Russia plans to deploy thousands of Cossacks to guard the World Cup, but the traditional paramilitary groups face criticism for their strident nationalism and attacks on protesters.
On Sunday, May 13, 2018, Don Cossacks practice on the bank of the Don River near the World Cup stadium before the Russian premier league soccer match between Rostov and Ural, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
During a parade Tuesday under the hot sun of southern Russia, a politician and a police chief lectured assembled Cossacks on how to "keep order" and remain polite with foreign fans, before a priest sprinkled their ranks with holy water. They'll patrol alongside police during the World Cup in Rostov-on-Don, two Cossacks to each cop.
"They are taught in the art of war from childhood, they obey their elders and serve the motherland," Cossack elder Igor Barannikov told The Associated Press. During the World Cup, "we will help in any way to prevent any attempt at destabilization."
(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Authorities hope Cossacks will protect fans while adding local color. Some will wear traditional fur hats, and a group of stunt riders will perform on horseback. Cossacks generally can't arrest or fine people, but some are notorious for using excessive force.
Men in Cossack uniforms used their fists and traditional whips to attack Russians protesting against President Vladimir Putin last month in central Moscow. Police did little to stop them. At the Sochi Olympics in 2014, Cossacks whipped members of the punk protest group Pussy Riot.
Barannikov said his Cossacks would be tolerant of outsiders.
"We are happy to welcome everyone here regardless of their ethnic background and faith, regardless of their gender," he said. "We are happy for all our guests and we ask them to respect and keep to the traditions of the region and the country they are visiting."
Cossacks are often hostile to LGBT rights. Barannikov told Radio Free Europe this week that his Cossacks would report same-sex couples to police if they saw them kissing during the World Cup. His group didn't respond to AP requests to clarify the comments.
Cossacks were historically a mix between colonists and a military caste on the Russian Empire's south and eastern frontiers. After decades of Soviet persecution, groups claiming to be Cossacks have multiplied under Putin, often with government funding.
While some Cossacks trace their ancestry back to the paramilitary groups broken up by the Soviet Union after the Russian Civil War, others have more tenuous links. Recent years have seen government-backed "Cossack" groups spring up in World Cup host cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, far from traditional heartlands. Some have gone to fight with Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Cossacks' legal status varies. Some groups are official police auxiliaries but others are essentially costumed social clubs. There's little oversight for Cossacks who work with police if they face accusations of using excessive force, typically against migrants or opposition activists.
Modern Cossacks' image as Christian warriors fighting for a strong Russian state isn't always backed up by history.
Cossacks crushed protests against the czars in the early 20th century, but led several earlier rebellions when they felt their autonomy was under threat.
They sometimes allied with Muslim ethnic groups against czarist forces, while many Kalmyks — members of an ethnically Mongolian minority who mostly follow Buddhism — lived as Cossacks and were widely accepted as such until the 20th century.
In Rostov-on-Don, Cossack official Sergei Strogonov said his patrolmen are learning English phrases to talk with fans.
"We're preparing for it so we don't end up humiliating ourselves. We're learning standard phrases of greeting so that the Cossack patrol can sort things out and provide the necessary help to any foreign citizen," he said. "We want our foreign guests to have only positive memories of us both as a people and as patriots of our country, and as people who love order."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv needs Patriot missiles to create an air shield against further Russian missile attacks, and it's likely he'll get them in an additional $6 billion aid package expected to be announced by the U.S. as soon as Friday.
Zelenskyy discussed the need for Patriots early Friday at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries gathering virtually in a Pentagon-led meeting. His address marked the second anniversary of the group, which has “moved heaven and earth” since April 2022 to source millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket systems, armored vehicles and even jets to help Ukraine rebuff Russia's invasion, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the meeting.
The meeting was expected to focus largely on air defense systems, Austin said.
Zelenskyy said at least seven Patriot systems are needed to protect Ukrainian cities. “We urgently need Patriot systems and missiles for them,” Zelenskyy said. “This is what can and should save lives right now.”
U.S. officials said the aid package will be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for longer-term contracts with the defense industry and means that it could take many months or years for the weapons to arrive. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.
The new funding — the largest tranche of USAI aid sent to date — will include a wide array of munitions for air defense, such as the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System, or NASAM, and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, as well as the Patriot munitions, Switchblade and Puma drones, counter drone systems and artillery.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group has been meeting about monthly for the past two years and is the primary forum for weapons contributions to Kyiv for the war.
Friday's meeting follows the White House decision earlier this week to approve the delivery of $1 billion in weapons and equipment to Ukraine. Those weapons include a variety of ammunition, such as air defense munitions and large amounts of artillery rounds that are much in demand by Ukrainian forces, as well as armored vehicles and other weapons.
That aid, however, will get to Ukraine quickly because it is being pulled off Pentagon shelves, including in warehouses in Europe.
The large back-to-back packages are the result of the new infusion of about $61 billion in funding for Ukraine that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday. And they provide weapons Kyiv desperately needs to stall gains being made by Russian forces in the war.
Bitterly divided members of Congress deadlocked over the funding for months, forcing House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to cobble together a bipartisan coalition to pass the bill. The $95 billion foreign aid package, which also included billions of dollars for Israel and Taiwan, passed the House on Saturday, and the Senate approved it Tuesday.
Senior U.S. officials have described dire battlefield conditions in Ukraine, as troops run low on munitions and Russian forces make gains.
Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, the U.S. has sent more than $44 billion worth of weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts to Ukraine.
Among the weapons provided to Ukraine were Abrams M1A1 battle tanks. But Ukraine has now sidelined them in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press.
Follow the AP's coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
Sec of Defense Lloyd Austin during a House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense budget hearing Fiscal Year 2025 on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, April 17, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Davyd Arakhamia, a lawmaker with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party, talks during an interview with Associated Press in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
FILE - In this image released by the U.S. Department of Defense, German soldiers assigned to Surface Air and Missile Defense Wing 1, fire the Patriot weapons system at the NATO Missile Firing Installation, in Chania, Greece, on Nov. 8, 2017. U.S. officials say the Pentagon is expected to announce that it will provide about $6 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine. It will include much sought after munitions for Patriot air defense systems and other weapons. (Sebastian Apel/U.S. Department of Defense, via AP, File)
