A Russian mixed martial arts champion was summoned by the Russian military to fight in Ukraine as part of its partial mobilization.
Vladimir Mineev, a famous kickboxing and MMA champion, served in the Russian army as a paratrooper previously, even sporting the trademark blue beret when going to all of his fights, according to RIA Novosti. His brother, an active paratrooper when the war began, was killed in the opening days of the invasion in the battle at Gostomel airport. Mineev announced that he had been summoned on MatchTV, saying that he fully intends to join back up.
“If you think about it, who watches our fights, who are our fighters? Those who should receive conscription notices. It would be right to remind everyone so that our fans and fighters do not forget to look in the mailbox,” he said on MatchTV, as translated by Russian University student Maria Fillippova. “I received a conscription notice, I’m going to the military commissariat in a few days.”
POLISH MMA FIGHTER KILLED IN UKRAINE
“My brother died in Gostomel at the very beginning of the special military operation. I am the only man left for four families. Nephews, my family, a daughter from my first marriage, I have a lonely mother and a grandmother. But I’m not going to run. I take the conscription notice and go to the military commissariat, and then it’s up to the Motherland,” he said.
Mineev, 32, has been an outspoken supporter of the Russian military in the war in Ukraine.
“I am for Russia, for the decisions that are made by our commander-in-chief, ” Mineev said earlier. “The person who put on the vest has forever connected his life with the Motherland and with the decisions that are made. Now you can’t be a person who gets up and argues, for or against … This should be done when the acute situation is over.”
On Russia’s Victory Day, commemorating the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany, Mineev released a statement on his Telegram, along with pictures of his grandparents that fought in WWII.
“Remember the heroes. Those who fought against Nazism and gave for their Motherland, for us — everything. Honor them and eternal glory. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the war against Nazism is not over,” he wrote. “Now its focus has flared up near our borders. The fraternal peoples have been skillfully set off, the best of us are dying in this battle.”
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Mineev is an accomplished fighter, winning 41 of 45 fights across his kickboxing and MMA career. He has overseen the restoration of sports facilities in Mariupol following the widespread destruction of the city during the war.
His decision to comply with his mobilization order has won him the praise of many mainstream Russian figures, including Russian state television presenter Vladimir Solovyov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization” last week, with plans to send 300,000 additional troops to Ukraine. However, some claim that the true number is far higher, with the opposition outlet Meduza claiming that the true number is 1.2 million, citing a source in the federal ministry. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov denied such claims.
