We get a meeting place somewhere in the Vovchansk area. Maximilian Andronikov arrives in a military green pickup truck with one of his soldiers in the Legion of Freedom for Russia, or the Russian Legion of Freedom as it is also known.
He says he comes from the fighting in the city of Vovchansk, that they are fighting under the command of the Ukrainian army here in Ukraine. The Legion’s raids inside Russia, on the other hand, are battles “on home soil” and in their own country they act independently.
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He calls himself Maxim, or “Caesar”, and is known as the face of the movement, a spokesperson and deputy leader. Who is the highest commander of the legion is unclear.
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Maxim has participated in many interviews with media from all over the world and for a while the legion’s PR activities were the most heard of, but after the latest raid across the border to the city of Belgorod and information that it participated in the battles for the city of Bachmut, the reputation has improved.
Maxim has previously been a member of the ultra-nationalist Russian Imperial Movement, but that was ten years ago. Now he says he stands for free elections and democracy and that former Soviet republics should be able to decide their fate in referendums.
Hear “Ceasar” tell SVT about how it feels to fight against his homeland in the clip above.