Illustrative photo – Ukrainian soldiers during fighting on the front line near the village of Marjinka in the Donetsk region, December 23, 2022.
Kyiv – Until eight more than 15,000 volunteers have already signed up for the brigades of the so-called Assault Guard for the Liberation of Donbass and Crimea, which is being created by the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior. This was announced on television today by the spokeswoman of the ministry, Marjana Revaová.
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“In more than a week of active campaigning, we noticed a lot of interest among people. In total, we received more than 27,000 applications and questions. If we talk specifically about the applications of volunteers who want to join our brigades, to date there are already more than 15,000 of them. People they ask our consultants about the conditions that await them, and then they actively apply,” said the spokeswoman, according to the newspaper Ukrainska pravda.
Of the mentioned number of volunteers, more than 8,000 underwent a medical examination and thus reached the next stage on the way to joining one of the eight brigades. According to the spokesperson, their creation should continue until April 1. Due to the great interest, it can be assumed that the creation of additional attack brigades will follow. Those who do not pass the selection screen will also be invited to join them.
The Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior announced the formation of the offensive guard at the beginning of February. He promises the volunteers that they will liberate Luhansk, Donetsk and Crimea from the Russian occupiers. The Russians have controlled the listed cities in eastern Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula since spring 2014.
“Ukraine is preparing for an attack reaching as far as Crimea and the Black Sea in order to expel the occupiers from its territory. The Ministry of the Interior is starting to create assault brigades of the National Guard. These are brigades of volunteers, motivated patriots who will participate in the liberation of Luhansk, Donetsk and Crimea, ” the newspaper quoted from the statement of the police.
Police Chief Ihor Klymenko, who now also holds the position of Minister of the Interior, also mentioned Azov among the newly created units of the so-called offensive guard. As a regiment, it was practically destroyed during the defense of Mariupol and the steel mills there, as well as brigades with names such as Burevij, Červona kalyna, Kara-Dah, Rubiž and Spartan. The border guards are preparing the Steel Border Brigade, and the police are preparing the Ljuť Brigade, which could be translated as the Furious Brigade.
“No service in the rear. Only high-quality training, constant training and deployment in front-line operations,” promised Klymenko . The bases of the brigades are soldiers and police officers with combat experience. These units are to be filled to full strength exclusively by volunteers.
