Russia’s Ukrainian Militias

Militias from the de facto Luhansk People’s Republic (lpr) and Donetsk People’s Republic (dpr), two illegally annexed regions of Ukraine, have formally joined the Russian armed forces, the British Defense Ministry said on January 6.

• The dpr 1st Army Corps and lpd 2nd Army Corps are pro-Russian separatist forces formed in 2014 in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
• Satellite imagery from 2014 showed Russian armor and artillery flowing into eastern Ukraine, supplying these militia groups.
• They have been accused of war crimes, and the government of Ukraine designates them as terrorist groups.
• They were officially integrated into the Russian armed forces on December 31.

Recruitment for invasion: Recruitment drives were conducted in the separatist regions of Ukraine a few days before Russia invaded.

• As early as February 21, men between the ages of 18 and 55 were forbidden to leave the region and reservists were required to visit recruitment centers.
• On February 22, men age 18 to 27 with no former military experience were called to join the “people’s militia.”
• On February 28, men over the age of 65 were recruited.
• These recruits were sent to fight alongside Russian forces, sometimes even being sent straight to the front line without any prior training.

Putin’s Soviet empire: Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explains in his booklet The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia’ that Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to rebuild Russia’s former Soviet empire. He writes, “The architecture of that empire was built around Ukraine being a part of it. … To this day, Russia’s largest military base outside its own borders is in Ukraine.” Now in the 11th month of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Donbas region’s separatist groups further bolster Russia’s military presence in the nation.