Victor Urban tillater privat hær som russerne ønsker skal kjempe for Russland i Ukraina - The Atlantic Council

 

New campaign seeks Russian National Guard recruits to fight in Ukraine

The Russian National Guard, a private Hungarian foreign legion, and the Convoy private military company have all launched campaigns recently that seek to recruit soldiers to fight in Ukraine. The National Guard campaign first appeared in an August 31 post by Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel Reverse Side of the Medal (RSOTM). The enrollment post appears to target members of military unit 3641, located in Akushkino, not far from Moscow. The post mentions the creation of a new Separate Operational Purpose Division, or ODON, entitled 116 ODON. It states that soldiers will relocate to Ukraine to support the war effort.

Telegram advertisement calling for members of military unit 3641 within the Russian national guard to enroll as contract soldiers. (Source: Telegram/archive).

The DFRLab found further details posted on the Russian social media platform VKontakte relating to the creation of 116 ODON. On September 1, the account Ombudsman of the Police (Омбудсмен полиции) shared a document that claims the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Russian National Guard set out to establish 116 ODON. The document appears to have been signed on August 24 by the Russian defense ministry office in the region of Kalmykia. The DFRLab has not independently confirmed the authenticity of the document. A similar VKontakte post appeared in early August.

The DFRLab previously reported on the RSOTM Telegram channel in June, when the channel reportedly shared a Wagner job posting in French.

The DFRLab also reviewed a post recruiting soldiers for the Hungarian private battalion known as Saint Istvan Legion. The post reportedly promises Russian citizenship and veteran status to enrolled soldiers.

In addition, the open-source investigative project All Eyes on Wagner shared a screenshot of a Telegram post indicating that the Convoy private military company has launched a new recruitment campaign for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operators in Ukraine and Africa. The Telegram post indicates that the organization founded by Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian governor of occupied Crimea, is looking to recruit operators of “Orion” and “Sirius” UAVs. Convoy reportedly falls under Wagner commander Konstantin Pikalov’s orders, according to an investigation by Ukrainska Pravda.

—Valentin Châtelet, research associate, Brussels, Belgium