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| Russians Yearning to Join Ukraine Battle Find Lots of Helping Hands | Russians Yearning to Join Ukraine Battle Find Lots of Helping Hands |
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| ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia — For ultranationalists and other Russians eager to join the widening separatist war in eastern Ukraine, signing up is as simple as clicking on any of several recruitment websites. | ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia — For ultranationalists and other Russians eager to join the widening separatist war in eastern Ukraine, signing up is as simple as clicking on any of several recruitment websites. |
| “We help people who wish to provide military charity to brother nations and states,” says one site providing the service, dobrovolec.org. “In other words, we help you to help others.” | “We help people who wish to provide military charity to brother nations and states,” says one site providing the service, dobrovolec.org. “In other words, we help you to help others.” |
| As warfare has raged in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, Russia’s role has been hard to discern. In contrast to the conflict in Crimea, no regular Russian troops have been visible in eastern Ukraine, and President Vladimir V. Putin has ordered all his forces back from the border region. | As warfare has raged in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, Russia’s role has been hard to discern. In contrast to the conflict in Crimea, no regular Russian troops have been visible in eastern Ukraine, and President Vladimir V. Putin has ordered all his forces back from the border region. |
| Nevertheless, Russia has been held responsible by the West for nurturing the conflict, most recently by President Obama, who warned Thursday in Brussels that Moscow faces a new round of economic sanctions if it does not take steps to quash the violence. | Nevertheless, Russia has been held responsible by the West for nurturing the conflict, most recently by President Obama, who warned Thursday in Brussels that Moscow faces a new round of economic sanctions if it does not take steps to quash the violence. |
| While Russia denies any role in the war, and while the overall situation remains murky, a few days in the border areas provided ample evidence that some Russians, most of them war veterans or ultranationalists, are answering online calls and other pleas and traveling to the region to join the fight. It is equally clear that Moscow is doing almost nothing to stop them. | |
| Exact figures are elusive, but analysts say that a significant number of Russian citizens have slipped across the increasingly deteriorating and lawless border. In one indication, after a particularly intense battle last month, a leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said 31 of the 40 or so fighters killed were Russians, their bodies subsequently returned for burial in their homeland. | |
| Carol Saivets, a Russian specialist for the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the switch from reliance on local eastern Ukrainian men to a force with more Russians started two weeks ago and is almost certainly proceeding with the blessing and backing of the Kremlin, “even if the Russians are indeed volunteers rather than serving military men.” | Carol Saivets, a Russian specialist for the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the switch from reliance on local eastern Ukrainian men to a force with more Russians started two weeks ago and is almost certainly proceeding with the blessing and backing of the Kremlin, “even if the Russians are indeed volunteers rather than serving military men.” |
| She added, “Putin has so stirred up Russian nationalism, and with the propaganda barrage that there are fascists in Kiev, it’s not inconceivable that some lost souls will sign up to serve. | She added, “Putin has so stirred up Russian nationalism, and with the propaganda barrage that there are fascists in Kiev, it’s not inconceivable that some lost souls will sign up to serve. |
| “It’s also clear that Russia has been assisting them in their efforts,” she said, “and now, as it becomes an increasingly professionalized force, there have to be questions about how much support Russia is giving. My bet is a lot.” | “It’s also clear that Russia has been assisting them in their efforts,” she said, “and now, as it becomes an increasingly professionalized force, there have to be questions about how much support Russia is giving. My bet is a lot.” |
| Here in the border areas between Russia and Ukraine, the official Russian footprint is light. But the opportunities for freelancing by Russians wanting to fight with the separatists in Ukraine remain almost unlimited. | Here in the border areas between Russia and Ukraine, the official Russian footprint is light. But the opportunities for freelancing by Russians wanting to fight with the separatists in Ukraine remain almost unlimited. |
| Dobrovolec.org — dobrovolec means “volunteer” — which maintains that it is independently operated and financed, says it was established to recruit Russian army veterans, pilots and doctors. Only men with combat experience need apply, the site says. | |
