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 Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

volunteers who have been fighting for Ukraine in the

Azov Regiment The Special Operations Detachment "Azov" (), also known as the Azov Regiment ( uk, Полк «Азов», translit=Polk "Azov") and formerly the Azov Battalion ( uk, батальйон «Азов», translit=Batalion "Azov"), is a unit of the N ...

and other units since 2014. Unlike the

Freedom of Russia Legion uk, Легіон «Свобода Росії» , image = Patch of the Ukrainian Free Russian Legion.svg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Patch, co ...

, the leadership of the corps does not rely on former Russian servicemen who ended up in the “Legion” after being taken prisoner, but on Russian right-wing

emigrants Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

living in Ukraine. According to one of the commanders, the fighters of the Corps "can rather be attributed to the right-wing

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

political spectrum." The fighters themselves actively use the symbols of the

Russian Liberation Army The Russian Liberation Army; russian: Русская освободительная армия, ', abbreviated as (), also known as the Vlasov army after its commander Andrey Vlasov, was a collaborationist formation, primarily composed of Rus ...

, which collaborated with

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The corps agreed to be part of press-conference 31 August, with the

Freedom of Russia Legion uk, Легіон «Свобода Росії» , image = Patch of the Ukrainian Free Russian Legion.svg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Patch, co ...

and the

National Republican Army The National Republican Army (Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano, or ENR) was the army of the Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, or RSI) from 1943 to 1945 that fought on the side of Nazi Germany during World War II. The ENR ...

. On the same day,

Ilya Ponomarev Ilya Vladimirovich Ponomarev (russian: Илья́ Влади́мирович Пономарёв; born 6 August 1975) is a Russian politician who was a member of the State Duma from 2007 to 2016. He was the only member of the State Duma not to ...

, as political head of

, signed agreement to create a joint political center with

Freedom of Russia Legion uk, Легіон «Свобода Росії» , image = Patch of the Ukrainian Free Russian Legion.svg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Patch, co ...

, and claimed, that Russian Volunteer Corps also agreed to join same agreement. However, the Russian Volunteer Corps later issued a
official statement
that they have not signed any types of declarations, not agreed to joint

's political center, accept the

white-blue-white flag The white-blue-white flag () is a symbol of opposition to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine that has been used by Russian anti-war protesters. It has also been used as a symbol of opposition to the current government of Vladimir Putin, b ...

, or consider Ponomarev as political head.

References

Resistance during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Regiments of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine Foreign volunteer units resisting the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Military units and formations established in 2022 Military units and formations of Ukraine in the war in Donbas Territorial defence battalions of Ukraine Anti-communism in Russia {{war-stub