Don Cossacks Volunteer Sleeve Shield (ВД) in the Wehrmacht, WWII

This is an original sleeve patch (German: Ärmelschild) used by Don Cossack volunteers who served in German Wehrmacht units and later in the XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps during World War II.
The patch is shield-shaped, printed (not embroidered) on a backing of thick, raw cotton in field gray, which is typical for mass-produced variants. In the upper part, the Cyrillic letters "ВД" (VD) are visible, standing for the Don Host (Voisko Donskoye). The main part of the shield features the traditional colors of the Don Cossacks: horizontally divided into blue (top) and red (bottom). The entire patch is surrounded by a thin border.
The condition is very good, with only minimal fabric creasing and raw edges from being cut from a sheet, suggesting the patch was likely never sewn onto a uniform (unissued). There is no visible mechanical damage or stains.
Historically, these patches were introduced in July 1944 as the second pattern of official insignia for Cossack formations collaborating with Germany. An earlier pattern used the word "DON". Cossacks, motivated by anti-Soviet sentiment, joined the German army in large numbers after the 1941 invasion. They fought on the Eastern Front, the Balkans (against partisans), and participated in suppressing the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. After the war, many were forcibly repatriated to the Soviet Union, where they faced mass executions and imprisonment. Today, they are a rare and important element of historical collections from this period.