Fighting in Russian border region enters second day after raid from Ukraine
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Russian and Ukrainian troops have been making effective use of bomb-carrying drones with deadly precision.
PHOTO: AFP
MOSCOW – Drones struck Russia’s border region of Belgorod, where security operations pressed into a second day after a cross-border raid blamed on fighters from Ukraine.
The region, which borders Ukraine, has been repeatedly shelled in attacks that have killed dozens since Moscow launched its offensive in 2022.
Several drones struck houses and a government building overnight but did not result in casualties or deaths, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram.
On Monday, Russia said its troops were battling a “sabotage” group that entered from Ukraine. It said it was introducing an “anti-terror regime” in Belgorod, a first since the start of Moscow’s campaign in Ukraine in February 2022.
Monday’s incursion, apparently involving armoured vehicles, was the biggest raid into Russia since the war began 15 months ago, though details including the number of fighters involved, their affiliation and the extent of any clashes, could not be independently confirmed.
Mr Gladkov said on Tuesday that the “defence ministry and law enforcement are continuing to clear the area”.
He previously said eight people were injured, adding that the authorities were helping people leave the scene of the fighting.
He added on Tuesday that it was too soon for residents who had fled to return to their homes, and said the authorities would give the all-clear when it was safe.
Members of the anti-Kremlin Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) have claimed responsibility for the incursion into Belgorod, but Kyiv has denied any involvement.
In a video released by a Telegram channel claiming to represent the group, a camouflaged spokesman, surrounded by armed men in fatigues, said: “Russia will be free!”, a slogan frequently used by Russian opposition activists.
‘Guerrilla groups’
“We want our children to grow up in peace and be free,” the spokesman added, with the channel claiming that two settlements, including Graivoron, were attacked.
The RVC published video footage late on Monday showing what it said was a fighter inspecting a captured armoured vehicle, putting a sticker with the group’s logo over the “Z” symbol used to identify Russian forces.
Another video showed what it said were fighters operating an armoured vehicle on a country road. Other videos posted on Russian and Ukrainian social media channels showed pictures and video of what were described as captured Russian servicemen and their identity documents.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhaylo Podolyak suggested that Russian “guerrilla groups” could be responsible.
“The only driving political force in a totalitarian country of tightened screws is always an armed guerrilla movement,” he said on Monday.
The “anti-terror regime” introduced
A similar regime was in place in Chechnya between 1999 and 2009, when the Russian authorities battled insurgents during Moscow’s second military campaign in the mountainous region.
The attack on Russia’s region was reported ahead of a widely expected Ukrainian offensive, though President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country is not yet ready.
The timing and focus of Ukraine’s offensive have been the subject of months of speculation, while Kyiv has said almost nothing except that it needs more weapons from its backers.
At the same time, Russia has been reinforcing hundreds of kilometres of front line with tank barriers, trenches and troops.
Given that the battles would come after a significant influx of Western armaments, success or failure could undermine future support or increase pressure on Kyiv to negotiate. AFP
