Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has requested that the Freedom of Russia Legion be recognised as a terrorist organisation and its work be banned on the territory of Russia, as per the office’s official Telegram channel.
“The legion was created in Ukraine with the purpose of undermining the constitutional order of the Russian Federation, overthrowing the government, among other ways via committing terrorist attacks, all of which poses a threat to public safety and national security,” the office’s statement reads.
The Freedom of Russia Legion is a military unit of Ukraine’s Armed Forces composed of, as per Ukrainian authorities’ statements, captive Russian servicemen and volunteers with a Russian passport.
The legion’s badge depicts a white-blue-white flag, which is usually used by Russian activists as a symbol of protesting the war in Ukraine. One of the legion’s goals is liberation of the Ukrainian regions occupied by Russia.
Oleksiy Arestovych, Former Advisor to the Office of the President of Ukraine, said in May 2022 that “the number of applications to the Freedom of Russia Legion is off the charts”. In June, it was reported that Former Vice President of Russia’s Gazprombank Igor Volobuev, who had left Russia for Ukraine after the start of the war, had joined the Freedom to Russia Legion.