| Joining is as simple as completing an online form, one of the facilitators for volunteers said in a telephone interview. The site says demand for machine-gunners is running especially high. | Joining is as simple as completing an online form, one of the facilitators for volunteers said in a telephone interview. The site says demand for machine-gunners is running especially high. |
| In interviews, men who have signed up through websites have characterized themselves as volunteer fighters. They include Cossacks, veterans of the war in Georgia, and Russian nationalists first recruited online from cities like St. Petersburg and Moscow. “We organize the border crossing,” the site says. | In interviews, men who have signed up through websites have characterized themselves as volunteer fighters. They include Cossacks, veterans of the war in Georgia, and Russian nationalists first recruited online from cities like St. Petersburg and Moscow. “We organize the border crossing,” the site says. |
| Organizations ranging from websites to Cossack groups in southern Russia have become involved in organizing and assisting volunteers in crossing the border, possibly bringing with them sophisticated weaponry. On Friday, for example, separatists shot down a Ukrainian Antonov airplane over Slovyansk. | Organizations ranging from websites to Cossack groups in southern Russia have become involved in organizing and assisting volunteers in crossing the border, possibly bringing with them sophisticated weaponry. On Friday, for example, separatists shot down a Ukrainian Antonov airplane over Slovyansk. |
| It is this irregular force, an amalgam of Cossacks, nationalists and veterans of former Soviet wars that has Western policy makers concerned — and holding Moscow responsible. | |
| The muddle springs from a borderland that is a porous landscape of wheat fields, oak forests and innumerable ravines and country roads, easily transited in ever more brazen fashion by militants. | The muddle springs from a borderland that is a porous landscape of wheat fields, oak forests and innumerable ravines and country roads, easily transited in ever more brazen fashion by militants. |
| On Thursday, the Ukrainian military said, border guards fought back against a group trying to cross over in armored personnel carriers and military trucks bearing the logo of the main militant group here, the Vostok Battalion, leaving broken-down vehicle hulks at a road on the border. The Ukrainian State Border Guard service said it has closed three of its crossings in the Luhansk region, after losing control of at least one crossing point and a command base. | On Thursday, the Ukrainian military said, border guards fought back against a group trying to cross over in armored personnel carriers and military trucks bearing the logo of the main militant group here, the Vostok Battalion, leaving broken-down vehicle hulks at a road on the border. The Ukrainian State Border Guard service said it has closed three of its crossings in the Luhansk region, after losing control of at least one crossing point and a command base. |
| Most men slip across unarmed, picking up rifles later that may have been pilfered from Ukrainian military arsenals, web testimonials and Russian volunteers interviewed say. | Most men slip across unarmed, picking up rifles later that may have been pilfered from Ukrainian military arsenals, web testimonials and Russian volunteers interviewed say. |
| Months of Russian state television vilification of the new Ukrainian government as fascist has whipped up fervent nationalism in Russia. Dobrovolec.org promises volunteers that they will have a chance to fight “the Ukrainian occupation government that is carrying out a terrorist and misanthropic policy of destroying its own people.” | Months of Russian state television vilification of the new Ukrainian government as fascist has whipped up fervent nationalism in Russia. Dobrovolec.org promises volunteers that they will have a chance to fight “the Ukrainian occupation government that is carrying out a terrorist and misanthropic policy of destroying its own people.” |
| A facilitator at the site, Aleksandr Zhuchkovsky, a 27-year-old native of St. Petersburg, said in a telephone interview that he helped a dozen or so Russian nationalists cross the border last month, and has as many lined up for June. Mr. Zhuchkovsky said he helped others after crossing in May to fight in Slovyansk, an epicenter of the violence. | A facilitator at the site, Aleksandr Zhuchkovsky, a 27-year-old native of St. Petersburg, said in a telephone interview that he helped a dozen or so Russian nationalists cross the border last month, and has as many lined up for June. Mr. Zhuchkovsky said he helped others after crossing in May to fight in Slovyansk, an epicenter of the violence. |
| Would-be volunteers caught by the Russian border service in the sylvan wilderness of the border zone, he said, are fined but not detained. “In my experience, the government doesn’t help, but doesn’t prevent us from getting through,” Mr. Zhuchkovsky said. | Would-be volunteers caught by the Russian border service in the sylvan wilderness of the border zone, he said, are fined but not detained. “In my experience, the government doesn’t help, but doesn’t prevent us from getting through,” Mr. Zhuchkovsky said. |
