Russian fighters battling Putin from inside Ukraine could be the West’s best hope of toppling the Kremlin
A Ukrainian security expert says Russian volunteer units fighting for Kyiv prove real resistance to Putin exists, and warns the West must decide whether to back fighters on the battlefield or exiles abroad.
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Russian soldiers fighting against Vladimir Putin on Ukraine’s front line could represent the Kremlin’s most dangerous internal opposition, according to a Ukrainian security expert writing exclusively for LBC Opinion.
Olesia Horiainova, co-founder of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center (USCC), says volunteer units made up of Russian fighters battling alongside Ukrainian forces are proving that real resistance to the regime exists, and may offer Europe its best hope of weakening the Kremlin.
Her comments come after experts gathered in Berlin on the eve of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine for a high-level discussion titled “Understanding Russia – the key to Ukraine’s victory and Europe’s security”.
The event brought together representatives from Ukraine, Germany and Russia, but the Russian voice in the room was not a familiar exiled opposition figure living safely abroad.
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Instead, it was a Russian soldier currently fighting for Ukraine as part of a volunteer unit within the Ukrainian Defence Forces.
The meeting aimed to examine which strands of Russian resistance could realistically challenge Vladimir Putin’s regime and whether any of them are capable of delivering real change.
The stakes could hardly be higher. European intelligence services increasingly warn the Kremlin has little interest in genuine peace talks while Russia continues to build a wartime economy and expand its military capabilities.
Horiainova argues that modern Russia operates as a revisionist state where war itself has become part of the regime’s survival strategy.
In that system, she says, military aggression abroad helps maintain internal stability at home.
Polling inside Russia suggests the Kremlin still enjoys broad support for the war.
According to the independent Levada Centre, support for the Russian army’s actions in Ukraine rose to 76 per cent in January 2026, with 43 per cent saying they “definitely” support the military campaign and another 33 per cent saying they “rather” support it.
At the same time, the number of Russians calling for peace negotiations has fallen, while nearly six in ten believe Moscow should escalate attacks on Ukraine if peace cannot be achieved quickly.
Of course, opinion polls in an authoritarian country come with a heavy health warning. In Russia, even holding a sign with the word “peace” can lead to arrest.
Yet the scale of mobilisation tells its own story. In 2025 alone, more than 400,000 Russians were recruited or mobilised to fight in the war against Ukraine.
Opposition inside the country remains limited.
Activists recorded 401 anti-war protests or mobilisation-related actions across Russia last year. Most were small, symbolic acts such as solitary pickets or laying flowers in memory of victims.
In a country of more than 140 million people, that amounts to little more than a flicker of dissent.
Meanwhile, the Russian opposition operating abroad often struggles to reach people still living inside Russia. Some figures in exile have even criticised Western sanctions imposed in response to Moscow’s aggression.
For Horiainova, that raises an uncomfortable question for Western governments about where to place their bets.
While political opposition groups argue for change from abroad, Russian volunteer units fighting in Ukraine are attempting to challenge the Kremlin more directly.
Formations such as the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Siberian Battalion are made up of Russians who have taken up arms against Putin while fighting under Ukrainian command.
Their aim is not just to help defend Ukraine but to overthrow the Kremlin regime and ultimately transform Russia into what they say would be a democratic state.
These fighters have already carried out cross-border raids into Russian territory and sabotage operations targeting military infrastructure, weapons depots and equipment.
The operations force Moscow to divert troops and resources away from the front lines in Ukraine, tying up Russian reserves while demonstrating that armed resistance to the regime is possible.
One of the most prominent figures among them is Maximilian Andronnikov, known by his call sign “Caesar”, a deputy commander of the Freedom of Russia Legion.
He has said he felt a deep sense of shame and responsibility on the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Rather than remain on the sidelines, he decided to fight against the Kremlin by joining Ukraine’s war effort.
For him, defending Ukraine is not only about stopping the invasion but about fighting for the future of Russia itself.
Horiainova believes figures like him could one day form the backbone of a new Russian opposition leadership.
“The volunteers have already taken responsibility for the struggle,” she writes.
For Western governments, the choice now may come down to a choice over backing political opposition figures in exile or support Russians who have chosen to fight the Kremlin on the battlefield.