Former vice president of Russia’s Gazprombank Igor Volobuev, who left Russia for Ukraine after the start of the war, has joined the Freedom to Russia Legion within the Ukrainian Armed Forces, he told Novaya Gazeta. Europe.
The unit’s Telegram channel published a video showing Volobuev calling on Russians to join the legion. “Russian guys, if you hate the Putin regime and want Russia to be a free and democratic country, join us,” he said.
The post reads: “Former vice president of Gazprombank Igor Volobuev has joined the Freedom to Russia Legion. Our cause is just! Putin will be destroyed! Victory will be ours! “L” (the legion’s sign – editor’s note) For Russia! For freedom!”
In late April, Volobuev told The Insider news outlet that he had left Russia for Ukraine to join its territorial defence forces. The former Gazprombank executive said that he could not stay in Russia anymore, adding that he was born in Ukraine. "I couldn't stay on the sidelines watching Russia ravaging my motherland," he said.
It was reported in May that Volobuev’s savings had disappeared from his Russian bank accounts. When the former executive left Russia, he lost access to his bank cards, as Visa and Mastercard suspended their services in Russia. After that, all his deposits disappeared from the banking app. Volobuev believes that this is “a payback for his defection.”
Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in May that the number of applications to the Freedom of Russia Legion is “through the roof.” Arestovych noted that the legion, consisting of Russian citizens, functions as a unit within the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
