The State Duma deputy explained his remarks about the “extra person” at 20:46 in SVO

State Duma deputy and chairman of the board of Donbass Volunteers Association Alexander Borodai said in his speech: RTVIHe said the audio recording distributed online of his speech about “extra people” in the special military operations (SVO) area was genuine, but his words were taken out of context.

He noted that the meeting was private and took place in 2023, during discussions about Ukraine’s counter-attack.

In the audio recording, Borodai says the “civilian jackets” view the volunteers as “second-class infantry” and “of little value.” “They are bought for this like meat,” the deputy says, noting that service in the Northern Military District brings volunteers significantly more money than they could earn “in civilian life.” In the speech, he notes that volunteers mostly represent the “non-productive part of the population.”

“They can be used in battle to tire the enemy as much as possible,” adds Borodai.

He confirmed the authenticity of his conversation with officers but noted that “the recording was cropped, things were taken out of context.” However, the MP said that he “signed” everything that was said.

Commenting on the words “extra person”, Borodai announced that he was also included in this list.

“I am the commander of a volunteer brigade, and from the point of view of any serious military commander we are second-rate infantry,” he said.

The parliamentarian emphasized that his remarks were not a criticism of the leadership. He described the distribution of the recording as an attempt to discredit him and expressed dissatisfaction with the private conversation being published online.

previously Borodai recalled Signature of the bill on increasing the mandatory military service age to 50 years for persons who have acquired Russian citizenship.