Military: Only 7% of troops in Russian 'volunteer units' in occupied Ukrainian territories are locals
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Only 7% of personnel serving in Russian "Sudoplatov" and "Margelov" pseudo-volunteer battalions in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts are locals, the Ukrainian military's National Resistance Center reported on Nov. 5, citing Russia's estimates.
The units' personnel is mainly comprised of Russians and Serbian mercenaries, which means most residents of the occupied territories have ignored Russia's recruitment campaign into so-called volunteer battalions, according to the center.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify this information.
Russia has reportedly conscripted tens of thousands of Ukrainian citizens in the occupied parts of Ukraine to fight against their own country since the start of the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
Many of them are believed to have been killed in action, as Moscow reportedly uses these people as cannon fodder to expose Ukrainian artillery positions and to cover units recruited inside Russia.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Sept. 29 that Russia's fall conscription campaign would officially include the illegally annexed areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
The National Resistance Center earlier said that Russian proxy authorities in the occupied territories were preparing systems to register local conscripts.
