The Irpin Declaration (; ) is an alleged

political union A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller politics or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal gove ...

between the

Freedom of Russia Legion The Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL, ; ; abbr. ''ЛСР'', ''LSR''), also called the Free Russia Legion, is a Ukrainian-based Paramilitary, paramilitary unit of Russian citizens, which Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposes the Russia u ...

, the

National Republican Army The National Republican Army (; abbreviated ENR), colloquially known as the Army of the North ( Italian: ''Esercito del Nord'') was the army of the Italian Social Republic (, or RSI) from 1943 to 1945, fighting on the side of Nazi Germany durin ...

and the

Russian Volunteer Corps The Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC; ) is a far-right paramilitary unit of Russia, Russian citizens, based in Ukraine. It was formed in August 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to fight against the Russia under Vladimir Putin, governm ...

formed on 31 August 2022. The existence of the National Republican Army has never been confirmed, and the Russian Volunteer Corps denies ever signing the declaration.

History

Formation

The Declaration was signed in the Ukrainian city of

Irpin Irpin (, ) is a city on the Irpin River in Bucha Raion, Kyiv Oblast, northern Ukraine. It is located next to the capital Kyiv. Irpin hosts the administration of Irpin urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The city has a population o ...

on August 21, 2022, where earlier a battle was fought, where 3,000 Ukrainian defenders held off assaults from 30,000 Russian attackers in a fierce urban combat. The declaration formed a coalition between the Freedom of Russia Legion, National Republican Army, and the Russian Volunteer Corps, with the adoption of the

White-blue-white flag The white-blue-white flag () is a symbol of opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has been used by Russian Protests against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, anti-war protesters. It has also been used as a symbol of Opposition to ...

by all parties, and the creation of a joint Political Center with the aim of representing their interests before the state authorities of different countries, and organizing a common information policy, headed by the Russian politician

Ilya Ponomarev Ilya Vladimirovich Ponomarev (, ; born 6 August 1975) is a Russian people, Russian-Ukrainian people, Ukrainian politician who was a member of the Russian State Duma from 2007 to 2016. He was the only member of the State Duma not to vote in fa ...

. It was estimated by the ''

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...

'' that at the time of signing the combined forces had "more than 1,000" soldiers. After the signing of the document, a press conference was held where the leaders discussed the contents of the document. Speakers included Ilya Ponomarev, Editor-in-Chief of ''

After Tomorrow ''After Tomorrow'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Charles Farrell, Marian Nixon, Minna Gombell, Josephine Hull and William Collier, Sr. Plot Peter Piper ( Charles Farrell) and his girlfriend Si ...

'' Roman Popkov, author Oleksiy Tolkachev, leader of Speak Loudly and Andrey Sidelnikov. Their singular goal is:

“the defeat of the Russian army in Ukraine, the liberation of Donbas and Crimea, as well as the destruction of the Putin regime and its remnants.”

The event was also attended by Advisor to the

Office of the President of Ukraine The Office of the President of Ukraine (, ), formerly the ''Administration of the President of Ukraine'' ( ), is a standing advisory body set up by the President of Ukraine pursuant to clause 28, Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine. The ...

Oleksii Arestovych Oleksii Mykolaiovych Arestovych (; born 3 August 1975) is a Ukrainian political adviser, former military officer, and columnist. He is also a theologian and the founder of the Apeiron School. Arestovych was a speaker for the Trilateral Contact G ...

, People's Deputies

Mustafa Dzhemilev Mustafa Abduldzhemil Jemilev (, ), also known widely with his adopted descriptive surname Qırımoğlu "Son of Crimea" ( Crimean Tatar Cyrillic: , ; born 13 November 1943, Ay Serez, Crimea), is the former chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean T ...

and Oleh Dunda, and Advisor to the

Minister of Internal Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Anton Gerashchenko Anton Yuriyovych Gerashchenko (, born 10 February 1979) is a current official advisor and a former deputy minister at the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs. He is a former member of the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) from 2014 to 201 ...

Initial response

The declaration was met with a mixed response. Some commentators wished them "good luck in the campaign against the Kremlin"; others said initiatives like this should be based inside the territory of the Russian Federation itself. Journalist Maryna Danilyuk-Yarmolaeva noted that Ponomarev used to be a party member of

A Just Russia A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

(2007–2013), whose leader,

Sergey Mironov Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov (; born 14 February 1953) is a Russian politician. He served as Chairman of the Federation Council (Russia), Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia, Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliam ...

, called on April 16, 2022, for the assassination of

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

, and other Ukrainian decision makers, to quickly end the war in Ukraine. Additionally, Ponomarev's statement that Crimea historically belonged to Russia and that its people wished to join Russia was brought up again in the Ukrainian media, as Ponomarev only voted against annexation on the basis of international law. Additionally, the decision to sign and name the declaration amidst the ruins of Irpin was also criticized due to the city's destruction at Russian hands. The existence of the National Republican Army has been put into question, either due to the group's secrecy, or because the group never existed. Also, the leadership of the Russian Volunteer Corps stated that although they were present at the summit, they never signed any document and will not partake in any institution created by Ponomarev, or adopt the white-blue-white flag. Presidential advisor

, who attended the event, fiercely defended the initiative, arguing that Ukraine should work together with the Russian opposition against Putin, harshly criticising Ukrainians who rejected any such cooperation.

Further developments

Ponomarev and the group denied any involvement in the

2023 Kremlin drone explosion On 3 May 2023, amidst the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, two explosive drones allegedly targeted the Kremlin in Moscow and were shot down. President Vladimir Putin was not present in the building at the time and no one was injured in th ...

. However, Ponomarev stated that he knew which partisan group had committed the attack, but refused to say which as they had yet to claim responsibility. In May 2023, the

and the

claimed responsibility for the

2023 Belgorod Oblast attack On 22 May 2023, armed groups from Ukraine carried out a cross-border raid into Belgorod Oblast, Russia. Two Russian rebel groups allied with and based in Ukraine—the Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL) and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC)—claime ...

, announcing that the two groups working together had taken control of several villages in

Belgorod Oblast Belgorod Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Belgorod. , the population is 1,540,486. History During the Princely ...

Signatories

(formed in March 2022) *

(NRA, has claimed responsibility for the 20 August 2022 killing of

Darya Dugina Darya Aleksandrovna Dugina (; 15 December 1992 – 20 August 2022), also known under the pen name Daria Platonova (), was a Russian journalist, political scientist, and activist. She was the daughter of Aleksandr Dugin, a far-right politic ...

) ;Unclear *

(RDK, formed in August 2022). The RDK attended the signing of the Irpin Declaration on 31 August 2022, but afterwards denied having signed it, while Ponomarev had stated all three organisations had signed it.

References