KYIV – Russia’s military said on Tuesday that it had routed militants who had invaded a Russian border region with armored vehicles the day before, killing more than 70 “Ukrainian nationalists” and driving the others back into Ukraine.
Two putative anti-Kremlin armed groups using Russians stationed abroad claimed responsibility for the attack in Russia’s Belgorod region, in what seemed to be one of the largest invasions from Ukraine since the war began 15 months ago.
The Russian military ministry, which blamed Ukrainian authorities, said that its forces surrounded the enemy fighters and crushed them with “air strikes, artillery fire, and active action by border units.”
According to a government statement, more than 70 Ukrainian fighters were killed, while four armored vehicles and five pick-up trucks were destroyed.
“The remnants of the nationalists were pushed back into Ukrainian territory, where they were continued to be hit by gunfire until they were completely eliminated,” the ministry claimed.
According to the Belgorod regional governor, one civilian was killed “at the hands of Ukrainian armed forces.”
Reuters was unable to confirm the claims.
A State Department spokeswoman said on Tuesday that the US is skeptical of claims that US-supplied weapons were used in an attack inside Russian territory, stressing that Washington does not promote or enable strikes inside Russia.
The Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), one of the two fighting organizations, stated on social media, “One day we’ll come to stay.”
The gang then denied routing its forces in a statement.
“The Russian Volunteer Corps has incurred no losses,” it stated.
The Freedom of Russia Legion, a second organization, claimed to have “demilitarised” a Russian motorized rifle company and destroyed armored vehicles. It said that Russian comments about preventing the incursion referred to “imaginary losses.”
Putin’s forces “have not distinguished themselves with any successes in the past day,” according to a social media post, adding, “While they cowardly hide in the bushes, we will move forward to our goal — the complete liberation of Russia!”
The Ukrainian government stated that it was monitoring the situation but had “nothing to do with it.” It said the same thing in March, when one of the groups, which Moscow said was made up of far-right Russian extremists controlled by Ukrainian intelligence, launched an invasion into another border territory.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, called Kyiv’s denial “lies” and said the assailants deserved to be destroyed “like rats.”
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced the cancellation of a “counter-terrorism operation” regime that had permitted authorities to impose a slew of limitations on freedom of movement and communication since Monday.
Earlier on Tuesday, he stated that the army and other security services were still cleaning up and advised residents who had been evacuated not to return just yet.
He stated that an old woman died during the evacuation and that three individuals were being treated for injuries. He later added, without going into any detail, that a civilian had been killed.
The Freedom of Russia Legion is a Russian militia group in Ukraine that is commanded by Russian opposition figure Ilya Ponomaryov and claims to be working within Russia to remove President Vladimir Putin.
Ponomaryov is wanted in Russia, where he is accused of spreading false information about the army and has been declared a terrorist.
The RVC, which claimed responsibility for the March incursion, was created in August by Denis Kapustin, a Russian nationalist living in Ukraine, and declared its alliance with the Legion on May 17.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russia is undertaking its “special military operation” in Ukraine in part to ensure that such occurrences do not occur again.
“This confirms that Ukrainian militants are continuing their attacks on our country.” This demands a significant amount of effort from us, and these efforts are ongoing.”
Kiev and its Western backers claim Russia’s assault is an unprovoked invasion to seize land from Ukraine, which has been independent since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Moscow claims to be safeguarding its own security against an ever-expanding NATO.
When asked whether the attackers were ethnic Russians or ethnic Ukrainians, Peskov responded, “They are Ukrainian fighters from Ukraine.” Ukraine is home to a large number of ethnic Russians. They are, however, Ukrainian militants.”
Source: Reuters