Head of Russia’s Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov has agreed to meet representatives of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a paramilitary unit based in Ukraine fighting against Russian forces and Vladimir Putin’s government, after the formation offered to release two captives, the governor said in a recorded video.
Gladkov said that he saw the address made by the “scoundrels, rascals, murderers and fascists”. “They indeed made an incursion, clashes with the reconnaissance and sabotage group are happening now in Novaya Tavolzhanka. I hope that they will all be eliminated,” he said.
The official agreed to meet the unit’s representatives at the Shebekino vehicle checkpoint under the condition that the captives are alive. The governor guaranteed the safety for the fighters during the meeting.
The corps and the Freedom to Russia Legion earlier offered Gladkov a meeting in an Orthodox Christian church on the occasion of Trinity Sunday to discuss the Ukraine war.
The Russian Volunteer Corps said it would free two captives in exchange for “a few minutes of conversation”. “Arrive in an ambulance in person, with a driver, without weapons,” the unit fighters said. They urged him to come to the church before 5:00 PM local time.
Founder of the mercenary Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin later reacted to the offer: “If no one shows up at the specified location to fetch the captives, I am willing to send one of my top deputies to get them. If [Ukrainian President] Volodymyr Zelensky arrives there, I am ready to be there myself.”
Relatives have identified 48-year-old Alexey Belyayev from the town of Kashin, Tver region, in the video published by the corps, ASTRA reports. According to them, Alexey Belyaev “served in the special military operation zone” but they did not know where exactly.
“He came home for a fortnight in May, collected health certificates, he was trying to stay. But they didn’t let him, so he went back,” the relatives tell ASTRA. At the same time, they do not know whether Alexey was ever in the Belgorod region.
