Russia still fending off alleged Ukrainian incursion, local official says

The Russian military and security forces were continuing on Tuesday to fend off an alleged incursion by Ukrainian saboteurs first reported the day before in a Russian border region, according to a Russian official.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, said the military and security forces continued to sweep the area around the town of Graivoron, where the alleged attack on Monday took place.

Gladkov urged residents of the area who evacuated on Monday to stay put and not come back to their homes just yet.

“We will let you know immediately … when it is safe,” Gladkov said. “Security agencies are carrying out all the necessary actions. We’re waiting for the counterterrorism operation to be over.”

Moscow struggles amid bogged-down invasion

Kyiv has denied the allegations, blaming Russian guerrilla groups supporting Ukraine. Neither version of the events could be independently verified.

While it is not the first time Russia has alleged an incursion by Ukrainian saboteurs, it is the first time the operation to counter the incursion has continued for a second day, highlighting the struggles Moscow is facing amid its bogged-down invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia is facing an increasingly serious multi-domain security threat in its border regions, with losses of combat aircraft, improvised explosive device attacks on rail lines, and now direct partisan action,” the British Defence Ministry said in a tweet on Tuesday.

According to Gladkov, an elderly woman died during evacuation, and two more people were wounded “in the settlements the enemy entered.” That brought the total number of those wounded during the attack to 10.

Gladkov first reported on Monday afternoon that a Ukrainian Armed Forces saboteur group entered Graivoron, a town about five kilometres from the border with Ukraine. The town also came under Ukrainian artillery fire, he said.

He later announced a counterterrorist operation in the area, and said that authorities were imposing special controls, including personal document checks, and stopping the work of companies that use “explosives, radioactive, chemically and biologically hazardous substances.”

‘Freedom of Russia’ Legion

Ukrainian officials blamed the incident on Russian armed guerrilla groups. Ukrainian intelligence representative Andrii Cherniak said Russian citizens belonging to murky groups calling themselves the Russian Volunteer Corps and the “Freedom of Russia” Legion were behind the assault.

The Russian Volunteer Corps claimed in a Telegram post it had crossed the border into Russia again, after claiming to have breached the border in early March.

The Russian Volunteer Corps describes itself as “a volunteer formation fighting on Ukraine’s side.” Little is known about the group, and it is not clear if it has any ties with the Ukrainian military. The same is true for the “Freedom of Russia” Legion.

In addition to the alleged incursion, Gladkov reported multiple drone attacks on Graivoron and other settlements of the Belgorod region on Monday night. The attacks resulted in no casualties, but damaged buildings and caused a fire. On Tuesday morning, two more drones were shot down by the region’s air defence systems.

The Belgorod region in southwest Russia, just like its neighbouring Bryansk region and several others, has witnessed sporadic spillover from the 15-month war, with its border towns and villages regularly coming under shelling and drone attacks.