| “All types of people” reach him through the website, he said, but mostly they are “Russian nationalists who were active in politics in peaceful times, and now see it as their duty to go to Ukraine.” Volunteers live in hotels, rented apartments and tent camps in Rostov-on-Don, a staging area for the activity. | “All types of people” reach him through the website, he said, but mostly they are “Russian nationalists who were active in politics in peaceful times, and now see it as their duty to go to Ukraine.” Volunteers live in hotels, rented apartments and tent camps in Rostov-on-Don, a staging area for the activity. |
| Cossacks, the traditionally seminomadic Russian horsemen on southern steppes, who live in villages on both sides of the border —even straddling the boundary, sometimes —are also volunteering in Ukraine. | Cossacks, the traditionally seminomadic Russian horsemen on southern steppes, who live in villages on both sides of the border —even straddling the boundary, sometimes —are also volunteering in Ukraine. |
| “We don’t need a website to cross the border,” Ivan P. Doroshev, a commander of a Cossack unit, the 10th Georgiyevsky Hundred of the Don Cossacks, said in an interview, over a meal of salted fish at his country retreat in a flatland of the Don River delta. | “We don’t need a website to cross the border,” Ivan P. Doroshev, a commander of a Cossack unit, the 10th Georgiyevsky Hundred of the Don Cossacks, said in an interview, over a meal of salted fish at his country retreat in a flatland of the Don River delta. |
| It is easy enough to walk across the border, he said. But the Russian government has prohibited Cossack units from crossing en masse. Instead, individual volunteers go to fight. Four from his village have gone, he said. One died and three returned wounded. | It is easy enough to walk across the border, he said. But the Russian government has prohibited Cossack units from crossing en masse. Instead, individual volunteers go to fight. Four from his village have gone, he said. One died and three returned wounded. |
| “If they volunteer, they volunteer as individuals and not as my men.” Mr. Doroshev said. | “If they volunteer, they volunteer as individuals and not as my men.” Mr. Doroshev said. |
| Still, among eastern Ukrainian militants, Cossack symbols like sheepskin hats, or the Don Cossack symbol of a golden deer struck by an arrow — meaning it’s better to die free than to live as a slave — are commonplace. | Still, among eastern Ukrainian militants, Cossack symbols like sheepskin hats, or the Don Cossack symbol of a golden deer struck by an arrow — meaning it’s better to die free than to live as a slave — are commonplace. |
| A Facebook eulogy to a Russian nationalist who died in Ukraine, Aleksandr Vlasov, cited the young man’s posts before leaving, and his plans. “We should receive assault rifles” on the Ukrainian side, he said. He planned to buy a uniform and a rucksack in Russia, then slip across. | A Facebook eulogy to a Russian nationalist who died in Ukraine, Aleksandr Vlasov, cited the young man’s posts before leaving, and his plans. “We should receive assault rifles” on the Ukrainian side, he said. He planned to buy a uniform and a rucksack in Russia, then slip across. |
| “Sure, I don’t want to die and leave my children and wife and living mother,” he wrote. “But it would be worse to someday have my son ask, ‘And what did you do while the Nazis killed people?' ” He finished by writing, “Russians forgot how to die. And we die marvelously. Like none others.” | “Sure, I don’t want to die and leave my children and wife and living mother,” he wrote. “But it would be worse to someday have my son ask, ‘And what did you do while the Nazis killed people?' ” He finished by writing, “Russians forgot how to die. And we die marvelously. Like none others.” |
| On the outskirts of Rostov-on-Don, on a railroad siding, a string of flatbed train cars were loaded with tanks and military trucks. A local taxi driver said they had been moving east, away from the border. | On the outskirts of Rostov-on-Don, on a railroad siding, a string of flatbed train cars were loaded with tanks and military trucks. A local taxi driver said they had been moving east, away from the border. |
| Approaching the frontier from Russia, one crosses the Don Steppe, an area known in czarist times as the “Wild Field.” It is a rural and agricultural panorama, where ripe winter wheat blows in the breezes, interspersed with dense forests and tiny villages. | Approaching the frontier from Russia, one crosses the Don Steppe, an area known in czarist times as the “Wild Field.” It is a rural and agricultural panorama, where ripe winter wheat blows in the breezes, interspersed with dense forests and tiny villages. |
| On the Russian side of the border stand new concrete buildings and proper fencing, separated by 100 yards of potholed asphalt from the Ukrainian side, with its sheet metal guard shacks. Afterward the road carries on, through the same countryside. | On the Russian side of the border stand new concrete buildings and proper fencing, separated by 100 yards of potholed asphalt from the Ukrainian side, with its sheet metal guard shacks. Afterward the road carries on, through the same countryside. |