ウクライナ側のロシア人義勇兵部隊、越境攻撃継続を表明

【キーウＡＦＰ＝時事】ウクライナ側に付いて戦うロシア人義勇兵部隊の連合が２１日、ロシアへの大胆な越境攻撃を継続すると宣言した。（写真はウクライナの首都キーウで会見したロシア人義勇兵部隊の連合。右が「ロシア義勇軍団」のデニス・ニキーチン氏）
　義勇兵部隊は、ロシア西部ベルゴロド、クルスク両州を越境攻撃した後、ウクライナの首都キーウで記者会見を開催。
　重武装した戦闘員が戦車で国境を越え、ロシア軍の車両や兵士を攻撃したり、建物を破壊したりする動画を公開し、声明で「われわれの闘争は続いている」「間もなく他の都市にも進軍する」と述べた。
　連合に参加する「ロシア義勇軍団」の指導者、デニス・ニキーチン氏は「敵の領土に本格的な軍事行動を仕掛け、第二戦線を切り開いたと言っても過言ではないだろう」と語った。
　ニキーチン氏は「ホワイトレックス」と呼ばれる民族主義者で、極右勢力やサッカーのフーリガンとのつながりを持つ。
　連合には、穏健保守主義を掲げる「自由ロシア軍団」も加わっている。自由ロシア軍団は、ロシア北極圏の刑務所で先月死亡した反体制派指導者アレクセイ・ナワリヌイ氏の支持者を勧誘しようとしている。
　最近創設されたシベリア大隊も連合に参加している。同大隊は、シベリア連邦管区の少数民族や急進左派の活動家で構成されている。
　ニキーチン氏らは今回の攻撃により、ロシア軍が兵力を前線から国境防衛に回さざるを得なくなり、ロシア大統領選に合わせて計画されていた攻勢をくじくことができたと述べた。
　また、ロシアを変えるには政治や市民社会による抵抗では効果がなく、武装闘争しかないと語った。
　ただし、今回の攻撃で死亡した戦闘員の人数については明言を避けた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/03/22-18:57）

A coalition of Russians fighting for Ukraine on Thursday vowed to continue their brazen cross-border raids into Russia.
The anti-Kremlin fighters held a press conference in Kyiv after carrying out armed attacks in Russia's Belgorod and Kursk border regions.
They shared video footage of heavily armed fighters crossing the border in a tank, firing on Russian army vehicles and troops and blowing up buildings.
Our struggle continues, the fighters said in a statement. Soon we will go to other cities, they added.
It's probably no exaggeration to say we've opened up a second front, taking full-scale military action into the enemy territory, said Denis Nikitin, leader of one of the groups involved, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK).
The avowed nationalist nicknamed White Rex has links to the far right and football hooliganism.
The RDK has teamed up with the Freedom of Russia Legion, which says it has a more moderate conservative agenda and is seeking to recruit followers of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
They are also fighting alongside the recently created Siberian battalion, made up of members of the region's ethnic minorities as well as radical left-wing activists.
Nikitin and his allies said their raids forced Russia to divert troops from front lines to defend the border regions and foiled a planned advance timed to coincide with Russian elections.
- 'Protest doesn't work' -
President Vladimir Putin has vowed to restore security following the raids, responding with intensified strikes on Ukraine's border regions.
The peaceful population in border areas always suffers, unfortunately, it's a fact, said Alexei Baranovsky, a drone operator and volunteer in the Freedom of Russia Legion.
The Russian fighters declined to say how many of their own troops had been killed until the operation ends.
They said opposition politics and civil society is ineffective and the only way to change Russia was to take up arms.
Peaceful protest doesn't work, said a masked fighter from the Siberian Battalion with the call sign Kholod, or cold.
Last summer, RDK and Freedom of Russia Legion jointly entered the Bryansk region of Russia on foot.
They said the latest ongoing operation is much more serious and backed by Ukraine, which provides reconnaissance support and ammunition.
The Ukrainian authorities support us in our initiatives, said Baranovsky.
All our unit's military infrastructure is interconnected, with the structure of Ukraine's armed forces and defence ministry, Nikitin said.
Russia has reinforced the border since the fighters began their incursions in 2023, Nikitin said, admitting they were not strong enough to seize territory long-term.
We are not in the phase where we are ready to seize district centres and towns and hold onto them, he said.