Russian invaders are concealing mobilization under the guise of forming “volunteer battalions”and utilizing them in the war propaganda, Ukraine’s National Resistance Center (NRC) reported on Dec. 21.

One of these “volunteer battalions” being formed by Russia is the Donetsk Battalion, which, according to the NRC data, is actually a unit of contracted mercenaries, recruited in the Russia’s Krasnodar Krai.

This battalion is subordinated to the “Terek Cossack Brigade,” which has no connection to Cossacks, NRC said. In this manner, the Kremlin once again employs “Cossacks” to distort Ukraine’s history, drawing analogies to Cossack traditions.

Earlier, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin stated that the strength of the Russian contingent engaged in conflict against Ukraine amounted to 617,000 individuals, with 244,000 mobilized troops on the “frontlines” and over 400,000 military personnel having contracted with the Russian army.

Read also: Russian Defense Minister Shoigu unveils plan to expand armed forces to 1.5 million personnel

In response, HUR representative Andriy Chernyak refuted these claims, stating that approximately 450,000 invaders are currently engaged in hostilities against Ukraine.

Putin ordered an increase in the authorized strength of the Russian Armed Forces to 2,209,130 on Dec. 1, with 1,320,000 being military servicemen.

On Dec. 19, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced plans to increase the strength of the Russian Armed Forces to 1.5 million military personnel.

Read also: Putin parrots worn propaganda tropes at first public call-in marathon since 2021

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine