The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said a Ukrainian “sabotage group” entered Russian territory in the Grivoron region, bordering Ukraine, and was defeated.
But the Ukrainian website Hromadsky quoted Ukrainian military intelligence as saying that two Russian armed opposition groups, the Russian Freedom Corps and the Russian Volunteer Corps, both made up of Russian citizens, carried out the incursion.
The press agency RIA Novosti quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying President Vladimir Putin had been briefed on the attacks and that Russian forces were working to drive out the “saboteurs”.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, said on Telegram that the Russian military, border guards, presidential guard and Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) were involved in responding to the attacks.
He added that at least six people were injured and three houses and an administrative building were damaged.
Baza, who has ties to Russian security services, said on Telegram there were indications of fighting in three residential communities along the main road to Russia. The “Open Belgorod” channel on Telegram reported that electricity and water were cut off in several villages.
the group adopts the process
A group calling itself the Freedom Corps of Russia, a Russian militia based in Ukraine and led by Russian dissident Ilya Ponomarev that claims to be operating in Russia to overthrow Russian President Vladimir Putin, wrote on Twitter that it had “completely liberated” the border town of Kozynka. . “Go ahead. Russia will be free!” said the tweet. In a written statement to Reuters, Mykhailo Podolak, Zelenskyy’s top aide, echoed the words of Ukrainian military intelligence. “The Russian violent resistance movement, whose architects are limited to Russian citizens, is gradually rising from the ground. They are independent in their decisions, have a certain experience and do not know fear,” he said. Ukrainian social media users referred to what they called the “People’s Republic of Belgorod”, a reference to events in eastern Ukraine in 2014, when Russian-backed militias claiming to be rebelling against the Kiev government declared “people’s republics” in eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Ukraine. The Ukrainian Public Broadcasting Company quoted the press office of Russia’s Freedom Corps as saying that the situation on the ground is difficult, but the fighters are still fighting for their cause. “The Russian Freedom Corps and the Russian Volunteer Corps are building a demilitarized zone on the border with the Russian Federation from which they will not be able to fire into Ukraine,” the press office said.
The Kremlin: The incursion is linked to the fall of Bakhmut
The Kremlin said the incursion was intended to distract from the town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which Russian forces say they have fully captured after more than nine months of fighting.
Moscow says the capture of Bakhmut now paves the way for further advances in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine says its encirclement of Russian forces is more important than its withdrawal from inside the city, and Russia will have to weaken its lines elsewhere to send reinforcements to maintain control of Bakhmut.
“By moving along both sides – north and south – we manage to destroy the enemy. By moving along the sides and controlling certain heights there, our armed forces have made it very difficult for the enemy to stay in the city itself.”
“We are still advancing, but the volume of movements is decreasing somewhat. If we are talking about the north, there is much less activity. If we are talking about the south, we are advancing and the defense of Bakhmut as a city has fully reached its objective”. military objective,” she added.
Maliar also said Ukraine still maintains a foothold in the city itself, but independent observers say any remaining Ukrainian presence there is likely to be weak.
Wagner, the Russian army and Bakhmut
The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, said on Monday: “The Wagner mercenary group has most likely captured the western administrative border of Bakhmut while Ukrainian forces continue to prioritize counter-attacks on the outskirts of Bakhmut”.
The Battle of Bakhmut revealed a rift between Russia’s regular armed forces and the private paramilitary group Wagner, whose leader, Yevgeny Prigogine, broadcasts daily audio and video messages mocking the generals.
In his last message on Monday, he confirmed his promise to withdraw his forces from Bakhmut and hand them over to the regular forces.
“If the forces of the Ministry of Defense are not enough, then we have thousands of generals, we will only have to form a battalion of generals, give them all the weapons and everything will be fine,” he said. declared.
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