The Belarusian Volunteer Corps ( be, Беларускі добраахвотніцкі корпус) is a military formation of Belarusian volunteers working as part of the
Ukrainian Armed Forces, formed in 2022 during the
Russian invasion of Ukraine.
History
On December 25, 2022, Belarusian volunteers Ihor "Yanki" Yankov, Andriy "Bezsmertnyi" Trotsevsky and Rodion "Gena" Batulin announced the creation of the Belarusian Volunteer Corps, made up of several different Belarusian units that have been fighting the
Russian Army
The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces.
The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...
in Ukraine.
Previously, the leaders of the new formation were members of various volunteer units. Thus, "Yanki" gathered the commander of the Belarusian unit in the Ukrainian volunteer battalion "Brotherhood", the machine gunner of the Ukrainian group "Tradition and Order", the commander of the international battalion "Titan". Before the start of the full-scale war, Rodion Batulin was known as one of the closest associates of Serhii "Botsman" Korotkyh, later he became a representative of the
"Terror" battalion. This formation split from the
Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment in the summer of 2022 and operated as an independent unit before joining the Belarusian Volunteer Corps.
The unit took part in the
2023 Belgorod Oblast incursions
On 22 May 2023, armed groups from Ukraine carried out a cross-border Raid (military), raid into Belgorod Oblast, Russia. Two Russian rebel groups allied with and based in Ukraine—the Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL) and the Russian Volunteer Cor ...
through the
Terror Battalion alongside the
Russian Volunteer Corps
The Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK ; russian: Русский добровольческий корпус, Russkiy dobrovol'cheskiy korpus) is a unit of the Territorial Defense of Ukraine formed in August 2022 from Russian right-wing volunteers who ...
and the
Polish Volunteer Corps.
The unit took part in the
2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive
In early June 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine launched a counteroffensive against Russian forces occupying its territory with a long-term goal of breaching the frontlines. Efforts were made in many directions, primarily ...
, fighting along the Donetsk front where the unit has suffered at least one fatality.
In December 2023, the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus ( be, Міністэрства ўнутраных спраў Рэспублікі Беларусь; russian: Министерство внутренних дел Республики Беларусь) ...
designated the unit as an extremist group.
See also
*
International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine
*
Russian Volunteer Corps
The Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK ; russian: Русский добровольческий корпус, Russkiy dobrovol'cheskiy korpus) is a unit of the Territorial Defense of Ukraine formed in August 2022 from Russian right-wing volunteers who ...
*
Polish Volunteer Corps
References
External links
*
{{Russian invasion of Ukraine, Reactions
2022 establishments in Ukraine
Belarusian armies in exile
Military units and formations established in 2022
Belarus in the Russo-Ukrainian War
Regiments of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine