening of a second contact line".

Baranovsky called on Russians to join them or provide information about military facilities, locations of military equipment and the Russian Armed Forces.

"The legions are close. It is time for us to show you how "voting" is done in this election. We understand that it may be scary to face off against the Russian Armed Forces, but you can provide us with information - it will be your contribution to the fight against the Putin regime," the volunteer concluded.

Background: Soldiers of the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Sibir Battalion reported that they had crossed the Russian border. Military volunteer groups published an appeal, and a video of the alleged presence of military personnel firing their weapons on Russian territory appeared on Telegram channels.

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