Russians in Ukraine's Siberian Battalion train for combat against Putin's troops

Fresh recruits, including Russians, fire on a snowy hill, training for front line combat in Ukraine's new Siberian Battalion in the Kyiv region on Wednesday (December 13).

Two dozen Russian have joined the Siberian Battalion, a unit of Ukraine's International Legion founded this autumn 2023, and are firing assault rifles and machine guns at targets at the undisclosed training ground.

A Ukrainian military officer, who asked not be identified, said most of the unit's members came from Russia, travelling through third countries to reach Ukraine.

The officer said most are from among the indigenous peoples of Siberia and recruits said they want to fight against what they said was Russian imperialism both inside Ukraine and in their homelands.

One of the recruits said it was a hard decision to make whilst another said he was disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to fight Ukraine.

Not all of the recruits are from Siberia. Some came from other parts of Russia, but said they were driven by a desire to join a unit fighting for Ukraine against Russia, and expressed solidarity with the Siberian peoples.