Russia He affirmed this Tuesday that he “crushed” with his air force and his artillery the group that the day before attacked from Ukraine the border region of Belgorod, the most serious incursion into its territory since the start of the conflict. On Monday, fighters from Ukraine attacked several towns in the Belgorod region, where there was also artillery fire and drone strikes that forced residents to flee.
He kremlin He expressed his “deep concern” and urged redoubling “efforts” to prevent these incursions, which add to a series of attacks on Russian soil, just as Ukraine claims to be preparing a major offensive. He Russian Ministry of Defense He affirmed this Tuesday that he repelled the incursion after an operation of an unprecedented scale that involved the air force and artillery. “In the anti-terrorist operation, the nationalist formations [ucranianas] were blocked and crushed by aerial bombardments and artillery fire,” the ministry said in a statement. “The rest of the nationalists were repelled to the territory of Ukraine, where the bombardments […] continued until their total elimination,” added the ministry, which stated that “more than 70 Ukrainian terrorists” were killed.
Russia accused Ukraine of plotting the raid, but kyiv denied it. “We are not waging any war on foreign territories,” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar said on Tuesday, referring to an “internal Russian crisis.” Several Russians questioned in Moscow by AFP expressed their fear of new attacks. “The whole Russian nation is anxious that (the attacks) could take place further away, in Moscow,” said Alexander, a 42-year-old engineer who preferred not to give his last name. The Ukrainians questioned in kyiv were more interested in the fighting on their territory. “Our military must take back what the Russians have taken, the cities of Ukraine. We don’t need Russia,” said Olga, 26, who works at a day care center.
The operation was claimed on a Telegram channel by the “Freedom for Russia Legion”, a group of Russians fighting on the Ukrainian side and who on other occasions already claimed to have carried out incursions in the same region. Another related group would have participated in the operation, the “Russian Volunteer Corps”. “What happened yesterday [lunes] raises deep concern and shows, once again, that Ukrainian fighters continue their activities against our country,” Russian Presidency spokesman, Dmitry Peskov. “This requires more efforts on our part, continuing efforts and the special military operation [en Ucrania] continue so that this does not happen again,” he added.
He Governor of Belgorod Vyacheslav Gladkov, declared that several towns, including the city of Graivoron, capital of the homonymous district, suffered “numerous” shelling by artillery, multiple rocket launchers and drones. Nine towns were evacuated, explained Gladkov, who reported at least 12 wounded civilians. In response to the incursion, Russia on Monday decreed an “anti-terrorism” regime in the entire Belgorod region, a protocol that gives authorities more powers to carry out armed operations, carry out checks on the population and carry out evacuations. It was used in Chechnya from 1999 to 2009.
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So far, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not ruled on the raid. During a ceremony of delivery of decorations this Tuesday in the Kremlin, he limited himself to speaking in a general way about the conflict in Ukraine. “Yes, Russia is facing difficult times, but this is a particular moment for our” national consolidation, he said, reiterating that Moscow defends the Russian population of the Ukrainian Donbas. On Monday, the Kremlin accused kyiv of having orchestrated the operation with the aim of “diverting attention” from the capture of the city of bakhmutin eastern Ukraine, claimed by Moscow.
Last weekend, Russian forces claimed the capture of that devastated city in the battle for its conquest, the longest and deadliest of the conflict. kyiv denied the loss of Bakhmut, and on Tuesday stated that “the battles for the city […] continue.” In addition, President Volodimir Zelensky visited on Tuesday the front line in the Donetsk region (east), the scene of heavy fighting.