Ukrainian officials say the fighters were acting on their own when they raced across the Russian border and shot up Russian towns in the Belgorod region earlier this week, in a two-day raid that was extensively cataloged on social media.

They weren’t.

Members of the Freedom for Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps – both made up of Russian citizens who are fighting in Ukraine against their motherland – all fall under the command of the Ukrainian security forces.

“Was this an independent action uncoordinated with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, or did they give you instructions?” I asked Dennis Nikitin, leader of the far-right Russian Volunteer Corps on Wednesday.