On Monday, Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced the entry of a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group (DRG) into the region’s Grayvoron district. At least five people were injured. The incident was reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the incident, a regime of anti-terrorist operations was introduced in the Belgorod region. What is known about what happened on the evening of May 22 – in Russian media material.
On the morning of May 22, Vyacheslav Gladkov reported in the telegram channel that the Graivoronsky district has been under fire from the Ukrainian armed forces since 9 am. The Russian air defense system worked.
As a result of shelling in the villages of Kozinka and Graivoron, four private houses caught fire, and in the village of Zamostye a kindergarten was set on fire. The shells also hit the territory of the transport company and the administrative building of Graivoron.
In Novaya Tavolzhanka, an explosive device was dropped from a drone near a residential building. According to Gladkov, there were no casualties or damage. Another drone was shot down in the Belgorod region.
Presumably, the work of the air defense of the Russian armed forces@belgorod_talk / VKontakte
According to the governor, eight people were injured. One of the victims was injured by explosive mines as a result of the shelling of the village of Glotovo, Graivoronsky district, and is in intensive care in serious condition. The rest of the injured are in moderate condition, the governor said. There were no civilian deaths, according to Gladkov’s information.
Gladkov also announced a “massive information attack” on the Belgorod region and called the information about the proposal to residents to evacuate residents of the Shebekinsky district “lies”.
At 2:20 p.m., Gladkov said that the DRG had entered the Graivoronsky district and that the Russian armed forces, the border service, the national guard and the FSB were engaged in its liquidation.
After the attack of saboteurs in the Belgorod region, a regime of anti-terrorist operations was introduced, informed Gladkov. It provides for “special measures and temporary restrictions”, including:
verification of documents, “removal” of citizens from certain areas of the zone, control of telephone conversations, temporary relocation of people to safe areas, restriction of movement of pedestrians and vehicles, penetration of security forces into residential buildings and lands to fight terrorism, suspension of dangerous industries and organizations that use explosive, radioactive, chemically and biologically dangerous substances.
The Kremlin’s reaction
The Ministry of Defense, the FSB and the Border Service reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin an attempt to break through to saboteurs in the Belgorod region, the head of state’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.
“Work is underway to expel them from Russian territory and destroy this sabotage group. There are enough forces and means on the spot,” said Peskov (quote according RIA Novosti).
In the Kremlin consider that the sabotage was intended to “divert the attention of the Bakhmut leadership, to minimize the political effect of the loss of Artemovsk (Bakhmut) by the Ukrainian side”.
Ukraine’s reaction
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said it was following events in the Belgorod region “with interest”, but denied Kiev’s involvement in what happened.
@russvolcorps / Telegram
“Ukraine is studying the situation. <…> As you know, tanks are sold in any Russian military store, and underground partisan detachments are made up of Russian citizens,” tweeted Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of Zelenskyy’s office.
The representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Andriy Yusov, in turn, said that representatives of the “Russian Freedom” Legion * and the “Russian Volunteer Corps” were carrying out an “operation ” in the Belgorod region, the purpose of which is “to create a security zone to protect Ukrainian civilians”. Yusov also noted that “exclusively Russian citizens” are involved in the sabotage.
What military telegram channels wrote about sabotage
By data The Telegram Veteran’s Notes channel, which is headed by a Russian army serviceman operating in the Belgorod region, the armed forces of Ukraine participated in a raid on the Belgorod region “to an infantry battalion with support a platoon of tanks and firefighters supporting guns and rocket artillery.” From the air, they were supported by quadcopter and aircraft type reconnaissance drones, the channel writes. According to him, Russian forces will use artillery and aircraft in response.
Military telegram channel “Rybar” informed that two tanks, one armored personnel carrier and nine armored personnel carriers entered the territory of the Belgorod region.
SHOT telegram channel source said that on Monday 39 saboteurs were eliminated in the Belgorod region. By approval Baza telegram channel, five other saboteurs were taken prisoner. There has been no official confirmation of this information.
- the organization is recognized as a terrorist organization and prohibited on the territory of Russia
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