Attacks in Russia’s Belgorod: What we know so far

World
By William

Fifteen months after Moscow’s troops invaded Ukraine, Russia has launched one of the largest and most daring cross-border attacks since the start of the war.

On Monday, two anti-Kremlin groups – the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) and the Freedom of Russia Legion – claimed responsibility for the incursion into the Belgorod region.

Fighting continued early Tuesday for a second day. A dozen people are reportedly injured and some residents have been evacuated.

(Al Jazeera)

Later on Tuesday, Russia’s defense ministry said the units it blamed had been pushed back into Ukrainian territory. More than 70 attackers have been killed, the ministry said, a figure that could not be verified.

After accusing Ukraine, Russia opened an investigation into “terrorism”. Officials in Kiev say they have nothing to do with the attacks.

Here’s what we know so far:

Where is Belgorod located?

The Russian province of Belgorod borders the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Sumy and Kharkiv.

Located about 600 km (373 mi) from the Russian capital Moscow, it has been a front-line territory, serving as a vital base for Kremlin forces to launch attacks on Ukraine.

But Belgorod has also exposed Russian vulnerabilities.

Moscow accidentally bombed the city of Belgorod last month, while fFuel and ammunition supplies in the region have been rocked by explosions since the start of the war.

What happened in Belgorod?

Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov raised the alarm with the Kremlin early Monday, saying a Ukrainian “sabotage group” had entered Russian territory in the Grayvoron district.

According to Russia, the raiders opened fire with mortars and artillery on residential and administrative buildings and civilian infrastructure. Russian air defense forces reportedly shot down drones over the region.

Moscow later said it was conducting a counter-terrorism operation.

Gladkov said an elderly lady was killed during the evacuation, but no civilians were killed in the clashes.

He described the situation as “extremely tense”.

Social media users said air raid sirens sounded and checkpoints were targeted.

The fighting continued for a second day. On Tuesday afternoon, Russia said it had pushed back the attackers and 70 people had been killed.

On Tuesday, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said two “all-Russian pro-Ukrainian” groups had crossed the border with tanks, armored personnel carriers and other armed weapons. vehicles, citing Russian sources.

Who was behind the attacks?

Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out the attacks, but Kiev has denied involvement.

During the war, Ukraine took no responsibility for attacks on Russia, as the battle is purely defensive.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as quoted by Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti, said the aim of the alleged Ukrainian mission in Belgorod was “to deflect attention away from Bakhmut’s direction”.

The adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter that Kiev “had nothing to do with it” and suggested that an “armed guerrilla movement” had emerged to oppose “a totalitarian country”.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, whom he called “the sponsors of the Kiev regime”, of being responsible for “sabotage”. Kiev’s denial was “an absolute lie,” he said.

Ukrainian news channel Hromadske, citing Ukrainian military intelligence sources, said two armed Russian opposition groups, the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), made up of Russian citizens, were responsible for the attack on the Belgorod region .

Asked about reports that the attackers were ethnic Russians, Peskov said: “They are Ukrainian fighters from Ukraine. Many ethnic Russians live in Ukraine. But they are still Ukrainian militants.”

What do we know about the anti-Kremlin militias?

The RVC was founded last August by a far-right Russian and consists of Russians who have fought in and for Ukraine against their own country.

The group has also been active across the border on Russian territory, claiming responsibility for a raid there in March.

Ukrainian military intelligence says the RVC is an independent underground group within Russia that also has a unit in the Ukrainian Foreign Legion. The Foreign Legion says it has nothing to do with the RVC.

Late Monday, the RVC released video footage on its Telegram feed that appeared to show fighters operating an armored vehicle on a country road in Russia. The Reuters news agency was able to identify one of the men as Ilya Bogdanov, a Russian national who was granted Ukrainian citizenship in 2015 after fighting for Kiev against Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine.

The Legion of Freedom of Russia – also known as the Legion of Freedom of Russia – says it was created in the spring of 2022 “out of the desire of the Russians to fight in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the armed forces Putin’s gang”.

It says it cooperates with the Ukrainian armed forces and operates under Ukrainian command. It has claimed responsibility for the attack in Belgorod and says it fought in eastern Ukraine.

The spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence said on Monday that the attacks in Belgorod involved only Russian citizens and that they created a “safety zone” to protect Ukrainian citizens. He has not confirmed or denied that the troops operating there are a Ukrainian unit.

Russia’s Legion of Freedom said on Twitter it had “completely liberated” the border town of Kozinka in the Belgorod region and that its forward units had reached the district center of Grayvoron, further east.

“Move on. Russia will be free!” wrote the group.

What’s next?

The attack on Russia has raised the bar and comes just as Moscow announced the capture of Bakhmut, the eastern Ukrainian city razed to the ground by months of fighting.

Kremlin spokesman Peskov called the attack an “invasion” of “serious concern” and promised “major efforts in response”.

According to Russia’s RIA Novosti, Peskov also said on Monday that work was underway to “squeeze Ukrainian saboteurs out of Russian territory.”

According to the UK, the attacks highlight Moscow’s struggles in the war.

“Russia faces an increasingly serious multi-domain security threat in its border regions with fighter jet losses, improvised explosive device attacks on railway lines and now direct partisan action,” the British Ministry of Defense said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Podolyak has said Kiev continues to follow reports “with interest” and is “studying the situation”.

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