“Veterans of Russia” invited Steven Seagal to go to war. The actor said that he was ready to fight on Putin’s side - and die next to him

The public movement “Veterans of Russia” offered to help actor and director Steven Seagal join “one of the volunteer formations” of the Russian army participating in the Russian-Ukrainian war. This is stated in a letter that the chairman of the movement, Ildar Rezyapov, sent to the 72-year-old actor on October 11.

“Your words about your readiness to defend and even give your life for our homeland are a powerful symbol of loyalty and patriotism, which deeply touches us all,” says Rezyapov’s letter, a copy of which appeared on the RIA Novosti telegram channel on October 11.

We would like to offer you our full support in the event of your final decision to participate in the CBO on the side of the Russian Federation. The “Veterans of Russia” movement is ready to provide information and organizational assistance for joining one of the volunteer formations of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation participating in the Northern Military District.

“Veterans of Russia” came up with such an initiative after Steven Seagal’s propaganda film “In the Name of Justice” was published on the Smotrim.ru (VGTRK) platform on October 10.

In the tape, Seagal, among other things, stated that the day after the start of the full-scale invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine, he wrote a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which he expressed his support. According to Segal, he wrote in the letter: “Now we will see who our real compatriots are, who are our friends and who are our enemies. I will stand by my president, and I will fight by my president. If necessary, I will die next to my president."

In the film “In the Name of Justice,” Steven Seagal talked about his visit to Donbass. Work on the film began in 2022, Seagal said in an interview with propagandist Vladimir Solovyov. The film included footage from a colony in Yelenovka, Donetsk region, which Seagal visited shortly after the massacre of prisoners of war took place there. Seagal stated in the film that the colony held Ukrainian prisoners of war, “including Nazis from Azovstal” in Mariupol.

The Russian Presidential Administration did not comment on Steven Seagal’s statements and the Russian Veterans initiative.

• Steven Seagal received Russian citizenship in 2016, a few months after becoming a Serbian citizen. The actor took up the post of special representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry for humanitarian relations between the Russian Federation and the United States in 2018. Seagal joined the party “A Just Russia - For Truth” in 2021.
• Steven Seagal openly supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After a visit to Donbass in August 2022, the actor said in an interview with Vladimir Solovyov that the war began after Russia faced an “existential threat, an existential threat.” Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Seagal the Order of Friendship in 2023.