[ti:Russian Volunteers Joining Ukraine to Fight Russia]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]In Ukraine, a man who goes
[00:03.80]by his military name Karabas
[00:07.04]is training to fight against the Russian army.
[00:11.52]But Karabas is not from Ukraine.
[00:16.04]He is from Russia.
[00:18.44]Karabas was living in Moscow
[00:21.72]when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
[00:28.00]He was shocked and very upset,
[00:32.00]and he decided to act.
[00:35.12]He decided to find a way to get to Ukraine.
[00:41.44]There, he hoped to join troops fighting Russian forces.
[00:46.88]It took him almost a year to make it happen.
[00:51.08]Today, he is part of the Siberian Battalion,
[00:55.88]a group of Russians
[00:57.80]who have joined the Ukrainian military
[01:01.12]to fight against their own country.
[01:04.60]Its members come mostly
[01:07.12]from ethnic minorities from Russia's far east.
[01:12.92]They hope to someday help remove
[01:16.08]Russian President Vladimir Putin from power.
[01:22.04]Karabas told The Associated Press
[01:25.48]that he was disappointed in the Russian people.
[01:30.04]He said he was upset that people
[01:33.60]were supporting Putin without thinking.
[01:36.92]And he was upset
[01:39.40]that they did not seem to care about the war.
[01:44.00]"That is why I wanted to come here...
[01:47.00]and fight for a free Ukraine," he added.
[01:52.44]Unlike other volunteer units
[01:54.76]in Ukraine with Russian nationals,
[01:57.88]the Siberian Battalion
[02:00.32]is officially part of the Ukrainian army.
[02:04.68]To enter the unit,
[02:06.36]fighters must pass strict security checks.
[02:11.44]This process can take up to a year.
[02:14.60]Karabas went to Armenia first.
[02:18.52]There, he met Ukrainians
[02:21.04]and learned to speak the Ukrainian language.
[02:24.00]Now, he refuses to speak Russian.
[02:29.08]The Ukrainian army is training the Siberian Battalion
[02:33.28]and sending them to the front lines in eastern Ukraine.
[02:38.44]That area has seen
[02:40.64]some of the deadliest fighting of the war.
[02:44.52]Russian and Ukrainian forces
[02:47.44]continue to fight for control of it.
[02:51.60]Fighters in the battalion from eastern Siberia
[02:55.56]hope a Ukrainian victory will weaken
[02:59.56]or change Russia's control over their region.
[03:03.80]The area is among the poorest in Russia.
[03:08.00]People from the area's Yakut
[03:11.24]and Buryat ethnic communities complain of racism
[03:16.36]and unfair use of power against them in Russia.
[03:21.72]This has made some activists call for independence.
[03:26.92]Another Russian fighter, who goes by the name Holod,
[03:31.64]openly said he wants Putin's administration
[03:35.48]removed from power.
[03:37.80]"When this happens,
[03:39.72]we can talk about victory," he said.
[03:43.92]Karabas and other Russians
[03:46.40]left their entire lives behind,
[03:49.84]including families and friends.
[03:53.64]Some from the battalion
[03:55.40]have already been sent near Avdiivka,
[03:59.00]a Ukraine-controlled city in the Donetsk region.
[04:04.60]The Russian military has been fighting
[04:07.44]to take control of the area.
[04:10.36]The battalion was created six months ago.
[04:14.56]It has fewer than 100 members,
[04:17.60]but Ukrainian military leaders hope more will join.
[04:22.80]Based on applications they have received,
[04:26.72]they are aiming to have up to 300 members in the unit.
[04:32.68]Karabas said there may be tens or
[04:36.32]hundreds of thousands of other Russians like him,
[04:40.64]willing to fight with Ukraine.
[04:44.80]"I think we should have a lot more Russian fighters," he said.
[04:50.88]I'm Andrew Smith. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM